Brunch, The Broad, Books, and a Black Hat

 Los Angeles, CA

Out on the town

Another Grand Adventure in LA Part 1

Today was another grand adventure in LA curated by our friend Doug.  We met at Union Station.  Doug had arranged for another friend of ours to pick us up and take us to The Arts District for coffee.  Chris found parking quickly and we were at our first stop, Eightfold Coffee.  Donna and I had already filled up on coffee at our Airbnb so we passed on what we were sure was a wonderful cup.  Once everyone who wanted coffee had one, we headed to our next stop a short walk away. 

Eightfold Coffee in The Arts District

We walked to the newly opened Bike Shed Moto Company.  As we were looking over the parking lot of motorcycles, I asked Vern who was with us and is an avid motocycler (that's what the cool kids say right?) if he had seen Long Way Round, Long Way Down, and Long Way Up.  He said yes and we talked about it for a bit and then he mentioned that this very parking lot was where Long Way Up finished. Pretty cool!  Also it turns out this is not only a restaurant, but also a Bar, Tattoo Parlor, Clothing Shop, Barber Shop, and it's also a club that you can join along with it's companion club in London.  We had really nice brunch and a drink there.  Photos tell the story better so here they are.

Admiring the bikes in the parking lot

A really striking mural on the wall 

Their logo

The bar was impressive

Motorcycle related art was on all of the walls

And bikes were throughout the building

The Barbershop

My Boomtown Beer

The attached clothing shop

Mr. Broken Bones himself!

After brunching we walked to The Broad Museum.  The museum was featuring an installation that Doug really enjoyed and he wanted to share it with us.  Unfortunate the installation closed a few days earlier.  Fortunately The Broad had a ton of great art on display.   They also have a great online database of all of their art sorted by artist.  You can look up an artist and see what art they own and what pieces are currently "On Display".  It's really fantastic.  I looked up Keith Haring and they have a few pieces but none are on display currently. 

The outside of The Broad looks like a cheese grater (you can see elements of this inside too)

The Entrance

Some of the paintings filled entire walls (like at LACMA)

They have quite a few works by Lichtenstein

I liked this Lichtenstein made to resemble a Mondrian

Doug fits into this Lichtenstein really nicely

I liked this couple in front of this Kruger.  It wasn't a battle but it kind of looks like one

Under The Table is a Giant Table you can walk under.  I think we saw this or one like it at the DeYoung in San Francisco

Everybody loves Michael Jackson and Bubbles.  This piece was larger than I expected it to be in real life.  Almost life size

The Broad has quite a few Warhols

Another Warhol

This 3D piece was really striking

When taking the stairs down, you can see where they store art that isn't on display

More storage

All of the ways to get to the 3rd floor (Stairs, Escalator, and Glass Elevator) are really cool.  Do them all!

We exited through the gift shop and I saw a hat I wanted.  I debated and then Donna's cooler head prevailed and I bought the hat!

It's Black so it will go with everything

After The Broad Donna and I took the bus back to tend to Francis while Doug and Vern pressed on with the adventure.  We were going to meet up again at 5 this evening.

Went to a Bookstore and Bought Yarn

We ended up at our next rendezvous point a little early so Donna, Doug, Vern, and I went to "The Last Bookstore".  Don't worry, that is just the name of the bookstore.  Amazon hasn't entirely killed brick and mortar bookstores, yet.  It's a great bookstore that is incredibly photogenic.

Cool hip totes and t-shirts so you can let people on the streets know you support independent bookstores

Donna quickly lost me looking for the Science Fiction Section

An art installment that has some foreshadowing of what is to come

They made a really cool arch out of books that people were lining up to put on the Insta

Looking down on rows of books

#notdrseuss

We found the Science Fiction section but the imbedded Yarn Store's pull was too great.

Donna's knitting projects are done so she shopped for yarn to start a new one

Yarn Stores are photogenic too

Donna found this yarn and the lady working at the shop wound it for her.

Drinks and Dinner

At 5pm the bar that Doug was taking us to opened.  We made our way from The Last Bookstore to The Wolves Bar.  It's a beautiful space and they make great craft cocktails.  We ordered our drinks and sat and talked.  Julie joined us in time for a cocktail before we had to head over to our dinner reservation.

The entrance alluded to the coolness that was inside

The Glass Ceiling is really cool

Taking photos from the 2nd floor balcony

I could just reach out far enough to get a top down of Donna

Donna's Millions of Peaches

Me waiting for my drink

Our hard working bartender at work

The silhouette of patrons on the 2nd floor balcony

We wrapped up the evening at Brera Ristorante.  I didn't really take any photos of the food or the space but it was great.  I guess I just got lost in good conversation and good food.  We had a great day with friends exploring this cool city.  I can close with random photos I took during the day.

I need to check and see why CA 110 and turns into an Interstate at some point.

Union Station

Watered down graffiti

The water shortage is real

Street Art

The colors on this building are really cool

The New Sixth St. Viaduct Bridge is going up

More street art

Landscaping out front of the Broad

The escalator at The Broad

I don't know how they deliver mail to this box, it's like 10 feet tall!

Yesterday we went to Claremont.  Read about it here.