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Archive for the ‘Shopping’ Category
Date Night at The Americana
Huge downtown Glendale hot spot with Main Street, U.S.A., atmosphere and trolley from the creators of The Grove. Ninety stores and dining options. Boutiques include a Tiffany & Co. concept store, Kate Spade and Kiehl’s; other draws include Barneys CO-OP and Pacific Theatre cinema. This area is among the more than casual hubbub for Los Angeles tour plans. With such a lively atmosphere it’s hard not to feel that warmth in the air, this also being such a great hang-out place, it’s definitely worth experiencing . $30 a person, Monday – Thursday. Enjoy a three-course meal at one of their amazing restaurants – featuring Trattoria Amici, Frida Mexican Cuisine, Katsuya, The Cheesecake Factory or Granville Café. And watch a movie at Pacific Theatres 18-Plex. Dinner for two + Movies for two + Valet Parking. Let our Concierge Services create the perfect date. Call 818.637.8982 for reservations.
Brand Boulevard and Americana Way, Glendale, 818.637.8900
Rose Bowl Flea Market
The second sunday of every month, the flea market heads to the rose bowl. The Rose Bowl Flea Market is a southern California legend. Up to 20,000 bargain hunters, including celebrities and interior designers, flock to the Rose Bowl Stadium each month to peruse more than 2500 booths full of antiques, vintage clothing, and every imaginable type of merchandise. One of the most famous flea markets in the world. This is always a constant hot spot for Los Angeles tours, a great place to head down to for the hustle bustle of haggling; then move on to something, a bit more relaxing.
Dates and Times:
- Second Sunday of each month
- 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for shopping
- No admission after 3 p.m.
- Open rain or shine
Admission:
- $8 regular admission from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- $10 express admission from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.
- $15 early admission from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m.
- $20 preview VIP admission from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.
- Children under 12 admitted free with an adult
- Free parking
- Service animals only
- Make advance reservations for tour groups to receive VIP bus parking and admission discounts.
Truckit Fest
March 6. Thirty-five food trucks, 200 local designers and artisans, live music, DJ’s and more. 11 am–5 pm. Great food, great music, insta-good time. Something that should be enjoyed during an LA tour. Get some friends and eat up, these days don’t come often. Parking $8–$15. Union Station, downtown, 866.966.9495
Tickets Prices:
General Admission: $5
VIP: $45 (Valet Parking, 10am admission, Private Lounge, Table Service (No Waiting in Lines), $10 food voucher)
Kids 12 and Under: Free
South Bay
In the South Bay, it becomes apparent that L.A. County is utterly spoiled with gorgeous shoreline: Some of the prettiest oceanfront in Southern California is in the picturesque beach towns of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach. Visitors are drawn to the scenery, laid-back attitude and active lifestyle, which includes swimming, sailing and beach volleyball, plus cycling and in-line skating along the beachfront path called the Strand. This is a major “happening area”, you add this to your Los Angeles tour plans, and you won’t be disappointed. Quaint San Pedro, on the south side of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, is Cruise Central. Long Beach is well known for its regal longtime resident: the permanently berthed, historic Queen Mary.
Manhattan Beach
The Manhattan Beach populace seems armed with both discretionary income and a fun-focused life philosophy; stars such as L.A. Laker Luke Walton call this ritzy community home.
Most of the action is downtown, along Manhattan Avenue and Manhattan Beach Boulevard. Popular restaurants include Café Pierre (317 Manhattan Beach Blvd.). Boutiques reflect the intersection of beach lifestyle and luxury tastes. Manhattan Beach Brewing Co. is steps from the sand.
Hermosa Beach
To the south, Manhattan Avenue jogs west and becomes Hermosa Avenue, leading to lively Hermosa Beach. The intersection of Pier and Hermosa avenues is the dining and entertainment epicenter; west of Hermosa Avenue, Pier Avenue becomes Pier Plaza, a pedestrian promenade.
Redondo Beach
In the early 20th century, visitors went to Redondo Beach for its offshore gambling aboard ships reached by water taxis and for dancing in big-band ballrooms. The ambience has changed, yet the city—at the southern end of Santa Monica Bay, below the breathtaking cliffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula—is just as visitor-friendly.
Pasadena
Nestled beneath the San Gabriel Mountains, minutes from downtown L.A. on the Metro Gold Line, Pasadena is both charming and cosmopolitan. The Tournament of Roses and institutions such as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology make it much more than a typical suburb. Idyllic neighborhoods are filled with Craftsman-style homes. Now It’s actually snowing! It’s unbelievable to experience this, this… Fluffy palmable beauty. Never have I experienced something like this before. Take an LA tour, it’ll get you here fast, in style, and comfortably. Not sure the last time it snowed here, in LA. Nearby are Glendale, Arcadia, Eagle Rock and the San Gabriel Valley.
Old Town
It is a pleasure to stroll through the 12-block district known as Old Pasadena, bounded roughly by Walnut and Green streets, Arroyo Parkway and Pasadena Avenue. The district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and many of its charming buildings date to the turn of the 20th century. Today, they house trendy boutiques and eateries; foresighted city planning has integrated parking structures into the old façades. The flamboyantly designed Castle Green apartments (99 S. Raymond Ave.) were built as a grand resort in 1898.
Orange Grove
Some of Pasadena’s most magnificent historic homes line Orange Grove Boulevard just west of Old Pasadena, and the immediate vicinity offers a legacy of great architecture from masters such as Wallace Neff and Frank Lloyd Wright. The meticulously restored Gamble House is the crowning achievement of architects Greene & Greene, leaders in the Arts & Crafts movement for which Pasadena is famous. The spectacular Wrigley mansion is now the Tournament House, the offices for the Tournament of Roses.
