Larry & I had been planning for a Saturday afternoon in the city, and today was finally that day. Â On tap?
Checking out an available 2BDR loft at the Gas Company Lofts Building
Partaking in some more ramen, this time in Little Tokyo
Visiting the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, also known as MOCA
Visiting Union Station, along with possibly grabbing a drink at the Trax Bar, a sorta speakeasy there in the station
Of the 4 items above, we accomplished 3 1/2 of them. Â The loft we visited was pretty amazing – I think we’d like to still find something a bit bigger, but the location of this particular building was stellar. Â A Ralph’s was right around the corner on the same block, a CitiTarget is two blocks away, and the Metro station is a block north. Â Very nice. Â But we’re still reluctant to move just yet. Â I’ve a feeling there’s even more apartments or houses out there that will impress even more.
After the visit to the loft, we hopped back on the Metro (oh yeah, we took the Red Line in from the Sunset/Vermont station) and took it to Civic Center, where we walked through the relatively new Grand Park area, took in the great views of L.A.’s iconic City Hall building, then walked to Little Tokyo, where we headed to Daikokuya Ramen. Â Laryr had eaten there during his jury duty and as we’ve read, it’s known for being one of the best places in the country to get ramen. Â S yeah, that was our lunch. Â We did have to wait 45 minutes to finally sit down, but totally totally worth it.
Arriving in DTLA, Grand Park and LA City Hall, Daikokuya Ramen
We had lunch here at Daikokuya, waiting a mere 45 minutes to get in22-Mar-2014 12:09, Canon Canon PowerShot ELPH 520 HS, 3.4, 4.0mm, 0.001 sec, ISO 100
After an immensely satisfying lunch, our next stop was the MOCA. Â There are some ridiculous hills in DTLA, so we walked to the bus stop where we could take a bus up the one that 1st Ave climbs. Â Even better, the bus turns on Grand and bam!, that’s where the MOCA is.
Quick MOCA thoughts: Â It’s not a very big museum, yet it’s a got a decent selection of interesting modern art. Â I still chuckle at some things that are considered art (in today’s viewings, there was a hanging strand of outdoor lights, a stack of shattered glass, a plywood box with a slanted interior…..) but I do appreciate a chance to see what’s out there. Â One thing I’d like to forget is that piece with all the clown mannequins attending a clown’s funeral. Â Accompanied by crazy ass chants, sing-songs, etc. Â I was just waiting for one of those fucking clowns to be a real person and scare the shit out of us. Â I think having seen the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan a few times, it’s easy to draw comparisons. Â That’s probably not fair.
I borrowed this picture from the Metro site – it’s gorgeous and captures the beauty of Union Station and the LA environment
Afterwards, we walked some more to the nearest Metro station and took it to the end of the line, conveniently located at Union Station. Â Union Station in DTLA is a magnificent example of Art Deco meets Mexican architecture – just seeing it from the inside and outside brings to mind 1940s Los Angeles and also gens up excitement for riding the train. Â Honestly, taking a train trip has been something I’ve been thinking about doing this year, whether it’s to just San Francisco or perhaps even something further, like all the way up the coast to Washington. Â Larry had looked up the Trax Bar online but when we got there at around 4:30pm, we found it but it was closed. Â Of course the website had said it’s open all day, but reality said Feh to that. Â So no drinks for us there! Â We’d had a long day at this point so with that, Downtown Day concluded.
