The Dash bus is only a quarter, but was worth at least a dollar for the ride. It whisked me out of the touristy Hollywood district to West Hollywood where the Schindler house awaited my arrival.
I was the only one visiting that day (I guess it's not on the popular LA circuit) and I got to spend a good deal of time absorbing the house and grounds. Unfortunately, it's not furnished and there's an art installation at the moment that flips through old slides that are projected on the wall. Even after reading the artist's mission, I still didn't quite get it. However, the house was pretty interesting and I could totally see why this is considered one of Schindler's finest buildings.
It's a modest house and is built into the landscape that is surrounded by high-rise apartment buildings and the rather large homes (compounds) in West Hollywood. I never would have found it if there hadn't been a sign leading me down an ambiguous alley to the welcome center. The house was designed in 1922 as a communal studio space where Schindler and his wife lived with another professional couple. At the time, Schindler was working for Frank Lloyd Wright on the Barnsdall (Hollyhock) House, which is also in LA.
I think one of the things that stunned me the most was how Schindler (and Wright for that matter) was totally on the fringe of the architectural movements at the time. This was probably a huge factor in why many of his designs were just too experimental to get a lot of recognition. I mean, seeing a house like this being built in America in the 1920s must have had the neighbors whispering. The contrast of redwood and concrete punctured by windows was really quite stunning. The windows filled the space (that was arguably quite stark) with a warm light that felt almost cozy -- only in LA right? It made the wheels in my head turn and realized that this is quite possibly modern architecture at its best. 
Anyway, I spent almost an hour just walking around the house and taking in the beautiful views and nooks around every corner. I soaked in a little LA sun from the rooftop of the house that was accessed by a set of narrow stairs. I'm so happy that I found the property and had as much time as I wanted to take in its greatness.
I totally dorked out for the rest of the afternoon and walked up and down the streets of West Hollywood gazing at all of the amazing apartments and houses tucked behind giant hedges and walls. I'm glad I was alone, because I'd never get away with this much neighborhood gazing otherwise.
However, my dork-filled afternoon was not yet over. Inspired by Schindler's design for his own house, I felt it was my duty to head over to the Hollyhock house, which was largely supervised (and a number of details completed) by Schindler himself. It's only proper that the Hollyhock house get it's own post, so don't miss out on:
Los Angeles: The Land of Fabulous Buildings (Act One, Scene Three).
Yesterday, I slept in until 10:30am. I probably would have slept longer if Jesse hadn't come in and made sure that I didn't waste away the day in bed. I'm glad he did because there were important things to do, like update Quicken, organize my desk, sort through piles of mail, etc. I know, they sound like trivial tasks, but they are the key to my sanity. Also, I didn't realize how much I missed cooking dinner for the two of us.
There was a giant pork roast in the fridge that I'm pretty sure was calling out to Jesse all morning (he ate bachelor food for 6 days straight and I think his body was ready for a change). I didn't feel like roasting it in the oven as usual, so I set out to do a little research. Mark Bittman came through again with his Hanoi Noodle Soup recipe (with sweet and spicy pork) from How To Cook Everything.
I chopped up the pork and set it to marinade in some soy sauce, garlic, chipotles, and a little shrimp sauce that I had in the fridge from another Asian meal adventure. The pork probably stayed in the fridge for about 3 hours, which made it super tasty and tender. The broth was super easy too -- chicken stock, some onion, garlic, cilantro, a pinch of cloves, a cinnamon stick, and ginger. I cooked the broth for about 30 minutes before throwing in the marinated pork and sliced mushrooms until just cooked (maybe 3 or 4 minutes). We poured the broth over udon noodles and added fresh grated carrots and a boat load of bean sprouts (you can see Jesse's bowl piled up with the mound of veggies).
Seriously, not to toot my own horn (ok maybe a little), but I totally nailed the noodle soup last night. It was spicy, but not too hot, had lots of good flavor and could easily go head to head with a number of dishes that I've had at restaurants. This one's a keeper for sure, not only because it's delicious, but it's super quick!
I still have plenty of pork leftover and am going to attempt an authentic(ish) carnitas recipe tomorrow. I was inspired by breakfast one morning in LA that consisted of roasted pork and sauteed apples in a flour tortilla with jack cheese. Also, it had two eggs over easy on the side. Seriously, throw an egg on it! Even LA knows it's perfect way to start the day.
I arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday evening and Sharon picked me up at the airport. We made dinner (a semi-successful attempt at calzones, which was more Trader Joe's dough's fault rather than our own). After chatting for hours we were both pooped and went to bed.
