The DTLA Ground Tour

 Los Angeles, CA

Don't set up your rainbow umbrella cart here

We have a big day planned

This morning we got up and had our coffee.  We have to fuel up for our Downtown LA tour.  Our friend Doug is meeting us at Union Station and then we hit the city.  Later this evening we meet up with his wife and our friend Julie and we go to dinner.  We took the opportunity of possibly having visitors to straighten up the house and I took the opportunity to take some photos to share.

It's important to have good seating for both lounging
and eating / working on your computer

A kitchen is also essential to help keep costs down. 
A TV is also pretty important

We need at least a queen size bed

We also need a washer and dryer.  This place ticks all of the boxes

Taking the bus to Union Station

We started off walking to the bus stop in front of the horrible Target.  The weekend bus schedule is pretty sparse so we had 1 to choose from.  It appears the bus runs every 20 minutes on Saturday but we were seeing every 70 minutes in the app so not sure what was going on there.  Right now the bus is half off due to Covid.  We each had our $1.75 in exact change for the ride.  The plan is to buy transit Tap Cards at Union Station.  When the bus arrived we both dropped our change in the slot and chose a seat.  The ride was easy and the bus was very comfortable.

Riding in style

The reserved seats had different upholstery
which I thought was cool

It wasn't very crowded and the temperature was perfect

We got off the bus and decided to walk the rest of the way to Union Station.  We could have taken another bus but the walk was short enough and it was a nice day (Surprise!  A nice day in LA!)

Cool Public Art in Fletcher Bowron Square

A really cool pedestrian bridge 

A plaque on The Federal Building

More public art and a few tents

A Road Geekery photo

One of our checklist items was to visit Union Station.  It's a beautiful build with Art Deco elements.  It was build in 1939.  The station is a hub for Metro Busses, Metro Rail, Metrolink, and Amtrak.  We got to the station and I started snapping photos.  The goal was to make our way to the Metro area and buy a Tap Card from a vending machine there.  The card costs $2 and then you can add passes and cash value to them.  It makes riding transit easier and more affordable because it stores 2 hour transfers that you don't get if you pay cash.

The building is Art Deco, Mission Revival, and Modern

The Sign says it all

Cool sign at the entrance

Some Art Deco for you

Cool Information booth

Art Deco seating

The ceiling is awesome too

Heading back to Metro Rail

We met Doug, got our tap passes and got on the Purple D Line and headed to our first stop, sushi lunch!

Doug and Donna under the Metro Rail Sign

The Red and Purple Line Map

Stand behind the Yellow Safety Line

Rail carried the same design for the seats as the bus
but the seats weren't padded and the design wasn't cloth

Tips for staying safe on Metro Rail

Lines are now lettered and colored. 
Before they were just identified by color

An art installation at the station

Doug took us to Sugarfish, a laid-back sushi place with great food.  We all got the chefs tasting menu called Trust Me.  The food came in waves so that we could enjoy each dish at its optimal temperature.  Everything was delicious.

I don't take very good photos of food so this will have to do

My photos don't do it justice but oh well

Next we went to a patisserie to window shop.  We didn't get anything but everything looked fantastic.  

I sent this photo to my sister and brother-in-law
and they asked for one of each

Our next stop was The Millennium Biltmore Hotel.  It is a really beautiful historic hotel and they have a hallway with pictures including photos from when the hotel held The Oscars back in their early years.  

The beautiful lobby

Guests on opening day in 1923

Care for a cocktail?

Looking down into the restaurant

Our next stop was The Los Angeles Richard J. Riordan Central Library.  Libraries are fantastic.  Many of them have great rotating exhibits and tons of benefits.  A library card can get you free streaming movies, free e-books, and even free State Parks Passes and Museum Passes.  You should check out what your local library has to offer you!

The art starts at the door

Awesome murals and a really great light fixture

A closeup of the globe light fixture

More art

Who knew that there would ever be an exhibit on
street art in a public library?

Looks like a nice place to read a book

There was a small installment featuring circus images

More images from the Circus exhibit

A tangle of acrobatic women

A totally rad ceiling mural in the library

After the library we walked over to FIDM (The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) to visit their thrift store and small museum.  The museum is currently featuring movie costumes.  It was a great little free museum.  

Doug and I hamming it up

A costume from Cruella

A costume from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

A wider shot

Costumes from Black Widdow

Another costume from Cruella

Our next stop was a coffee shop to help us fuel up again.  We went to Matte Black Coffee.  The coffee was very good and the décor is just the thing for people that want to Instagram their coffees.  

More merch than coffees

Am I Instagram worthy?

Donna showing us how nice it is outside!
Good thing the coffee is cold brew.  

Our next stop was another architecture stop.  An old theater was taken over by an Apple Store.  It is an impressive space and they restored a lot of elements to help preserve the theater.  The Apple Tower Theater opened in 2021.  The theater originally opened in 1927.

The Stained Glass entry is amazing

What you get when an Apple Store and
an old theater have a baby!

Now thirst was starting to kick in so Doug took us to a hip Agave Bar called Las Perlas.  We each had a drink and enjoyed the space.  

Cool lighting

They also had a patio

I made an animation!

Well hello!

Our next stop was right across the street at Cole's.  This place claims to have invented The French Dip.  It was a cool old bar and they made a great Old Fashion.  

More stained glass

A delicious Old Fashion

Old lights hanging from the ceiling

Looking towards the bar

After taking a Lyft back to the Airbnb and feeding and walking Francis, Julie picked us up and took us to The Arts District.  We had reservations at Bestia.  It was a great place and it was great to catch up with Doug and Julie.  

An artsy unhelpful shot of the menu

The Bar at Bestia

After dinner we explored The Arts District a bit and then it was time to head back.  Doug and Julie dropped us off at our Airbnb but we agreed to meet again before we leave LA.  When we got back we greeted Francis and started watching the latest season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Good and Evil meet in The Arts District

The state of our world right now

We got a slice of pie to bring home for later

If you want to read about our chill day yesterday look no further, it's here.