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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 19 2008, 1:35 PM EDT (current) | jimglab | 2 photos added |
| Jun 19 2008, 1:23 PM EDT | jimglab | 7 words added |
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city guide
by Ruth Handel
July 2008
July 2008
THE CONCIERGE SAYS
Lysander Ramas, the charming concierge at the Viceroy in Santa Monica, urges visitors to step off L.A.’s well-beaten asphalt paths. The Santa Monica Mountains National Park Service (samofund.org) hosts moonlight walks for enjoying mountains, meadows and ocean views. In the summertime, Marina del Rey’s WaterBus offers six boarding stops, including Burton Chace Park (13650 Mindanao Way) for a free evening jazz and classical music series. As the sun sets over an endless array of yachts, you can squint and pretend you’re on the Venetian Grand Canal. Trade carbon offsets by riding a rented bike down the beautiful beach path from the corner of Fiji Way in Venice to the quaint town of Playa del Rey, where you can refuel with an environmentally unsound “epic burger” at local joint the Shack (185 Culver Blvd.).
OTHER POSSIBILITIES
Venice Beach
After strolling along the canal, you can cross over Venice Boulevard to thecorner of Pacific to slurp down some scrumptious pho (Vietnamese noodlesoup) at China Beach (2024 Pacific Ave., Venice, 310-823-4646), or walk a fewblocks beachward down Venice Boulevard to local favorite James Beach (60N. Venice Blvd., 310-823-5396) for sophisticated, white-tablecloth fare. Thenyou might continue to the famed Venice Boardwalk, turn right, and pick up aSweet Italian flavored with fennel and oranges at Jody Maroni’s SausageKingdom (2011 Ocean Front Walk, Venice) and chew your way past Muscle Beach’s incense and T-shirt vendors, or hang out and watch ferocious gamesof paddle tennis or half-court basketball. Walk south a couple more blocksto ogle Frank Gehry’s Venice Beach House (2509 Ocean Front Walk), muchcloser than the Guggenheim Bilbao or even downtown’s Disney Hall. Frontingit all: the sand, the sea, the surfers and the sky.
The California Heritage Museum (2612 Main St., Santa Monica,californiaheritagemuseum.org) offers a marvelous glimpse into California’s history, featuring fine and decorative arts. The interior space of the 1894 home is remodeled to highlight each exhibit, whether showcasing the Hawaiian influence on California living, California pottery, regional watercolors or George Hurrell’s photography.
Stronghold (1625 Abbot Kinney Blvd.) stocks solely American-made merchandise from American heritage brands founded before World War II. The knowledgeable staff will happily advise you on the fine points of stingy brim fedoras and Gold Rush–era fashion. Pick up some Filson jackets or Pendleton blankets, or select rivets for a pair of bespoke Stronghold jeans in a range of super-premium denim. Your hand-cut and hand-sewn jeans come with a mind-boggling lifetime tailoring and repair guarantee.
