Random L.A. Moment-Downtown

The day I saw the Batmobile, I picked up my friend to go to lunch. It's hard to get good Mexican food in Folsom (think chain restaurant hell), so whenever I'm in L.A., it's on my to-do list.

L.A. has somewhat gotten with the public transportation thing. For those of you who have never visited, traffic in L.A. is a freaking nightmare. There are only four or five routes from the San Fernando Valley into "the City," and they're nearly always jammed. For example, returning to the Valley from Downtown (and yes, on that map you can find Skid Row), you might want to take the freeway. Well, the stupid 101 freeway goes from three lanes down to one, and good flippin' luck getting into it, 'cause most people won't let you in! Hence, I take the subway from the Valley into Union Station. Cheap, easy, and I don't have to pay the inflated parking fees Downtown.
Like many parts of Los Angeles, Union Station has seen growth, decay, and a facelift. Above is a glass ceiling that I marvel at every time I see it.

Sadly L.A. is on severe water restriction, so the fountains around town have been shut off to conserve water. (I have to laugh when people say "When the drought is over," since L.A. was built in the middle of a desert...) Be that as it may, when the facelift came, local artists were hired to pretty up the area.


A two-block walk from Union Station brings you to Olvera Street. We hit La Golondria restaurant first for a lunch of carnitas. Home made flour tortillas are absolutely the bomb at this place, so ask for them! We were also serenaded by these singers (sorry for the poor videography. Steven Spielberg I am not!)

After, we browsed the shops. Most shops have a "NO PICTURES" sign hanging in the front. But... I'm a rebel and had to take a pic of these items. I'd never seen these in a shop before and would have bought one if I thought I could get it on the plane!
Aerosol Para Todo, meaning, literally, "For Everything." Domination, conquering, money, protection. You know: everything! And it's 100% legitimate! How could you go wrong?!
I didn't see any signs forbidding photography at this shop, so I took a couple pics of their Dia De Los Muertos figures.
I just laughed my ass off at this guy!

All in all, it was a great day, and I came out of it with a number of new ideas to be applied in the Garage of Doom.