LA-LA-Land

Well, sorry for the delay in this entry. It's been a very busy four days.
Wednesday. We landed early morning after a torturous flight. V Australia was very good and the seat back TVs and hard drives are excellent. TV shows, video gamees and movies all at the touch of a button. But when the guy in front reclined his seat five minutes into the flight, I spent 13 hours sitting with six inches between my face and the TV in his seatback. Also trapped my legs. Pia and I were both sore and miserable by halfway.
The customs and immigration people were super-friendly and helpful, though. We cleared the airport in about 45 minutes and it took us about the same to reach our motel. No worries. We spent the rest of the day just exploring the local area and succumbing to jet-lag. Had an awesome dinner at a local Mexican restaraunt. Great value and I forgot how BIG some of the portions are here. The beer came in a 22-ounce glass!!! Funny fact: The drivers in LA are by far the most polite, patient and courteous drivers that I have ever seen anywhere in my life. Thursday. We did the tourist thing. I've always wanted to see the La Brea Tar Pits. Dad told me about them years ago and they are utterly unique. Nowhere else in the whole world has the right blend of geological circumstances led to lakes and pools with naturally-occurring asphalt over them. Of course over the millennia they have trapped and killed millions of animals, from birds to saber-tooth cats (they're not really called saber-toothed tigers, it's a common mistake) to mastodon and mammoth. And the tar preserves the bones beatifully. The lake and pits are still there to observe (and they stink) and there is an amazing museum there.
After thet we walked up to Hollywood and strolled down the Walk of Fame, treading on stars and people-watching. They don't call it 'HollyWierd' for nothing. Whilst there, we saw the Kodak Theater where the Oscars are held and Grauman's Chinese Theater with all of the cement autographs and handprints and footprints in the huge flagstone courtyard out front. We stood in the footsteps of entertainment giants. I saw Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford and Steve McQueen there, some of my favorites. We also took a look at the famous Hollywood sign, which overlooks Hollywood from the hills of Griffith Park.
Funny fact: We ran into two other Australian couples and an American preacher who spent a couple of years in Adelaide. Also, as we were walking through the Downtown today, we saw some streets closed and traffic changed, while a scene for a movie was being filmed. There were service trucks and vans and power cables everywhere.
Friday. This was a fairly crappy day for us I'm afraid. We had a promising lead on a good van, and we were on our way to see it when the owner called and said that he'd changed his mind and wouldn't sell it. We were very let down. After this we bagan walking from car yard to car yard in what turned out to be a 10-mile wild goose chase on foot through the outer suburbs. We eventually caught a bus back and were a bit sunburned and felt a bit nauseous from it. We've discovered that our budget is just too low for a car yard sale. Period. And it's even a bit too low for a private sale for a vehicle that's registered and in good enough condition for what we plan.
We felt better later in the evening and watched a movie on TV before going to bed.
Funny fact: We walked over a bridge crossing the famous LA River Aquaduct, which has featured in car chases in movies such as Grease, Gumball Rally, Gone in 60 Seconds, Terminator 2 and many more.
Saturday. Much better today. Have spoken to a guy with a Ford Aerostar van for sale. He and I have agreed to meet nearby tomorrow morning for a test drive. It sounds promising. It is a bit smaller than the Chevy vans I was looking at but it's a V6 and I'd probably be glad every time I filled the tank.
We have been realizing the potential of LA's excellent (and cheap) public transport system. Today, we went through Downtown and out to Santa Monica, then up into the Santa Monica hills to visit the Getty Center. It sits alone on a hilltop with commanding views of all of LA. It is a collection of modernist buildings, about the size of a university campus, all linked by acres of couryards with fountains, walkways, balconys that could seat a hundred and beautiful gardens. And Everything is made of white marble. Every wall and paving stone. The carpark and bus stop are about a kilometer away at the bottom of the hill and you get up to the Center by riding on a monorail that looks like something from a 1960's James Bond film. It is one of the most idyllic and beautiful places I've ever seen (and I think it's fair to say I've been around). We spent all day there. We saw a photographic exhibition and a huge collection of sculptures and paintings, many by old masters. I was surprised to see very little roped off, so you could get within an inch of an original Rembrandt. It's humbling, in a day to study, close-up original paintings and sculptures by Munch, Pisarro, Degas, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Rembrandt, Donatello and an entire exhibition of Leonardo Da Vinci. It was awesome.
Funny Fact: It's funny the 'accidental sightseeing' you can do. In our travels today, we passed through parts of Beverly Hills and Bel-Air. We saw squillion-dollar mansions, Rodeo Drive and some of Santa Monica. Also, we saw the city park featured in the film, Volcano.

Pia at Getty Centre

Mark at Getty Centre

Getty Centre Garden (this doesn't do it justice)

Getty Centre (not all of it I might add)

Aussie Couple we met in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre

'Hollywood' Sign - 'nuff said!

La Brea Tar Lake - Mammoth models to scale

Colombian Mammoth Skeleton

5pm Australian Time - Sunset at 37,000 feet