I am back home after spending half the afternoon and most of the evening in downtown LA. I had lots of fun on my mini-adventure. Ray and I parked our car at the church parking lot in Hollywood, then walked the half a mile down to the subway station at Hollywood and Highland. We passed all the folks on spring break with their kids at Graumon’s Chinese Theater on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Spiderman, Jack Sparrow, Batman and Robin, Chewbacca, and The Scream are only a few of the costumed characters we saw today, all posing for pictures with tourists. We went down into the subway station and headed for the train that would take us downtown. We usually drive, but thought that the traffic might make that more difficult today. Besides, it was fun to get out of our usual routine.
I am glad to report that on the subway, the young men were very polite about offering their seats to any women – young or old. I saw on three different occasions a young man stand up and give his seat to a female who was standing nearby. This made me happy to see since Sarah at nine months pregnant told me that she had been at the DMV, and not one person, male or female, offered her a seat. So, at least on the subway good manners are prevailing.
Ray and I walked around the new downtown park for a while, which is near City Hall since we were meeting our daughter, Rachael, for dinner before going to Disney Hall for a “Learning about Music” class they were offering. The park was dedicated about a year ago and is nicely landscaped and very inviting. There were signs that read, “This park is for everyone,” and there were bright pink chairs and tables available for sitting, plus large expanses of grass all around. People were indeed taking advantage of the “green space,” particularly since it was such a pretty day. It wasn’t crowded, but it was definitely well used, which is clearly the intent of the city of Los Angeles. So, that was good.
Ray and I met Rachael at 5:15 and headed off to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. I had the Gorgonzola and Pear pizza with salad greens on top and I would recommend that dish any and every time you have a chance to try it. I may try recreating that recipe at home, it was that good. That is, if you like blue cheese, which I do. Otherwise, don’t bother. The Gorgonzola is what makes the difference.
Off we went to Disney Hall for a 7:30 lecture on “Learning about Classical Music.” Alan Chapman, music professor and KPCC radio host, was the instructor and he presented his 90-minute program to about 500 people. He gave a broad overview of music history and then spoke more specifically about Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor. He is an excellent speaker – he often provides the hour-long program before any of the LA Phil concerts we attend – and he brings such a depth of knowledge to the piece, time period and composer that the information deepens the whole listening experience. Tonight was no exception.
So, now we are back home and it’s time for bed. We had a lovely day. It is spring break here so most of my students are off on trips. That made this afternoon possible. Once again, my experience related to the LA Phil and Disney Hall was a positive one. I feel lucky that our city has this wonderful philharmonic and beautiful concert hall. Both are the best of the best and it is always a thrill to experience that level of excellence. I am also happy about the new park that is near the concert hall. All in all, downtown LA is getting prettier and more inviting. With the opening of the Broad Modern Art Museum right next door to Disney Hall in 2014, the whole area should take on an even more cosmopolitan feel, certainly fitting for a city like Los Angeles.
So, today was a downtown day. Tomorrow we are going back for Part II of the program. I suppose we’ll be old hands at the subway by tomorrow. And we’ll learn even more about music – tomorrow we’ll cover the Modern period. It should be interesting.
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