Bunkering up on the hill

March 21 2017

Usually, I travel alone.  This comes with pros and cons, of course.  One of the pros is that you are forced to meet people.  In particular, locals.

I've met people who travel in packs and while everyone has different needs, I couldn't imagine anything worse.

Why?

Share your travels with one person and you compromise 50% of your trip.  Travel with two people and compromise 66%.  Travel with ten of your 'closest friends'?   What is wrong with you???! With all of your friends/security blankets in tow, you don't need to meet people. You already have somebody, or multiple somebodies, to talk to.   And in all probability, you most likely won't meet locals at all.

I met DA a few years back in LA.  A great guy, a native Angeleno, and a local.  I'd never seen his condo, so I met up with him in the Bunker Hill towers in DTLA.

I hadn't even stepped inside and I already love this building.  Then, I realise why.  I'm biased towards anything made in 1968.  I was a great year.  Not least of all, because it's the year I was made.

The design is clearly 1960s.  From the clean lines of it's high rise, to the floor to ceiling windows, to the hexagonal shaped gardens and pool, it screams mid century modern.  Admittedly, more recent refurbishments are anything but sympathetic, however, I was thrilled to find DA's space looked the way it's original tenant might have decorated it.

I was also surprised to see that we have a common interest: connecting vintage glassware.

The most fun part about the apartment is the view; on the night I visited the City was clouded in fog, making for a rare view of downtown LA at night.

We headed to Astro Burger for dinner, an awesome old diner with a decidedly Greek feel.

While a view and a burger doesn't sound particularly amazing, the point is that you can only really know a city when you meet the locals.

Sure, you can follow every recommendation made by Lonely Planet, but the odds are you'll only meet all of the other tourists who use the same guide.

Which is fine if your idea of traveling is meeting people from where you came from.

However if you really want to see what's on the down low, I highly recommend shedding your fears about traveling alone.

Grow a pair, and hit the road.

Solo.

#california #losangeles #dtla #bunkerhill #citylights #bunkerhilltower #1968 #midcenturymodern #cityoflights #travel #solotravel

Smart and Final parking

March 20, 2017

Yep, it's great: even vital, to have a car in Los Angeles.

Freeways with fifteen lanes built in the 1950s mages me wonder why new Sydney freeways are built with two lanes.

However I've discovered something worse than trying to navigate the 101 on a Saturday night....

Parking anywhere in LA after midnight.

So I find myself driving around, and around, and around the block, wondering why it's taking me so long to find a park anywhere near my house.

Finally!  A spot!  No, it's a driveway.  Ok here's one.. Nope, yellow curb.  Red curb.  Double parking hog. Another driveway. Argggh.... this is getting ridiculous.

It took me longer to park than it weeks have taken to walk to the bar, and back again, three times!

Finally found a spot after one hour, right outside the Smart & Final supermarket, and dragged my sorry ass home.

Couldn't have found a better metaphor for this experience.  Sure, it was final.  But not so smart!

Taconado

March 19, 2017

You've heard of Sharknado, right?

Well a Taconado is what happens when you combine a hurricane with tacos.

LA has stacks of food trucks, but this one is my absolute fave.

Taqueria El Huracan is usually parked on Santa Monica boulevard in Silver Lake, so it's a double treat: my favourite food truck in my favourite part of LA.

They have every kind of taco from pork and BBQ beef to brains, tongue and I think what is the pigs snout!!  I have a little laugh because the name for the last dish sounds suspiciously like Spanish slang for the new POTUS, Trump!  If I was a Mexican political cartoonist I'd have a field day with this one.  But sadly I'm not, and frankly, just because it doesn't take much to amuse me, doesn't mean anyone else thinks it's as funny as I do...

I already have enough brains and certainly have more tongue than the average guy (some of my friends tell me, too much of both) so I'm going stock standard with Asada (Beef) and Carnitas (Pork).

I chuck in a few slices of radish and cucumber, drown in fresh lime and sauce, and I'm off in a Taconado all of my own.

The beef is cubed and tender, but it's the pork that gets me going.  If only those pork-haters knew what they were missing....

Mmmmm.....Taconado.  minus the flying sharks and Kansas witches.

In fact, I think I'll revisit it, tonight.

Crafty digs in LaLa Land

March 18 2017

So this is my digs in Los Angeles for the next few months.

