Anyway, we welcome you to Los Angeles. I thought I’d provide some tips that may help you enjoy your stay. I am sticking to the areas around Pasadena, assuming most Rose Bowl game visitors would be hanging around and staying in a hotel nearby. But by all means, go to the beach. No one is stopping you.
One: Avoid the 101, 405, and 110 freeways if at all possible. Unless of course, the tourist in you would like to experience Los Angeles traffic first hand. If you fall in that category, check out the 110 around 5 p.m. on a weekday. If you consider sitting parked on the freeway a good time, this is your moment. The 5 isn’t fun either, but it gives you hope of being open, because it is... sometimes. The other three freeways offer you no hope, except at 3 a.m. Oh, and I guess while we’re on the subject, I should mention we don’t really call our freeways, “Highway 101” or “I-405.” We call them “the 101” or “the 405.” It’s what we do.
Most directions to the Rose Bowl will have you take the 210 or 134, and those are the freeways you should try to stick to. The 210 will rarely give you trouble.
Give yourself time to get around town. You ask any Los Angeles resident “how long does it take to get to X place?” No matter where you are, no matter where you are going, their response will usually be, “It’s about 25 minutes with no traffic. Two hours with traffic.” Don’t ever assume traffic will be clear. EVER.
Two: Take the Metro. L.A. is jumping in on this whole “public transportation” fad, which only took a couple hundred years. If you’re staying around Pasadena, the Gold Line will be your line of choice. Want to see Chinatown, Downtown L.A., Pasadena and Little Tokyo in one day without hopping in a car and sitting in traffic? The Gold Line will be your best friend and help you accomplish all of those goals. For $5, you get an all day pass. Some of the Metro stops have places for you to park, some do not. Visit the Metro website for more info.
The Gold Line will take you to Union Station (a cool to explore all by itself), which will allow you to walk around Downtown L.A. without having to take a car, which is as God intended Downtown L.A. to be. If you have the chance, go to http://www.downtownlawalks.com/ and download free podcast walking tours of Downtown L.A. There’s a history tour, an arts and culture tour, a shopping tour, and an international tour. It’s a great way to explore downtown on your own terms.
You can hop on another line at Union Station, the Red Line. The Red Line will take you right to Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue (just called “Hollywood and Highland” ‘round these parts) which is near just about anything you want to be near in Hollywood. You come on the right day, and you might catch a movie premiere happening along Hollywood Boulevard. Or, you can take your photo with a dude dressed as Spiderman. Or Jack Sparrow. Or Elmo, possibly.
Sigh. Hollywood is fantastic.
Three: If you are a Texas fan, avoid the USC campus. It’s not an especially great area of town anyway, (it’s getting better, but still sketchy), but you probably aren’t welcome much there. Especially if you happen to be wearing a Vince Young jersey. In fact, I wouldn’t bring up his name. I’m just trying to save lives here.
Four: We don’t care as much about football as you do. That’s fine that you care so much, but try to keep it under control, OK? No one here cares about Bear Bryant and you might as well know that up front. If you do that Hook Em’ Horn thing all over the place (one of my personal annoyances), you'll just look ridiculous. Please try to remember that.
Five: If you are driving, at least drive the speed limit. It’s not a suggestion here. That’s the slowest you can go in Los Angeles. DON’T drive in the far left lane, unless you plan on going at least 10 MPH above the speed limit, and that still might not be fast enough. I say this not knowing how Alabama drivers get around, but I do know my mom has gotten pulled over in Texas for going 10 MPH over the speed limit on an empty highway at 4 a.m. You would almost NEVER get pulled over for that on an L.A. freeway.
Six: If you’re making a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth, go during the week. The holidays get crazy busy around there, because it’s decorated in a way that will pretty much blow your mind. You’ll risk waiting an hour or more in line for just about every ride when you go on the weekend. Listen and repeat after me: “I will not go to Disneyland on a Saturday. I will not go to Disneyland on a Saturday.”
Seven: I wish I could tell you about each and every one of the awesome restaurants here, but that would take me weeks to put together. Just know that whatever kind of food you want, whatever you want to try, trust me, it’s here. I have a Sri Lankan restaurant next to my office, for crying out loud. Here is a guide to restaurants along the Gold Line extension, which just opened in the last couple of months. If you end up downtown, Phillipe's is a L.A. institution and is a must for French dip sandwiches (at a good price too).
They claim to have invented the French Dip sandwich, actually.
(Check out http://eatingla.blogspot.com/ as a good place to start, where you can find more info on where to eat based on geographic area or type of food)
Eight: As for nightlife, uh, you’re probably asking the wrong girl. Sunset Boulevard is a good place to hop around if you want to stick in Hollywood and you want to hear some good music. Pasadena is a cleaner, classier area (sorry Hollywood. I love you, but it’s true). Hollywood, like downtown, is really getting a lot cleaner. But you do still need to be careful at certain parts of it. I like The Standard, for a cool rooftop view of downtown. Howl at the Moon is a dueling piano bar at Universal CityWalk that is always a good time.
Nine: If you want to attempt the Rose Parade (and you should, it’s fantastic), I suggest getting seats in the grandstands. You can show up right before the parade starts and your seats are waiting for you. You can spend the night on the streets or show up super early (we’re talking 5 a.m.-ish) and try your luck getting spots on the curb. As someone who has only done the latter, I’d say go for the grandstands. And make sure you use a bathroom before the parade. The portable bathrooms are scarce, and you just don’t know when you’ll see one. Keep that in mind.
Ten: Eat at In-N-Out. Look, I’ve been to Sonic and Whataburger. Just go. Get it Animal Style (if you order that you’ll sound like a local) and it comes with grilled onions. You won’t regret it.
I hope this helps.
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