Two days in L.A.

Northern Californians have the same opinion of El Lay as Bostonians have of, say, Selma, Alabama. Nonetheless, Uta and I decided to make an expedition down South. Note smog hanging over downtown LA (left) and Century City (right).

Our excuse for the trip was to see The Getty. We were underwhelmed, but nothing could have lived up to the hype surrounding this “new Acropolis.” Immense buildings are covered with travertine marble from the same quarry that was used to build the Roman Coliseum. The place is a small city atop a mini-mountain overlooking L.A. and the Pacific.

Some of the art is wonderful. Other pieces are the sort that appeal to art historians but leave me cold. I liked Louis XIV and this great 1628 painting of a cathedral. There is too much to appreciate on a single visit. We pooped out before touring the photography collections.

The gardens are spectacular.

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It’s hard to imagine better weather.

We drove around Tinseltown in heavy traffic. Darth and friends entertained the crowd’s at Graumann’s Chinese Theater. People watching here is a trip.

This is a car town. The San Diego Freeway was solid cars. We rented a noisy convertible so we could pass as locals.

We stopped by Rodeo Drive on our way back to the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank.

Like all prejudices, our take on Los Angeles softened as we got into it. Friday night we enjoyed one of the best Italian meals we’ve ever had, and that includes a dozen trips to Italy, at Angelini Osteria. Chef Gino Angelini, who hails from just outside Rimini in the Emilia Romagna, has cooked for Pavoratti, Fellini, Mikhail Gorbachov, Pope John Paul II, and now, us.