PETERSEN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM

My latest little trip was to the Petersen Automotive Museum. I actually found out about this place from my sister who went with her son (my nephew) and her grandson. My great nephew loves car so he had a great time. I thought I would go and check this place out for myself. Besides, I love taking photos and I thought these classic beauties would make for some great pictures. I neither wrong or disappointed and highly recommend this little trip.

This exhibit lasts only through November 2, 2008 so if you have an interest in seeing some of the beautiful classics I'll be posting, make sure you plan to go before then.

Anyone familiar who has been in L.A. a good little while will know where this is located when I say it's located in the old Orbach's building on Wilshire and Fairfax.



The cars are absolutely beautiful! They even have some classic motorcyles for the bike fans and a Hot Wheels section including many little hot wheels on display and this life sized one:

i. CUGINI's

I had a really nice birthday. I was taken to dinner on Friday and went to Benihana's. In case you don't know what or where Benihana's is, it's a Japanese chain of restaurants where they cook your meal in front of you. Wonderful food! If you've never been, you've got to go at least once for the experience. But this post is about i. Cugini's so I digress.

Image from www.rentacarinlosangeles.comToday I went to i. Cugini's. It's pronounced eee-koo-gee-nee. I learned about this place on our local jazz station 94.7 The Wave . The have a D.J. there on Sundays for their Sunday champagne brunch with a live jazz band. Man, the food is out of this world and they have a little bit of everything from cute little round waffles to octopus salad and everything in between!

Whether you sit inside where you might find the band just a little loud or whether you sit outside and enjoy the beautiful day and the view of the Santa Monica beach and the pier across the street, the food is marvelous. Even though my sister calls me a waste at a buffet because I fill up too quickly, I managed to sample everything I wanted to (and I did say sample) - waffles, egg potato suffle, onion and bell pepper with chicken sausage, garlic chicken, garlic potatoes, ham, salmon, chilled crab legs, bread. I personally wasn't interested in (even though you might me) the oysters, different pastas, omelette and other dishes they had that I can't even remember.

And yes, I had my fill of champagne, orange juice and coffee which was excellent as well. Should I mention the dessert bar? Yummmmm! Lots of chocolate!

And if you attend for a special event there is someone there to take a picture and place it a really nice paper frame it if you wish. I highly recommend taking a trip to i. Cugini's and expect to spend about $40.00 but I personally think it was well worth it!

And believe it or not, I didn't get any pictures. I was a little embarrassed and didn't want anyone to think I'd never been to a restaurant before. I think I should make a sign for myself that reads "Taking Pictures for My Blog". LOL!

VENICE BEACH

When I visited the Santa Monica Pier I basically went down the street to visit Venice Beach. It is only a hop, skip and a jump east of Santa Monica.

Venice Beach is quite an adventure. If you're going to go I suggest heading out early because it can get quite crowded and finding parking is a zoo. I tried to vist Venice Beach about a month ago and was stuck probably 10 minutes getting down one block. This time I went during the week and parking was wonderful BUT some of the little stores were closed and it didn't offer the same variety or volume of people and things to see.

You'll find the touristy type of things to buy (t-shirts, beach clothing, trinkets, jewelry, sunglasses and some art), entertainers hoping you'll leave a tip or two. You can get a henna tattoo at several places along your walk, maybe watch or join a game of basketball, maybe the muscle builders are still there showing off their pecks in their own little corner. Or maybe you'll rent a bike or take your skates and get a little exercise as well.

Stroll the walkway of entertainment or venture across to the beach and enjoy the ocean view, maybe take a dip after passing the grafitti covered statues before you reach the sand. Venice Beach is definitely not just your average beach.