Tuesday, January 14, 2014

a life's work

Playing: A Shell Across the Tongue-The Drowners
Reading: A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
A couple of weeks ago, I took a trip out to Watts Towers, which I've been wanting to go to for a long time now. I saw it in a book a few years ago and couldn't get it out of my head since then. A friend of mine, Naomi, and my APUSH teacher also recommended it to me last year. Since both of them generally have good taste, I knew I had to make it there eventually.
The artist, Simon Rodia, spent over 30 years building these towers in his backyard and even let his neighbors climb them for fun. The city of Los Angeles wanted to tear them down at one time, but luckily they're still there. From far away, it looks like a few grey spirals, but up close, it's a colorful mosaic similar to the work of Gaudi. (The major difference is that Rodia did this by himself, while Gaudi had many people to help him.) Even though it's in a dangerous neighborhood, I felt perfectly safe as long as I stayed by the Simon Rodia Art Center. Also, I highly recommend paying for the tour otherwise I don't think you can go through the gates that surround it.
Have I ever told you what a random and eccentric city Los Angeles is? If not, I thought you should see this photo. While I was heading towards Koreatown for lunch, I saw this man patiently sitting there with a large head. It didn't seem like he was waiting for a bus or anything, just sitting there, enjoying life.
Anyways, the main reason for going to Koreatown is to get my favorite fried rice from Mannaria, the Special Shrimp Fried Rice. I love how its topped with Kewpie mayonnaise, katsuobushi and smelt roe. It just has a very interesting creamy/smoky flavor to it and I appreciate the large portions at this restaurant. I also tried Bopioca for the first time and got the Kiwi Green Tea, which was suspiciously neon and artificial. Even though my drink tasted a lot like kiwis, it tasted more like flavored syrup and lacked any sort of tea flavor, so I will not be purchasing from them again in the near future. Hope you have all been doing well! (Do you guys know of any places in Southern California that are worth visiting? I'm starting to run out of ideas and only have five more places on my list of places to go.)

16 comments:

  1. That fried rice looks really really good! :)

    xxDenysia Yu
    http://thatlaitgirl.com

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    1. It's so good! It's definitely the best fried rice I've ever had.

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  2. Watts tower looks interesting... I think is always great to finally explore around our own city... we can learn so much :)

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    1. And it feels like you learn a little bit more of a place you thought you knew so well.

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  3. whoa!! this is FREAKIN' amazing!!! for a second there i really thought this was gaudi this is so crazy cool!! i would love to see that in real life. omgosh i'm like obsessed w/ kewpie mayo. like everything i make at home. i try and sneak in kewpie mayo lol!!

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    1. Kewpie mayo definitely tastes better than most mayos! I can understand the obsession. If you're ever in LA, you should definitely check it out one afternoon.

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  4. Awesome, awesome photos!
    Have you seen The Gamble House in Pasadena? It's beautiful, I would recommend it. I learned about it in college (degree in architecture) and it wasn't until recently that I noticed it's the house that Doc lives in on Back to the Future! Anyway, just a suggestion if you're looking for something different!
    morepom.blogspot.com

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    1. No, but now I want to see it! Thanks for the recommendation. I always appreciate finding out about new places.

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  5. Great photos!! Tower looks awesome..love the architecture!! We have a similar one here in India (Rock Garden)!! LOved this post :)

    Have a wonderful weekend :)
    http://www.myglossyaffair.com/

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    1. Really? If I ever go to India (which I REALLY want to do), I'll have to check it out.

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  6. Oh wow 30 years of lifetime spend on those
    towers! I've never heard of this place/artwork
    before, gotta visit this one soon before they
    are really going to tear it down! Love the
    picture of the random man and the giant
    (scary) head :P
    The Korean fried rice looks GOOD! The
    kiwi tea drink does indeed look very
    artificial.. Xx

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    1. I think they're not going to try to tear it down anymore, since LACMA owns (?) it now. Also, it's a really cool place to stop by at.

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  7. I've heard of this place - it looks incredible. Your rice looks awesome too and it's a shame about the kiwi green tea, I guess they put a lot of artificial flavouring in it.

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    1. I guess so, but it makes sense. Boba places have so many flavors that it would be hard to store every fruit.

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  8. The Watts Towers look crazy amazing!!! Never seen anything like it.

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    1. It's really cool! It's almost like Gaudi's work in Spain.

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