Arcadia
Arcadia, east of Pasadena, is best known for historic Santa Anita Park, one of the world’s premier thoroughbred racing venues. Adjacent to the track is Westfield Santa Anita, a shopping center with department stores, boutiques and restaurants. The Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden is known for its free-roaming peafowl. To the north is Sierra Madre, whose cafe- and shop-filled downtown doesn’t have a single stoplight.
Hollywood
Hollywood, the center of the filmindustry, is home to the Academy Awards and is white-hot when it comes to nightlife. The locals are colorful, like the tattooed kids in combat boots and the photo-ready Superman and other costumed characters near Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. A $1 billion, 30-year revitalization is in full swing, and it’s already translated into beautifully restored movie palaces, upscale eateries and boutiques. Hollywood tours should be up your alley as to be provided with a great overall synopsis of what this place is all about. There hasn’t been a more exciting time to visit Hollywood since its last golden age more than a half-century ago. East of Hollywood, Los Feliz, Silver Lake and Echo Park grow more popular with proudly indie restaurants, shops and more.
Hollywood + Highland
The mammoth Hollywood & Highland Center, which is named for its cross streets, is the home of the Kodak Theatre, site of the Academy Awards. You’ll also find boutiques and stores.
Walk of Fame
Sidewalks along the Walk of Fame—on Hollywood Boulevard from La Brea Avenue to Gower Street and on Vine Street between Yucca Street and Sunset Boulevard—are embedded with bronze-and-terrazzo stars.
Griffith Park
Griffith Park, the largest urban park in America, offers miles of hiking and riding trails, among other attractions. The Mount Hollywood trail, one of the park’s most popular for its panoramic city views, begins at Griffith Observatory.
Beverly Hills
Although it’s only five square miles, Beverly Hills looms large in pop culture as a posh and picturesque locale that boasts more mansions than any other area of L.A. County, not to mention the world’s most notorious ZIP code. Rodeo Drive, perhaps the world’s most famous shopping street, offers virtually every label worth its logo. Celebrities such as Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes retreat to their tucked-away gated mansions here. With the amount of stars roaming around, a celebrity la tour would really get you energized for some 91210 roamin’. Bel-Air is known for its sprawling estates, and Century City for business and shopping. Westwood, populated mostly by UCLA students, has a youthful vibe.
Rodeo Drive
With its all-star roster of high-fashion designers, it’s no wonder this retail mecca makes so many well-heeled shoppers swoon.
Wilshire Boulevard
Here reign retail’s grande dames: Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Barneys New York.
Westwood Village
Bordered by the UCLA campus, Westwood Village is rife with historic buildings and cultural offerings—and it very well may be the movie premiere capital of the world.
The Cheese Store
When I think of cheese, well.. I really can’t picture much other than a square block of a, you know, cheese lookin’ thing. So, this little Cheese store is a godsend when adding some variety to my choices. It’s just unmatched. The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills is an essential resource for serious home cooks, as well as L.A.’s most acclaimed restaurants. Owner Norbert Wabnig is one of the nation’s most prominent authorities on cheese, continually scouring the globe for the finest and most intriguing varieties. More than 500 are offered here, along with an outstanding selection of wine, premium olive oils, balsamic vinegars, artisan salami, pâtés, honey—even black truffles and Caspian Sea caviars, such as Golden Imperial Osetra and Sevruga. Gift baskets in all prices are available for holidays or special occasions, and the shop’s wine and cheese tastings are legendary. This is always on people’s list of places to go for a snack during one of their la tours. Wabnig and his knowledgeable staff, alway generous with samples and advice on wine pairings, are accommodating to novices and famous chefs alike.
And if you want to sample the cheeses outside the store, The Beverly Wilshire showcases some of their best selections on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the Blvd. On Thursdays, the Swiss regional speciality Raclette is features and served with charcuterie. Special wine and cheese tastings start at $15/person and begin at 6 p.m.
Local Mixologists Shake Up Gift Baskets at Bar Keeper
If you’ve got a cocktail lover on your holiday shopping list, we just heard about these amazing gift baskets at Silver Lake’s Bar Keeper that put the city’s best bartender’s in your hands.
There have been so many occasions that I have been asked about “gift baskets” on our private Hollywood tours. Bar Keeper has selected some of the city’s premiere mixologists to curate this gift basket series, like The Varnish’s Eric Alperin and Chris Bostick, Rivera’s Julian Cox, La Descarga’s Steve Livigni, Roosevelt’s Library Bar’s Matt Biancaniello, Neve Ice’s Michel Dozois, and more. For these spirited holiday gifts, we love that the twist is that they’re all about LA. 3910 West Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90029-2242
(323) 669-1675 - posted on LAist.com
Fall Festival 2010 is around the corner!
Fall Festival 2010 is around the corner!
Saturday & Sunday, October 16 & 17
Join us for the longest-running and most popular country fair in the city! This 2-day festival will feature an entire lane filled with a petting zoo, an agricultural and educational play area for kids, carnival games, crafts, live music, fall harvest decor and more! Great musical acts will take the stage throughout the weekend, including the Slim Jim Phantom Trio featuring legendary drummer Slim Jim of hit rockabilly band, Stray Cats! This is my favorite time of the year to spend time at the Farmers MArket and showcase it to clients on our private LA Tours. Make sure to bring your cameras – you don’t want to miss our world-famous pie eating contest or our strolling scarecrow and trick roper! All activities are free. check out www.farmersmarketla.com
