Saturday, January 01, 2011

Year End LA Tour With The Future Machatunim

(Note:  Today is 1/1/11)

We met our future Machatunim* Thursday night for dinner. They're here from Detroit. Friday we took them on a quick tour of LA. OK, not everyone knows machatunim. From googlebooks, Secret of a Jewish Mother:
*MACHATUNIM (noun) The parents of your child's spouse.
Let me just say, we're getting along fine.  We started off at the observation deck of the Santa Monica airport.  M had already spotted a vintage airplane, so I decided to stop to see what else he might see.  Then off to downtown where we checked out the old Library from outside and I waited at the curb while they all went into the Biltmore Hotel.  Then we parked and wandered around the Disney Concert Hall designed by Frank Gehry.

The Gehry building is irresistible to someone with a camera.  It offers so many shapes and shadows.  I've posted pictures of it before.

























It seemed that it all goes up like this.  


From behind.


 From across the street.




 


Then past the Dorothy Chandler to the  Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels down the block and to the right.



























From the Cathedral website:


What historically took centuries to construct was accomplished in three years in the building of the 11-story Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. This first Roman Catholic Cathedral to be erected in the western United States in 30 years began construction on May 1999 and was completed by the spring of 2002.
Spanish architect, Professor José Rafael Moneo has designed a dynamic, contemporary Cathedral with virtually no right angles. This geometry contributes to the Cathedral's feeling of mystery and its aura of majesty.
Tomás, see?  A Spanish architect, just like you.


















A quick looksee at Union Station.






Then a late lunch at Philippe.  



We drove up to see Dodger Stadium from outside the locked parking lot gates. (M is a big baseball fan.)  It was too far away to get a good picture.  And then off to the Griffith Park Observatory.  It was fenced off and people were parked on the side of the road. 

And then down still schlocky Hollywood Blvd. to the Sunset Strip and then home.


All in all a very good end of the year.  Happy New Year to you all.

2 comments:

  1. Yes, Steve, spanish architect like me, ha, ha. I´d be happy with a project of a little brick of a little corner of a little church in L.A... You must know Rafael Moneo was my teacher in the subject of "Sthetics and Composition" in the Madrid University. I got a B with him, and he gave me the chance to promote the mark... but I refused.
    You know we were in L.A. three years ago. The Gery works are impressive.

    ReplyDelete
  2. By the way, another spanish in your post: Plácido Domingo at the Opera posters.

    ReplyDelete

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