First full day in LA and it was HOT. Low 30s, bright sun, no clouds at all. Not ideal conditions for Battle Goats (psst, that’s foreshadowing).
We jumped on the hop-on, hop-off Big Bus Tours and headed for Santa Monica, where we thought we would grab breakfast before jumping back on the tour.
On the way there, we saw some interesting stuff.
Hollywood Blvd 
G’NR mural on what was supposed to be their fav liquor store 
Beverly Hills City Hall 
Beverly Hills Public Art 
Classic car dealership
Once at the water, we decided to check out Ivy at the Shore, a lovely sport, just across the street from the water.
The place had fantastic decor, staff that wore coordinated apparel, and flowers everywhere.
When the menus got to us, we came to appreciate why it was so very nice and why the women at the next table sounded like rich housewives from Odd Mom Out. This place was well outside of we would normally spend on breakfast, or lunch. Actually, it was more in line with a fancy, special event dinner. Oh well. We ordered fresh squeezed tangerine and grapefruit juices and definitely got our money’s worth with those. The whole experience, and the food, was great. Can’t recommend against the place, but be prepared!
Santa Monica itself was pretty nice and picturesque, definitely the part of LA that seems most livable, although not sure how affordable it is.
We plan to head back to the Pier and the beach another day, so we jumped back on the bus, to complete the route. Some photos of interesting buildings/homes, etc.
The building from Diehard. They actually blew it up, but with fake glass. 
The bus was open topped, which was great for seeing out and for catching the odd breeze, but there was no hiding from the sun.
Those remember our report from Dinosaur Provincial Park will remember that Battle Goat’s need shade. So, Trish headed down to the covered level of the bus (didn’t I mention that they are double-deckers?) to seek shade. However, she discovered that there was no A/C (either off or not avail).
At the transfer point, we decided to deploy our portable sun protection while we waited for the next bus.
On our next bus, we chose the open, upper level again, but conditions required a cool down period at the Beverly Center, a mall with the sweet rapture of air conditioning. Having cooled down, we finished the rest of the loop just fine.
Aston Martin? 
Peterson Auto Museum 
David Geffen Theatre 
These are all solar powered and light-up at dusk 
So far, our overall impression of LA is that with a few exceptions, it is very much focused on normal everyday places where things of importance in the entertainment industry happened to take place. Those things had little to do with the place, more with the people involved. As such, it doesn’t feel as interesting as other places we’ve been.
On the way back to our AirBNB to get ready for dinner, we saw this:
Our neighbourhood isn’t the greatest, so its a testament to how much LA folks love their cars.
Dinner was much more affordable and was just around the block, as is Madame Tussaud’s, our activity for this evening. These things are freakishly real!
On the way back and forth, I grabbed some night shots.
I didn’t get a photo, but the “best” busker of the night was playing electric guitar. His amp was hooked up to his Honda Civic’s battery. The amp as on the passenger seat, with the door open and he was on the roof of the car. Of course, the car was running to keep the battery alive.
With that, I’ll call this done and hit the hay. All caught up!