Halloween and L.A. at Great Heights

Our latest date was a mix of splurges and freebies. And it was quintessentially L.A.

The view from the 34th floor of the Bonaventure

Kim and I had planned to spend Halloween night at the Cicada Club from the moment we heard they were throwing a party. We decided to build a long weekend around the event.

For our base, we chose the Biltmore, just up Olive Street from Cicada and the hotel where we spent our honeymoon. We love the Biltmore, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary. If you're looking for a spectacular room, this is not the hotel for you. If you looking for history, for beauty, and, for the lack of a better term, "L.A.-ness," the place to go is the Biltmore.

The Biltmore has hosted prohibition bashes, the Academy Awards,  presidents, and the Beatles. Its been featured in scores of movies and TV shows. In fact, of the three times we've stayed their, there was filming on two visits, the first was for the TV show 24 and this time Pierce Brosnan and Selma Hayek were there filming a movie called How to Make Love Like an Englishman.

We were able to use hotels.com to get a room for $160 a night. Had I acted sooner, I could have gotten the room for $120, but I waited to pull the trigger. Lesson One: be ready to act when you see a deal.

One other quick word on the Biltmore and rates. The second time we went there, we took advantage of their "Now, Then, and Again" package which included an afternoon tea and a walking tour of the hotel offered by the L.A. Conservancy. I mention this because the package is being offered now starting at $200. The Victorian Tea alone is $45 a person. The package is only good for Saturday night stays. Definitely worth considering.

A great place to see the lights is the 34th floor lounge

After Kim finished teaching her last class of the week, we headed to downtown L.A. and checked in. After a quick nap, it was off to the party. Cicada, once again, was awesome. The idea was this was a Halloween party in the 1930s. Most people got the idea and ran with it. Costumes included Charlie Chaplin, an aviator whose date came as the airplane, Cleopatra, a newsie (who held onto his newspapers all night long), Gomez and Morticia (the comic debut in '38 so it was in keeping with the theme), Bonnie and Clyde, and a 30s movie director.

We opted to go Venetian Carnival this year.

A few people didn't quite get the idea, like the greaser, the Star Trek guy (we can let him slide because the band's bass player was dressed in Spock ears and had a Star Fleet emblem on his shirt), and a couple that looked like they came off the set of Mad Men (they got a pass too because they had the look down and were freakin' beautiful). You can see some of the costumes on this video on Vimeo.

I won't go into detail on the party. You can check my earlier post on Cicada to get a feel for the night.

 After sleeping in Friday morning, we headed out to Grand Park to see the altars set up for Dia de los Muertos. There is almost always something going on in Grand Park and that something is always free. During the week, the park offers yoga classes, lunchtime concerts, and, on Tuesdays, a farmers market. Their next major event there is a New Year's Day celebration, but they do keeping adding to the calendar.

After viewing the altars, we made our way to City Hall. The public entrance is on the Main Street. After going through security and getting visitor stickers, we took an express elevator to the 22nd floor and then caught another to the 26th floor, which has portraits of the city's mayors going back decades.

Up one more floor is the main attraction - an observation deck. On this particular day, the air quality was fairly good, allowing us to see almost to the ocean. If you're downtown on a weekday, this is something you need to check out.

After lunch, we headed back to the Biltmore for a swim. The Biltmore's pool was modeled after the luxury ocean liners of the day. There is beautiful tile work depicting mermaids and Neptune.

Our dinner was a bit of splurge, but the setting is one of the most romantic in all of Los Angeles - the revolving cocktail lounge on the 34th floor of the Bonaventure. We arrived about a half hour before sunset and then enjoyed a leisurely meal while watching the sunset and then the lights of the city coming on as night arrived.

My little mermaid

As I said, it was a bit of splurge. A small pizza, fries, and a couple of beers apiece set us back (with tip) nearly $80. But remember, you are paying for the setting and the sights.

So there's two great ways to see the city from great heights - the City Hall observation deck for free and the revolving 34th floor cocktail lounge, which could set you back quite bit depending on what you eat and drink.

Love the tiles and colors of the Biltmore pool

Our long weekend ended on Saturday with a visit to Olvera Street, which was packed for Dia de los Muertos festivities. We came, however, to see the America Tropical mural.

The mural was painted by David Alfaro Siqueiros, described by the people at the mural's interpretive center as being an artist who believed wanted his work to be reflective of the environment where it was created.

He had been commissioned to paint a tropical scene, which everyone thought would a tranquil scene. What Siqueiros painted was a crucified Indian peasant surmounted by an American eagle. It generated outrage and within a couple of years it was given a whitewashing. A few years later another coating of whitewash was applied.

The view from the observation platform.

In 1988, the Getty Conservation Institute and the City of Los Angeles began an effort to revive the mural. It was only just last fall that the mural was seen by the public for the first time since the 1930s. The whitewash has slowly been removed. Lacking color photographs of what the mural looked like, it was not repainted. What you see is Siqueiros' original work.

