Field Trip
OK, I've flexed one new perk about this new job - I decided to take yesterday off (which I'll make up Sunday) so that the man and I could hang out a bit for a change.
When we were in Albuquerque, we went to the Greek Festival every year. Go hungry, leave broke.
Since having moved back to SoCal, I had sort of resigned myself to the idea that this would no longer be an annual institution. Imagine my surprise and joy when, via los_angeles I found out that there would be a Greek fest this weekend! Yay!
We started in Koreatown (standing in the middle of the Koreatown galleria food court and realizing that we were the only non-Asians in sight was feckin' cool!) and ate at a nondescript little place in the back of a strip mall. Upon entering Lee's Family Restaurant (857 S. Western Ave.), the waitress, upon assessing us and deciding that we meant to stay and eat, folded two brand-spankin'-new menus with English translations and set them before us. Which was good, because there was not word one in English anywhere else in the joint, which I found just irretrievably cool. The food itself was pretty good, although given another go, I'd experiment with another place.
After stuffing ourselves with bibimbap and bulgogi, we hopped over to the California African American Museum to check out the Celia Cruz exhibit. I love Celia Cruz. It was a pretty cool exhibit - I liked the little sound systems they had - where you could stand under a little dome and the soundtrack to the corresponding video would shoot down onto your head.
I was kind of disappointed there was no gift shop - I would surely have made an impulse musical purchase! No matter. La Negra Tiene Tumbao haora esta en mi listo de deseos de Amazon.
Then, we took a mosey around the Rose Garden, which was nice, and also a reminder that there is something wrong with our own roses, which have not bloomed in a long time. (Doh!)
I tried to take some stealth shots of people around Expo Park, but unfortunately my camera is bigger than a small backpack, so stealthiness is not in the cards. Unless you take pics from a distance, and even then pretend you are shooting something else nearby...
Well, if you can't be stealthy, be transparent.
All this input wears a girl out. Quick break to lay about on public art:
Aaand we're back.
Off to Greek-o-rama!
Held at St. Sophia, which is pretty on the outside, and just immensely gorgeous on the inside (I'm not sure how they managed to decorate the place so ornately without it feeling garish or overwrought). Unfortunately, it was too dark inside to get any decent photos, and I felt too self-conscious to use the flash - I was already anxious about the possibility of spontaneously combusting...
We arrived not long after the festival opened. This is the relative calm before mass numbers of Angelenos hungry for Greek culture and more accurately, Greek food began swarming the grounds.
"Can't we all just get along?!"
Another intercultural neighborhood revitalization attempt... I think the concept is excellent. Here's hoping it works!
We met up with one of my relatives with whom I've long suspected I have much in common, and therefore she must be naturally super-cool o_0 and got to spend a couple of hours chatting with her. She *is* super-cool and I'm glad we met up. It was one of those experiences where you're glad it's not a family function where all conversation remains superficial and more the content of newsbytes than genuine communication and communion. I can't wait to hang out with her again.
In all, 'twas a great day.
When we were in Albuquerque, we went to the Greek Festival every year. Go hungry, leave broke.
Since having moved back to SoCal, I had sort of resigned myself to the idea that this would no longer be an annual institution. Imagine my surprise and joy when, via los_angeles I found out that there would be a Greek fest this weekend! Yay!
We started in Koreatown (standing in the middle of the Koreatown galleria food court and realizing that we were the only non-Asians in sight was feckin' cool!) and ate at a nondescript little place in the back of a strip mall. Upon entering Lee's Family Restaurant (857 S. Western Ave.), the waitress, upon assessing us and deciding that we meant to stay and eat, folded two brand-spankin'-new menus with English translations and set them before us. Which was good, because there was not word one in English anywhere else in the joint, which I found just irretrievably cool. The food itself was pretty good, although given another go, I'd experiment with another place.
After stuffing ourselves with bibimbap and bulgogi, we hopped over to the California African American Museum to check out the Celia Cruz exhibit. I love Celia Cruz. It was a pretty cool exhibit - I liked the little sound systems they had - where you could stand under a little dome and the soundtrack to the corresponding video would shoot down onto your head.
I was kind of disappointed there was no gift shop - I would surely have made an impulse musical purchase! No matter. La Negra Tiene Tumbao haora esta en mi listo de deseos de Amazon.
Then, we took a mosey around the Rose Garden, which was nice, and also a reminder that there is something wrong with our own roses, which have not bloomed in a long time. (Doh!)
I tried to take some stealth shots of people around Expo Park, but unfortunately my camera is bigger than a small backpack, so stealthiness is not in the cards. Unless you take pics from a distance, and even then pretend you are shooting something else nearby...
Well, if you can't be stealthy, be transparent.
All this input wears a girl out. Quick break to lay about on public art:
Aaand we're back.
Off to Greek-o-rama!
Held at St. Sophia, which is pretty on the outside, and just immensely gorgeous on the inside (I'm not sure how they managed to decorate the place so ornately without it feeling garish or overwrought). Unfortunately, it was too dark inside to get any decent photos, and I felt too self-conscious to use the flash - I was already anxious about the possibility of spontaneously combusting...
We arrived not long after the festival opened. This is the relative calm before mass numbers of Angelenos hungry for Greek culture and more accurately, Greek food began swarming the grounds.
"Can't we all just get along?!"
Another intercultural neighborhood revitalization attempt... I think the concept is excellent. Here's hoping it works!
We met up with one of my relatives with whom I've long suspected I have much in common, and therefore she must be naturally super-cool o_0 and got to spend a couple of hours chatting with her. She *is* super-cool and I'm glad we met up. It was one of those experiences where you're glad it's not a family function where all conversation remains superficial and more the content of newsbytes than genuine communication and communion. I can't wait to hang out with her again.
In all, 'twas a great day.