Fryman Canyon - My favorite local

hike
If you're looking for a great workout with beautiful
vistas that is a less crowded and overdone hike,
Fryman Canyon in Studio City is an amazing option.
The end of the 3 mile trail drops you in the middle of
a residential neighborhood, so you get a chance to check out the gorgeous
neighborhood.
In fact, George Clooney is known to live in the area,
and you'll walk past the house that was used as the facade in Keeping up with the
Kardashian's.
Be sure to put on your sneakers, bring some water,
and prepare for some good physical exercise. But the
views of the San Fernando Valley and mountains are absolutely worth it - you'll
hardly believe you're still
right in Los Angeles!
Once you've finished your hike, I'd recommend
driving up Laurel Canyon back toward the city and turning right onto Mulholland
Drive. This is a very famous, windy road that stretches about 20 miles
through the Santa Monica mountains. It has wonderful
views and many points where you can pull your car
over to stop, stretch your legs, and take pictures.
Once you drive down Mulholland for some time, you
can choose to take Coldwater Canyon or Beverly Glen back down toward the city they will let you drive right down into Beverly Hills or Westwood
Village, which are fun neighborhoods to wander
around in!

Geffen Contemporary - MOCA

For some reason, Los Angeles has 3 Museum Of
Contemporary Arts in different places. One has its own specialties and designs.
The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA is located just

north of the Japanese American National Museum (JANM). Founded in 1979, MOCA
at the Geffen as
locals call it, is the biggest Contemporary Arts
Museum of the three. It houses larger pieces of art as
well as a collection of cultural and historical importance of Los Angeles.
Art Talks and Lectures are held on Thursday nights at 18:30 and Sunday afternoons
at 15:00. I am usually at the special events when it's free.
What's cool about MOCA are the special events.
They have live DJs during the summer in front of the courtyard and a free tour of the
museum. Exhibitions
touch on historical art of Los Angeles ranging from our troubled past to
contemporary issues.
My favorite time at the Geffen MOCA is for the LEVI Workshops in art of movie
making. I had a chance to
shoot 8mm and super 8mm camera, I didn't even know they still exist! Another
workshop showed
participants in how to make 3D stop motion movies. I
hope they have this workshop every summer!
As part of the LA museums, MOCA participates in an
art walk and free exhibitions along with other
museums. Imagine going on the bus that connects to every museum.

Gelato Bar - Heavenly artisan

gelato
I've traveled to Italy, the mecca of gelato, yet I can
honestly say that some of the best gelato you can find
will be here in Los Angeles. Gelato Bar is one of my favorite coffee shops and my
favorite place to have gelato. It's just simply sublime, I just haven't found a better
tasting chocolate or pistachio artisan gelato anywhere else.
Their gelato is made fresh in small batches every day
and you can taste the freshness and the natural
ingredients used to make it. If you go to Gelato Bar, you'll not only experience their
heavenly gelato but
their coffee is also great; and if I may add, the location
and the cozy feeling of the establishment will make
you want to stay all day with your laptop or with your favorite work of fiction.

It's located in Toluca Lake/Studio City area, on

Tujunga Ave, where you'll find a lot of quaint stores
and restaurants. One of my favorite places in LA!

Genwa Korean BBQ - ...Like a child

in a meat shop
Terraces of neighbouring BBQ restaurants suffuse
Koreatown with ubiquitous ebullience: one
restaurant's meaty redolence melds with next doors
syncopated sugary pop beats. Laughter spreads like
contagions from one table to the next whilst clinking
soju bottles inject a little funk to a food ensemble.
Genwa could therefore be perceived as a potential
pariah. Situated under an apartment block on a quiet part of mid-Wilshire it doesn't
ooze the exhilarations
others up the road do, so when a bambi-eyed
blonde hostess with a dancer's physique parked us at
a corner of the restaurant next to a trio of women
drinking wine and poking their bibimbap with sad chopsticks my heart sank: not the
authentic BBQ
experience I was used to or wanted my visiting friend to experience.
But this restaurant isn't known for its cacophonous
atmosphere, it is known for its food. Quality and
well-seasoned hunks of affordable marinated meat.
That, and its 25 refillable savory pick n' mix
appetizers: Acorn jelly and gelatinous squid to name
tamer concoctions. Bubbling egg souffl and yam
noodles bookmarked the nucleus of hissing Bugolobi and melt-in-the-mouth Prime
Galbi and mini-urns of
purple rice absorbed the homemade miso sauce
dripping out of my badly rolled D.I.Y radish paper
wrap. A final exhale, a sip of ginger tea and the
unbuttoning of my jeans signaled the end of the feast.
Genwa has an extremely good ventilation system, which means although sitting in a
meat sauna, you don't emit bovine aromas that would usually cloud the rest of your
evening.

Getty Center - Museum time!

One of my favorite places to disconnect from the
sometimes-chaotic city life is the Ghetty Center. It's hard to believe that such a
place exists in this city of
angels, but since it does, we have to take advantage of
it!
The Ghetty Center has an endless collection of all types of art; they have amazing
ongoing exhibitions
that are free to the public! I could spend hours walking around the monstrous white
beautiful structure that this museum is: an architectural
marvel.
The museum is surrounded by beautiful gardens, and did I say that it's located on a
mountain? So imagine the breath taking views that you enjoy! You can see the
ocean or even Downtown! This past weekend I
went back to take some family that came from out of
town and they were fascinated with it. We spent a couple of hours just enjoying the
sun, the calmness, the beautiful views, and of course the art.