What it looked like in the 30s

Admission to the mural is free, but the interpretive center hours are limited to 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The interpretive center is in the Sepulveda House, 125 Paseo de La Plaza.

What's Opera, Doc?

Finally, somebody turned off the oven.

Look, I love all the free and low-cost summer events like the outdoor movie screenings, the concerts, and Shakespeare in the park, but oh, holy hell, this summer was hot. After long stretches of triple-digit heat (even L.A. sizzled this summer), I was happy as hell when the temperatures dropped 20 degrees at the start of fall.

With fall, comes pumpkin lattes and a slew of cultural events. This week we’re talking opera, tours, and some arts freebies.

Let’s start with opera.

“But Jim, isn’t that just large women in horned helmets?”

Get one thing straight right now – I don’t go to the opera for horned helmets.

The only horned helmet I've ever done. Oh, and be advised, just like in What's Opera, Doc?, the girl usually dies.

  I go to hear Don Jose sing the flower song, trying to convince the temptress Carmen of his love.

I go to hear Athanael sing to a dying Thais that nothing is true but life and the love of human beings.

I go to see Manon seduce Des Grieux.

I go to see want and desire expressed in all its twisting-knife-in-the-gut agony. I go to see love expressed so beautifully it brings tears to your eyes.

I go because it so beautifully expresses the love and desire I feel for  my wife every waking moment.

Nope, I don’t do horned helmets.

Look, I’m very new to this art form. I’m still trying to figure out my Donizetti from my Rosetti and Verdi (I do know Wagner. I loathe Wagner). Until I met my wife, my only exposure to opera was the classic Bugs Bunny cartoon “What’s Opera, Doc?” I still giggle whenever I hear the Ride of the Valkyries (I’m going to kill the wabbit, I’m going to kill the wabbit).

But after accompanying my wife to a couple of operas I was hooked. I can appreciated great music, regardless of its genre, and a beautiful voice is a beautiful voice.

Piotr Beczala and opera goddess Anna Netrebko in a scene from Manon. Seriously, dude, you're going to say no to that? Yeah, I didn't think so.

If you want to give this art form a look, there’s a couple of ways to go without it costing you an arm and a leg. L.A. Opera offers tickets starting around $20 for the balcony (that’s where my wife and I have our season seats). If that section is sold out, keep calling the box. Sometimes us season holders turn tickets in when we can’t make a performance.

Discounts are hard to come by. There are rush tickets for seniors and students, but rarely for matinees and rarely for some of the more popular productions. I have seen tickets on Goldstar, but that is rare.

Tenor Vittoria Grigolo and soprano Nino Machaidze in the L.A. Opera's production of Romeo and Juliet.

There are two other affordable options if you want to just sample opera. One is the Live in HD series from the Met where operas are shown in movie theaters (each gets two showings, one live and then an encore a few days later). Last time I went, tickets were $22 each, steep for movie showing, but cheap for an opera.

You can also catch operas on TV from time to time with PBS Great Performances. There is a version of Carmen featuring Elina Garanca that is absolutely sizzling.

If you’re going to a performance at the L.A. Opera you have some dining options ranging from low-cost to high-end. If money is an issue (and when is it not, really?), you can picnic on one of the tables in the Music Center plaza and at Grand Park. Another option is the Tina Tacos stand on the plaza.
Sometimes we’ll hit Phillipe’s for French dip sandwiches before heading to the Music Center.

Elina Garanca and Roberto Alagna were perfect as the temptress and the obsessed Don Jose in the Met version of Carmen.

If you got the bucks, then go straight to Pinot. Depending on what you drink, a meal for two will set you back $60, depending on what you drink and whether you have dessert (which we always do, my wife says). If you’re there for a matinee and they have the brunch menu, I can recommend the French toast. So fluffy, it’s like eating little clouds.

If you do go to an opera, squeeze the hand of the one you love during the great aria. After the performance, look them straight in the eye and tell them they are your passion, your obsession. And, to borrow from U2, telling them they are the reason why the opera is in you.

A few quick hits:


What’s that, you say? You want your cultural offerings for free? I can help.

On Sunday, Sept. 29 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. you can see “The Dude” himself, Gustavo Dudamel via a giant screen TV at Grand Park. They are broadcasting the performance of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles from the Disney Hall into the park.

If you go, go early and bring a picnic. Events at Grand Park fill up quick.

And here’s another Disney Hall-related freebie – On Oct. 5, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. the Music Center is presenting “10 Times the Party,” a celebration of the hall’s 10th anniversary. The event will be held in front of the hall and in it’s W.M. Keck Foundation Children’s Amphitheater, 111 South Grand Avenue.

The event includes music, dance, and arts workshops.

Over the next week weeks you’ll be hearing a lot about various tours you can take around L.A., starting with a great architecture tour. For now, let me offer up a suggestion on a fairly cheap, but wonderful set of tours – the L.A. Conservancy’s walking tours. My wife and I have done three or four of these tours, including the one for Union Station, the art deco tour, and the one for the Biltmore (aka the happiest place on Earth). They cost $10 a person for non-members, $5 for members.

