Kontan.

Just sit right back and you’ll read a tale, a tale of a beautiful trip…that started from this humid hot place, aboard a tiny ship. The mate was a mighty handsome man with his lady by his side, exploring the land of glitz and glow, the joy you’ll never know…

I spent Saturday in LA exploring the city on a full day tour. If you have to go somewhere like LA and you have limited time, the grand tour is the way to go. You get a taste of everything and can use it for future plans. I had to reserve a spot on the tour, which was not a problem. The concierge will take care of anything if you just ask. He called in the reservation and told me to be back no later than 9. No problem, and no other instructions. So I’m there a little before 9 AM along with 15 or so of my closest non-English speaking friends. We’re standing at the door waiting for our bus and someone decides to light up. I take a few steps back and hear the sound of English! Woohoo! Granted it is with an Aussie accent, but it is English. She wasn’t too thrilled about the smoke either, calling it disgusting for those who are not used to it. We strike up a conversation about her plight. Her and her husband were on their “BIG” trip to tour the western US only they had somehow managed not to connect with their tour. In our chat I discovered her and her husband were retired teachers…no wonder the conversation was so easy. Teachers have a way of finding each other no matter where they happen to be. We’re like magnets, really! As they get ready to move on I notice that others have a slip of paper in their hand so I go to the concierge to ask if I am supposed to have something for this tour. It is a different guy this time and he said that it was past time for the tour to leave. I told him I was early and had been there the whole time, no bus. He makes a call and finds out it is on the way and is quickly completing the sheet that I had NO idea I was supposed to have when the tour bus arrives. I go out and just as I get to the bus the driver closes the door. I knock but he doesn’t stop. I turn to the concierge who was going back inside and call to him about what had just happen. He and the security guy whistle the driver. Concierge goes to him and does a silent argue back and forth until the driver opens the door. I climb on, standing room only, and am greeted with a head shake by 15 or so of my closest non-English speaking friends. Now this was not in a bad way at all. In broken English the guy I was standing beside said the driver was crazy. Great…thankfully we didn’t have far to go to the tour station. Good thing, because I didn’t speak Italian and the guy beside me didn’t speak English so our efforts at communication were less than successful. At the tour station I go to the counter, a little overwhelmed by the morning, and greet the agent who made everything better. He was very friendly and then felt the need to direct me to a fellow Alabamian in the office…in fact she was from Birmingham which is family home for us. We speak for several minutes when a security guy points out that for someone from Alabama I don’t sound like it, expressing that his friend still hadn’t lost the accent…and OH she hadn’t.

On to the bus the driver gets on and I’m very happy that he speaks perfect non-accented English. Woohoo! Guys, if you haven’t been to LA you really need to understand that English is apparently not the primary language. My tour guide was Mark and he was nothing but straight forward letting people know that the tour would be in English and if they expected anything else they needed to depart now. He cracked several jokes, and really harped on the English deal. Apparently he had complaints from previous tours b/c they expected it to be in their language and English was all he had. Over the course of the day he turned out to be a pretty likeable guy.

As I stated in my T13 about the trip: We did a circle of the city seeing Venice Beach, Marina Del Rey, The Walt Disney opera house, MOCA- Museum of Contemporary Art, Hollywood, The Farmer’s Market and Grove, and Olvera Street. Truly enjoyed this day and now have a good idea of many things I want to see when we return.

Not much else to say really so let me tell you my thoughts of some of the places…

Marina del Rey and the canals were really spectacular. Venice Beach on the otherhand was a surprise. Honestly, it seemed pretty ghetto. Vendors were set up flea market style, not a bad thing, but it just did not strike me as a cool, clean, place to be…especially if it was night time. The best part about that stop was this picture:

Mark said the steel used was from the twin towers…I can only go by his word, but I thought it was cool.

You know, the thing about tours…these guys could tell you anything and you wouldn’t know any different.

Venice beach, not my favorite stop, but cool memorial.

I did enjoy stopping at the LA Farmers market and Grove. So many opportunities to shop, if you are interested, and many opportunities for a great meal and unique shopping. I love the unique.

We also spent a half hour in Hollywood where I was able to witness the arrest of Batman. He kept yelling, asking why he was being cuffed and I’m thinking “b/c you are being a complete and total tush wipe” but hey, that’s just the way I see it. The hand/foot prints in front of Grauman’s were uncovered. Really cool to see, but too crowded to truly appreciate. The people watching was a hoot though.

There isn’t much else to say about the tour. If you have ever been on one you understand that you ride and listen, having only brief stops…unable to fully appreciate everything. It is a great way to get a glimpse of what you might like to see on your next visit. Next time I want to spend time taking in the history aspects, visiting the Avila Adobe, the oldest existing house in LA (built 1818), spending some time in Santa Monica, and doing a few studio tours.

It was a weekend…can’t do everything.