I found it on Airbnb and it's just awesome.

I'm not as well-versed in American architectural styles as I am with Australian architecture, but I'll give it a go.

It's what's known as a craftsman's house.  It's very similar to the Australian version of the Californian bungalow, but much bigger.

The style giveaway are the square columns either side of the porch, which are wider at the base than they are at the top.

Inside, the house is massive.  The wood detailing is prominent throughout the house; wide doors with side lights, wooden floorboards, and detailed wooden architraves.  There's even a library with custom built wooden cabinetry.

The house is chock-full of authentic wooden furniture.  The style is called Stickley, named after a prominent designer from that period.  There's also a plethora of Tiffany Style lamps throughout the house, which is very tastefully decorated.

Copper is also a recurring theme in fixtures and vents.. I'll do my best to show off some of these in a later post.

If you've read my previous posts you'll know I packed up my own house in Sydney.  I'm kind of a house bond kind of person so I'm absolutely thrilled to have found a home away from home.

I'm shocked to find so many amazing houses so close to the cbd of LA, but again, I'll save my findings about that in a later post.

71 years old and still flipping burgers

March 17 2017

I like old stuff.  I like new stuff, too.  What's cool about old stuff is that it's stood the test of time. Fads come and go but there's really no 'instant classic'.  Classic status is only awarded to those that stand the test of time.

And so it happens, my room is one block away from something old, and cool.

Tommy's famous hamburgers opened in 1946 in this location (Westlake) and it's the flagship store for what's now a chain of 30 restaurants.

It's just a hamburger stand.  What makes it a classic?  It's still there.

And it's one of the reasons I love L.A.   You might like your stuff too be shiny and new, but not me. Everything is new for about 5 seconds.  Then it's not new anymore.  Give me something with just a modicum of provenance, and I'm all over it like a rash.

Give me a hamburger that's been cooked the same way for over 70 years, over a $20 Wagyu burger any day.

It doesn't get much flippin' better.

The City of Wheels

March 16, 2017

L.A. is known by a few monikers... The City of Lights, and the City of angels come to mind, but this is also a city that's custom built for cars, so I'm adding one of own: the City of Wheels.

It's no secret you need a car to get around this city.  Nobody seems to walk unless it's from their car to where they're going.  I remember reading a while back that Jim Morrison was seen wandering drunk along the streets of LA but that was back in the 1970s and I'm starting to think he was probably the last guy to do that in this city.*

So these are my wheels for the next few weeks and I intend to wear out these tires as much as possible.  Because who wants to look like Jim Morrison in his final years?  My brother asked me to send a pic of the car.  I think he was hoping it was a Karmann Ghia, but it's not.  Even if I wish it was.

Side note for Aussies planning on hiring a car in the states, book your car from Australia using an Australian website.  It's compulsory for rental cars advertised in Oz to include insurance, but that's not the case in the USA.  That great deal doesn't look so good with a bunch of zeros after the original quote!

So here's to spending more time sitting in this car, than moving.  After all, LA freeways also have their own reputation:: these freeways are often referred to as 'one giant carpark'.


* According to the book "no one gets out of here alive" by Danny Sugerman and Jerry Hopkins

Goodbye Porpoise Spit

March 15, 2017

Fans of Muriel's Wedding will recognise this one. However there is no Porpoise Spit.  It's a veiled nome-de-plume for Snapper Rocks, the site of a former porpoise petting pool on the Gold Coast, Australia.

What you might not know it's that Muriel is actually saying goodbye to nearby Banora Point in New South Wales.

Me? I'm actually saying goodbye to my real home, in Sydney, Australia.

I did it... I actually did it. I packed up and rented out my house.

I'm taking a long sabbatical.  (That's English for "doing nothing").

My life in Sydney is comfortable but 29 years of living in one city is making me stagnant.

I'm not going to 'find myself'.

I'm going to find myself in situations where I ask myself: "did that really just happen"?

I'm walking outside of my door and closing it for a whole year.  Maybe Forever?  Maybe Never?  Who knows?  I'm walking through that door.  Let's see what happens.

Right now, I'm catching a flight from Sydney to Los Angeles. I'm leaving my house, my friends, my family, and my whole social network behind.  I have no idea what I'm doing, or what my future holds, but I am sure of one thing.

I'm loving it.

Goodbye, Porpoise Spit!  Hello, Los Angeles.