My trip to Downtown LA and Elliphant

APRIL 8, 2015

George videoed our day in Downtown LA for his Youtube channel.

We started out by eating at the Grand Central Market where I had an EggSlut muffin with eggs and bacon and they had Asian good. Jim, visiting from Chicago, and recently from a 6 year residence in Thailand, mentioned it was the best Thai food he had during his visit to California.

Next we joined a historic tour of Downtown LA (showed Neel, the tour guide, the cost of the Groupon and he agreed to be paid directly). We walked past the Los Angeles Times, City Hall, the police building. We visited buildings recently remodeled for retail, restaurants, residential, and office space. Neel mentioned the space for homeless to freely camp was shrinking and agreements with the ACLU (who are they to speak for the homeless?) will allow the areas that are gentrifying to further ban the homeless from loitering and camping in the near future, as they have done in the recent past.

We visited or walked by what were best in class destinations - Bullocks, the busiest store in the world, the busiest intersection in the world, new glamorous movie theaters built by movie stars to premiere their moves (most theaters are now closed for private parties and one converted to a jewelry bazaar). We went thru the jewelry district, today, the second biggest in terms of # of shops in the world, the financial/banking district, some newly converted commercial areas like arcades, and the Hill, where before WW2, the richest people lived, who then moved to the suburbs, leaving he area desolate. Their homes would later be sold for large skyscraper development into the skyscape you see today. All those skyscrapers are really on one street.

I came out with the impression that living in Downtown LA would age a person quickly due to the sheer number of people, noise, traffic, crime, and chaos. The place kind of hurt (wasn't 100% comfortable) like a 3rd world country.

The biggest lesson to learn from the tour was how things change and how quickly they change. One day you have the best in class of something and which is valuable and coveted. In a decade or two, it becomes abandoned and worthless. Ahhhhh, things are always in change ans flux...

After the tour we ate the tasting menu at Portofino Cucina Italiana. Lot of good food and the Amazon Local voucher really helped cut down on the cost. The owner was the waiter.

Then the highlight of the day. Elliphant on top the Standard hotel singing for about an hour! It was an outrageously good and enjoyable performance.

Here are some videos of the day:

I'm the guy in the red shirt and gray pants!
[Youtube] Downtown LA - Grand Central Market + food + the Standard hotel


I'm the guy bringing up the the system.
[Youtube] The dish of the day - Discussion


Other videos of Elliphant:
[Youtube] Elliphant - Never Been in Love


Performance of Elliphant starts in the middle of the video:
[Youtube] Elliphant - Downtown LA 04-08-2015