Vicky and I took advantage of the 3 day weekend to head down to southern California and to be tourists.  We went around all of the hot spots around Downtown Los Angeles.  Here are the pictures and recap of the trip.  You can view the photo set of the trip on Flickr.

We stayed at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel.  The hotel was great and definitely one of the nicer hotels that we've stayed in.  It is located in the heart of downtown LA right next to the LA Museum of Contemporary Arts and the Disney Concert Hall. We can see both places from our room.  It had a nice and welcoming lobby with an Asian decor.  Did I mention how comfortable the bed was?  Very, as you can tell by pictures.  The pool was small but pretty and clean.

Day 1

The early part of the first day was all about Hollywood.  We visited Hollywood Blvd, the Chinese Mann's Theater, Kodak Theater, and the Walk of fame.  Vicky found the prints and star of her favorite actor, Tom Hanks.  While I took pictures alongside Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris stars.  Vicky does her best Oscar winner impression in one of the souvenir shops.

We ate at Jake's Hot Dog in the shopping center near by.  There we found one of the Scary Beings that Eat themselves.  Quite a hoot and del.icio.us hotdogs to boot.

Afterwards, we shot after the Hollywood sign.We keyed in the location on the GPS and off we go.  We came as close as we can up narrow winding streets until the road is blocked off. It's very scenic up the Hollywood hills.

During the midday we went to Warner Bros Studios.  It was Saturday so there were no tours available. We ended up doing our own outside the complex. :)

On the way back, we stopped by Echo Park for mid afternoon rest at the hotel.  Echo Park reminded me a lot of Lake Merritt with the tall building in the background and tranquil environment within a bustling city.  Even the roads and surrounding area seem a lot like the drive from Berkeley to Oakland.

We rounded the night with dinner at Universal City Walk.  The City Walk definitely has a Las Vegas shops vibe to it with the crowd, lights, and sounds.  Great fun and food at Tony Roma.  The Romarita is quite a treat.

Day 2

Day 2 was more mellow.  We started with the Hollywood Farmer's market.  It's kind of like Berkeley meets Mexico.  Very cool.  Off to the Tar Pits. 

The La Brea Tar Pits is located in the heart of LA in an area called Museum Row.  We snaps lots of pictures and visited the Page Museum which is associated with the Tar Pits.  It was fun learning and exploring the discoveries within Pit 91 excavation site and how the paleontologist work.

Next we went to the Getty Museum.  The Getty Museum was more frustrating then fun.  It was way too crowded getting park, in, and around the Getty.  It featured modern architecture housing 17th and 18th century art which we didn't really cared for.  Defiantly not worth the hype and crowds for us, even with free admission.  Yawn indeed.  The view was nice though.

After a battery recharge for ourselves and our cameras, we headed off to the Santa Monica Pier and Beach.  Perfect time to see the picturesque sunset.  Too bad with we were late for bike rentals around the pier.

The night ended with a visit to the Third Street Promenade nearby the Pier.  It was fun watching the street performers entertaining the crowds.  It's like America's Got Talent right in the 3rd Street.  Dinner was at Wolfgang Puck Express.