How Can You Experience LA in Only 3 Days?

This was my dilema as my Italian cousins came back to LA with me after the reunion in Kentucky. What to do? Where to go? What to see? What is the best way to experience LA?

We arrived Tuesday afternoon and after a short break to put our suitcases in the house, we walked to Venice Beach. Venice is a unique experience and after it was over, we went to sleep (hey-it was a long flight and we were tired).

We got up early on Wednesday and drove to Hollywood to see the Avenue of the Stars, Groman's Chinese Theater and to eat breakfast. We walked along the shops and took pictures of the famous Hollywood sign. We then trotted off to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. This didn't take long because everyone knows you don't go to Rodeo to go shopping. After a few minutes of looking at all the things we could never afford to buy, we flew over to the La Brea Tar Pits and took a look at Los Angeles 25,000 years ago. We then came back to the house to pick up Steve and raced over to Sakura Japanese Restaurant for sushi. After lots and lots of sushi, we hobbled down to the Santa Monica Pier where we played Whack-A-Mole and contemplated getting dessert. We decided against dessert and dragged ourselves home.

Thursday morning was spent touring the high school and then strolling to the California Science Center on USC's campus. We didn't spend the money to tour the BodyWorlds exhibit but we still had a great time exploring the technology of science. We started to get hungry so we opted not to go to the natural history museum and instead we found ourselves at the Farmer's Market where we indulged in Greek cuisine for lunch.

Since we were stuffed with some great food, we decided to amble back to the house and relax until Steve got home. We ate dinner at the Enterprise Fish Company (I have taken a few of you there when you have visited) and everyone ate waaaaayyyyy too much. After dinner, we cruised back to the Santa Monica Pier to listen to a free concert by Italian singer Carmen Consoli. She sang in Italian about killing cats and being left at the alter by her fiancee. The cousins weren't impressed so we sauntered back home and called it a night.

Friday I introduced Andrea to the wonders of the Xbox 360 while Patrizia did laundry and Pierluigi went to the pool. Andrea LOVED Guitar Hero so much he played even after all the laundry was done and everyone was at the pool. For lunch, we headed to the Cheesecake Factory and brought home 4 pieces of cheesecake. We spent the afternoon at the pool then grabbing the rental car before Steve and our friends showed up for an evening cookout. I think the cousins had a great time because by the end of the evening, both Andrea and Pierluigi were playing darts while we watched the olympics.

Saturday morning came way too early as we prepared to journey to Santa Barbara for a bit of wine tasing before Andrea and Patrizia left for San Francisco by car. It was a long drive and we made it to Santa Barbara for lunch before we ran to the Firestone winery to taste some of their finest wines. As we walked outside and onto the grounds of the estate, Andrea told us about the grapes and the types of wines produced at this winery. After tasing a few of the grapes off the vine (totally legal, I promise), we said goodbye to Andrea and Patrizia and made a beeline straight to Vandenburg Air Force Base. Steve was able to get us on base and we did a bit of shopping at the Base Exchange (well, Pierluigi did most of the shopping). We were stopped by the Air Force Police for taking pictures and they actually looked through Pierluigi's camera for photos taken on the base. Finding nothing of interest to them, they simply told us not to be taking any pictures of the facilities but the photos we had were okay. It was a VERY long drive home and we were exhausted by the time we made it home.

We slept in on Sunday and went to breakfast at our usual dive restaurant, Centinela Cafe. It is a great hole-in-the-wall place that serves excellent food for a reasonable price. After breakfast, we went shopping at the Westside Pavilion and in the evening, took the Marina Water Bus across the marina to the California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. On the way to CPK, we saw 5 sea lions playing in the water and on one of the docks.

And finally on Monday, I took Pierluigi to Chinatown to purchase two suitcases (believe me, he's going to need them). I was able to get him a great deal - two suitcases for $20!! He was so happy with his purchase that he spent the rest of the day by the pool working on his tan.

I think all-in-all my cousins have had a great time trying to experience LA in only 3 days (the 4th day was spent in Santa Barbara) and I look forward to a time when they can return to experience the rest of what LA has to offer.

I Need a Vacation.....

from my vacation!! I have been in Kentucky the past week or so helping my parents get ready for a family reunion that I have coordinated to take place at their house.

Now, this all started when I couldn't decide what to get my dad for his 60th birthday. Normally in our family, we don't do birthdays except for the "going out to dinner for your birthday" thing. But, I had this great idea of throwing my dad a surprise birthday party and inviting the entire family to help him celebrate. I even sent an email to our cousins in Italy and asked them if they would like to be a part of the surprise. They agreed and are on their way to America on Thursday of this week!! But back to my original thought....we haven't had a good family reunion in a very long time and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate dad's birthday than to have his family around.

So that is what I did. I organized and coordinated the family reunion happening this weekend at my parent's house in Kentucky. Everyone will be here. There will be almost 100 family members attending the party (I never told you I had a very large family, did I?) including the cousins from Italy. However, it is no longer a surprise. We had to eventually tell dad about the party since it IS going to be at his house.

But back to my original thought....I came back home to Kentucky two weeks before the party to help out my mom and dad get ready for the party but I had no idea how much work they wanted to do to the house for the party. My mom made a list of things to do (her "Honey Do" list) around the house that was two pages long!! No joke!!

I have been painting, dusting, weeding, mowing, washing, gardening, vacuuming, mopping, sweeping, shoveling dirt, laying straw and scraping. I have even cleaned the windows and doors and found time to paste together a family tree dad printed out on 49 pages. And this is just the beginning. I will be a chauffeur, hostess, dishwasher, food server and garbageman all before the party is over. Boy, am I tired. I really wish I was back in Cali, sitting on my deck watching the boats go in and out of the marina while Steve is making me some fancy drink from our bar...but back to my original thought....

It will all be worth it though. My dad is excited to be having the party for his family and I am excited that he is excited. I even get to take the cousins from Italy back with me to LA. To me, family and friends are the most valuable things in life and all I wanted was to give dad was a gift that he wouldn't have thought of giving himself -- his family.