Griffith Observatory - Amazing

views
Feeling like a rebel without a cause? Then let's
emulate Hollywood legend James Dean and go to the
Griffith Observatory! It is one of my one of my
favorite places in our city of angels. Not just because
of its beautiful structure and location that will leave
you breathless with the impressively gorgeous views,
but also due to its history as one of the most important landmarks in Los Angeles.

Being part of the LA skyline since 1934, the Griffith Observatory is a place you can't
afford not to visit if
you really want to feel and see what this city is all
about. I love to go there day or night; it's beautiful at
any time of the day. I love to see the all the
interesting and cool exhibitions and of course learn more about astronomy and
science.
But it's also a beautiful place just to relax and enjoy
the gorgeous views of the city. You can see
Downtown, the Pacific Ocean, and of course the
Hollywood sign. Also, it's quite a romantic place...so if
you are thinking of going on a date I would most
definitely recommend taking your loved one to the Griffith Observatory.

Griffith Park Old Zoo - LA's hidden

zoo
There's a hidden zoo behind the famous Los Angeles Zoo. I did not find it until
recently. It looks scary, old,
and full of animal ghosts!
The Griffith Park Zoo was built in 1912 and closed in
1966 when the animals were transferred to its
current location. Behind a long hiking trail, this zoo
housed only 15 animals in the beginning. You can see caves, bars, and other
enclosures typical of treatment
of animals in zoos at the turn of the century. The
spookiness of the zoo draws adventurers to explore
all the enclosures. Watch out for ghosts of lions.
One of the best thing about the old Zoo is its hidden
nature. Most people do not know there is another
zoo. The zoo is not well marked and need some directions from locals.
Events at the zoo include the Shakespeare in the Park
during summer times. The Independent Shakespeare
Co. (ISC) performs at the old Zoo during the summer.
This summer is: Twelfth Night and The Taming of the
Shrew
Watch for Ghosts of Shakespeare and Zoo animals

beware!

Guerrilla Tacos - Gourmet tacos

guerrilla style
You do not have to go to a fancy restaurant to get the best tacos in town.
The best gourmet tacos are made guerrilla style by
Chef Wes Avila. On his food truck, he serves his
delicious creations right outside of Blacktop Coffee in
the Art's District and also in front of Cognoscenti Coffee in Culver City.
These tacos are out of this world delicious and are
not necessarily what we know as traditional style
tacos, they are more so his own interpretation and a
new creation of Mexican modern fusion. This truly redefines Mexican food all
together. The spices are
well balanced and all ingredients are carefully and
locally sourced and always fresh. His salsas and chiles
are hand made. The menu changes all the time, so you
never know what kind of delicious surprise will be
waiting for you on the day you go there, unless you check the daily menu posted on
their FB site.
Definitely try the veggie tacos, I had all kinds of
different variations; the one with artichoke was my
favorite so far. If he happens to sell seafood tostadas, then you will be in for a real
treat. There are always
tasty meat choices as well: pork, beef, chicken and
sometimes even lamb, which is my personal favorite.
You can find Guerrilla Tacos 4 times a week at the
Blacktop Coffee location and 1 time per week in
Culver City. Check the website for detailed info on times, days and addresses as
they might change.

Hammer Museum - Lectures at the

Museum
One of the best lecture halls in Los Angeles, the
Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Culture Center
of UCLA, or the Hammer Museum, is a cultural hub in Westwood. Operated by
University of California,
Los Angeles (UCLA), the museum hosts various
cultural talks as well as influential and political art exhibits of the city.
Built in 1990, the Hammer Museum was founded by Armand Hammer, a wealthy oil
CEO who loved art. He donated most of his collection to the permanent
collection at the museum. The museum includes a
collection of Impressionist art as well as Contemporary art.
Programs and free public events such as lectures,
readings, films, and musical performances occur at the
museum's Billy Wilder Theater. Check the museum website for current shows and
lectures. There are summer jazz and music events at the Hammer.
The best exhibit I have attended was the art exhibit
about the African-American experience. The museum
often offer art that has political and humanistic statement.
For those Star Trek fans, Lenard Nimoy gave a talk about his new adventures in art
called Secret Selves where art lovers and science fiction fans got to ask
him questions about his post-acting career. The new
Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto) interviewed the old Mr. Spock.
Museum admission is FREE on Thursdays. Come for free talks and exhibits.
The Museum is open every day, except Mondays, July 4, Thanksgiving, Christmas,
and New Year's Day.
Check the calendar for the latest exhibitions. There
are free tours daily.

Handsome Coffee Roasters - For

coffee lovers!
This is the place for all of you coffee lovers out there, who come to LA.
Handsome Coffee Roasters is a hipster gourmet
coffee place right in the Art's District of LA, in
between industrial buildings, warehouses, fancy lofts and art studios.
The options and choices they offer are little, but
absolutely delicate. They have two choices of coffee
with different roasts, as they describe them C for
"Comfort" and A for "Adventure", and also a choice of Espresso.
The staff is absolutely nice and they are all very
knowledgeable baristas. The place feels open, with
floor to ceiling windows and the interior is sleek and minimalistic with high
communal tables and stools.
While ordering your coffee you can see through a big
window the big roaster and all the machinery in the
back room, which makes this a very authentic experience.
But be aware, this is an absolute purist coffee place. That means, they serve simple
coffee and espresso only, no tea and no fancy aroma coffees with whip
cream etc, also only whole milk, no fancy sweeteners or any sugar.
All in all this is my favorite place to meet with friends,
have business meetings and sip on some delicious coffee.