For a great, low-cost date, do the Union Station tour and then go over to Olvera Street for taquitos at Cielito Lindo. You can cut down on the parking fee by using the park-and-ride lot at Universal City and taking the Red Line into Union Station (roundtrip for two $6).

On Sept. 28, Smithsonian magazine is sponsoring Free Museum Day. Several L.A. museums are participating, including the Petersen Automotive Museum, the Zimmer Children’s Museum, and the Pasadena Museum of Art. Find out more at the event website.

Another freebie coming up is Art Night in Pasadena on Friday, Oct. 11. Several museums and galleries will be open for free. There will also be a free shuttle service to get around to the different venues. We’ve got this penciled in our calendar. More information can be found at the event website.

A Fashionable Date

My latest date with my wife took us to one my favorite places in Los Angeles, the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) Museum & Galleries, for the seventh annual “The Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design” exhibit.

The exhibit features over 120 costumes from 15 TV shows and TV movies, including "Downton Abbey," the Liberace bio-pic “Behind the Candelabra," "Mr Selfridge," "Game of Thrones," and "House of Cards." These are the actual garments used on the show, giving you a chance to see some of the work that goes into your favorites and to see what size the actors actually are (holy moly, Michael Douglas and Matt Damon are small dudes).

Nick Verreos, star of TV’s “Project Runway” and a FIDM spokesman, calls the FIDM museum "one of the hidden treasures for costume design in the entire United States." Verreos said he has traveled the world and nobody offers a more up close look the clothing than FIDM

Kim poses with Project Runway's Nick Verreos.

Now our date was a bit high-fluting since we were there for the reception and media preview (see the Valley Press Showcase section for Aug. 9 for my story on the exhibit). Our date was filled with gourmet mac and cheese, incredible tacos, desserts,and Bombay Sapphire martinis and Grey Goose screwdrivers. We also got to meet some of the designers, see "histo-tainer" Charles Phoenix (a favorite of ours and a FIDM grad,and Sheriff Lee Baca, who was looking rather glum as his wife shopped in the FIDM store.

You, however, can make the exhibit part of a very inexpensive date (did I mention the exhibit is free?). The exhibit runs through Oct. 19. The museum, located at 919 S. Grand Avenue, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturdays. Parking is available under the FIDM building, entrance on 9th Street, or in surrounding lots. Sorry, I don't know what the parking rates are. If you are relatively hale and hearty, my recommendation is to ditch the car and use the Metro rail system. The museum is about a three block walk from the 7th/ Metro station.

Costumes from Downton Abbey.

There are a couple of cheap places to eat nearby, but my advice is to pack a picnic and eat at Grand Hope Park, which is right outside the museum's doors, or eat at Grand Park. Check the schedule for Grand Park, there is almost always something going on over there, including farmer markets and yoga classes during the week and free movie screenings on Saturdays through the summer. If you're going to an evening event, get there early. That place does fill up.

This and That
 In the mood for some culture on your next date? By all means check out the Independent Shakespeare Co. at the old zoo grounds of Griffith Park. Every Thursday through Friday evening through Sept. 1, the company puts on one of the bard's plays. This August they are doing "Macbeth" and "As You Like it." The shows are free, but they will be soliciting donations. Give as your circumstances allow. We saw this company's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" last summer and it was fantastic. It pains me that we haven't been able to get over there so far this summer.

Do arrive early and definitely pack a picnic. The show we went to filled much of the meadow. If you want to guarantee yourself a spot, you can reserve tickets from Goldstar for a service charge to sit in their area. Last year the Goldstar sitting was off to the right, as your looking at the stage. My advice, go early, explore the old zoo grounds, and settle in for picnic before the show.

There's another Shakespeare company that you might want to check out, "The Young, Classically Trained (and thoroughly broke) Downtown Repertory Company. They are staging Romeo and Juliet on weekends from Aug. 8 through Aug. 31 at the Pico House right across from Union Station and Olivera Street. Their productions are also free, but I suspect they too will be passing around the hat. I haven't seen this company, but I love that they are using the historic Pico House, built around 1870, for their productions. I also like the fact they are convenient to the Metro Red Line.

One of the sources of entertainment information I forgot to mention last week was libraries. My wife and I recently attended a presentation at the L.A. Central Library on Aggie Underwood, the first woman to become city editor of a major newspaper, and a couple of the more curious crimes she covered. We combined that presentation with a cross-town trip to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to see the Stanley Kubrick exhibit. Cost of this entertainment: zip. The lecture was free and we’re LACMA members.

One more thing, keep you eyes open for opportunities. Coming out of the Kubrick exhibit we noticed one of the restaurants by the parking lot was having happy hour. We had a pizza and three beers for about $20, tip included. The restaurant also validated our parking.