I woke up Friday morning and planned my attack. While Sharon was at work, I felt that I needed to make the most my day. I had never been to Los Angeles before and knew only one thing about the city: Hollywood. Naturally, I wanted to go there. And I did. And it was a total bummer. I'll be perfectly honest with you, Hollywood Blvd (in the touristy spots) kind of sucks. I spent about 3 minutes in front of Mann's Chinese theater (which actually looks like it could use a good paint job) before deciding that I needed to find another spot to spend the afternoon. The area was swamped with people walking with cameras pointed down at the sidewalk trying to take pictures of their favorite actors' Hollywood stars. It was annoying when they would run right into me with their heads and act like I had done something wrong by having the audacity to stand on Meryl Streep.
Also, I could only take a small dose of the struggling actors/actresses dressed up as characters trying lure unsuspecting tourists to pay for photo rights. An exceptionally short person dressed as Chucky decided that I was his next target and started chopping me with his plastic knife. He followed me around the courtyard of Mann's theater grunting (while fake stabbing me between the shoulder blades) until I finally told him to go away. I was seriously ready to deck him if he didn't knock it off. The photo is a little blurry because I was taking it from quite a distance trying to be covert (I'm thinking my spy skills could use some work).
Afterward, I walked around for another hour, feeling sort of lost and letdown -- up Hollywood and down Sunset Blvd, wondering, "where the hell are all the famous people?" Then I realized that the best parts of the area are located on the side streets and paths where the tourists don't care to traipse.
I was more excited by this fabulous US Post Office than finding the Brittney Spears Star.
I stopped for an emergency M&M's break and took in the beautiful view of the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church on Sunset Blvd.
I ogled the New Deal-era bas relief at Hollywood High. Maybe I'd be a star too if my High School looked like this.
While trying to figure out what to do next, I stumbled on what seemed to be a staging area for all of the actors and actresses who swarm the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I saw a guy putting on his Barney costume, Darth Vader without his helmet, and a half-dressed man who might have been going for the Cheetos Cat look. It was time to get the heck out of there. I hopped on the Dash bus and headed to West Hollywood to my second planned destination, the Rudolph Schindler House.
Stay tuned for Los Angeles: The Land of Fabulous Buildings (Act One, Scene Two)
In my brain that is.
Los Angeles was great. I had a fabulous time, but you'll just have to wait for photos and stories until Wednesday. Why? Because I'm in San Francisco working like a mad woman on a proposal. My travel and work-filled day has left me with the strength to do little more than watch Sex and the City reruns while eating chocolate chip cookies in my hotel room. I have spent more time on a plane and in airports in the last two days than I have in my own bed and it's starting to catch up with me. Seriously, I'm not complaining, but I am pooped. I don't know how Jesse has managed over the past few months.
After a full day at work, I'll finish up at the office tomorrow and fly home in the late evening. I can't wait to fall into my own bed. If you're interested in a glimpse of this past Friday night in Los Angeles, check out my review of Marty and Elayne at the Dresden. It's not so much a review of their music (which arguably isn't very good), but more of a recap of the experience.
More photos and stories to follow once I have had a chance to get a full night's sleep.
I was the only one visiting that day (I guess it's not on the popular LA circuit) and I got to spend a good deal of time absorbing the house and grounds. Unfortunately, it's not furnished and there's an art installation at the moment that flips through old slides that are projected on the wall. Even after reading the artist's mission, I still didn't quite get it. However, the house was pretty interesting and I could totally see why this is considered one of Schindler's finest buildings.
It's a modest house and is built into the landscape that is surrounded by high-rise apartment buildings and the rather large homes (compounds) in West Hollywood. I never would have found it if there hadn't been a sign leading me down an ambiguous alley to the welcome center. The house was designed in 1922 as a communal studio space where Schindler and his wife lived with another professional couple. At the time, Schindler was working for Frank Lloyd Wright on the Barnsdall (Hollyhock) House, which is also in LA.
I think one of the things that stunned me the most was how Schindler (and Wright for that matter) was totally on the fringe of the architectural movements at the time. This was probably a huge factor in why many of his designs were just too experimental to get a lot of recognition. I mean, seeing a house like this being built in America in the 1920s must have had the neighbors whispering. The contrast of redwood and concrete punctured by windows was really quite stunning. The windows filled the space (that was arguably quite stark) with a warm light that felt almost cozy -- only in LA right? It made the wheels in my head turn and realized that this is quite possibly modern architecture at its best. 
Anyway, I spent almost an hour just walking around the house and taking in the beautiful views and nooks around every corner. I soaked in a little LA sun from the rooftop of the house that was accessed by a set of narrow stairs. I'm so happy that I found the property and had as much time as I wanted to take in its greatness.
