Travels

Last night we checked into the Adelaide YHA and then headed over to Central market and had a wander around and then had some Asian food for dinner in one of the food courts in Chinatown. It was very busy for a while and then settled down toi a dull roar.

I had to come to Adelaide for work, so we stayed over the weekend. Today we just had a quiet day - we went around the Adelaide Museum then had a wander in Rundall Mall, before having dinner in Leigh Street.
The Museum isnj't big, but it has some great exhibitions, particularly on Douglas Mawson - who was a vwery famous Australian geologist and Antarctic explorer.
Overall

Well, we're back home. I'm not quite sure what time zone we're on, but it's not Melbourne local time yet. It's quite strange not going to Disneyland or taking the subway to the Met. Fortunately LA was fairly warm, otherwise coming from winter back to a Melbourne summer would be quite a shock.

We've spent the last two days at Disneyland (LA) enjoying the various rides and attractions. So far our top rides are Tower of Terror, Star Tours, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones and splash down. Some of the other rides - like the Toy Story rides were excellent, and the 3D show - It's a bug's life - were excellent.

Unfortunately Monday it rained, however that meant that the number of people in the park was very small, so we were able to easily get around. Today the weather was lovely - a balmy 15+ degrees, so of course the park was busier, but nothing like summer. The longest wait we had was about 20 minutes - and a lot of that was walking the endless line from the gate tot he ride area. It's obvious that in summer the wain=ting must easily get up to an hour or more.

Anyway - we had lots of fun.
Tomorrow we fly home (late evening) so we're going to spend the day having a look around Santa Monica and Venice beach.
We've booked a nice dinner to finish the day off with, and then off to the airport for a 15 hour flight!

Today was very much a chill out day.
we took the bus down town to the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmers_Market_(Los_Angeles) (< ERROR: the link title is too long!). The market has a long history - dating back to 1934, when local farmers used to meet to sell their produce. NOw the area is a big mall - with a lot of expensive shops in one area and a large eating / fresh food / speciality food area beside it.

The expensive area is very beautifully laid out with a lovely garden in the centre and a double decker New Orleans style tram running up and down the shopping centre.

It was a lovely sunny day and we had a great day just wandering around, checking out some of the shops like Barnes and Noble (book shop) and enjoying the variety of food.

LA Farmers Market 1

LA Farmers Market 2

LA Farmers Market 3

For dinner, we lucked out, in that LA food week started today, and we had booked one of the restaurants in the local Santa Monica mall - Ozumo's. Ozumo's is a Japanese fusion style restaurant.

The LA food week is like the New York food week - a 3 course set menu for $34. the surroundings were lovely - as was our meal. If you're around Santa Monica then I definitely recommend them for dinner.

Ozumo

Ozumo - entree

We spent the day at the Getty Centre, which is a fantastic art museum on top of a hill overlooking Los Angeles.
The building itself is a piece of art as is the garden (designed by an artist) and is one of its permanent exhibitions.

The centre has an amazing collection of art which is displayed beautifully. Although the Met is great, I loved the Getty more - it was easier to wrk through the art and understand the development.
It has pieces by famous artists, such as Degas, Monet and van Gogh.
Everything is beautifully displayed and the building and the gardens are lovely to walk around in.
It also has some stunning views across LA.
Finally, it's free entry - which makes it a great deal.

I have to say if you enjoy art and are in LA, then I very strongly suggest a visit to it.