Week 6 "Firsts"- Venice Beach, The Getty Museum, Fitz & The Tantrums

The week began in sunny California. 

Venice Beach.  Apparently because the water flows from the north, even on the hottest days, its always cold. 63F the day we were there.  We passed by 'Muscle Beach" where there are weightlifting machines on the beach and these Paddle Tennis courts (Especially funny since its an outdoor winter sport here). Its different from the sport I play in Philly.  This one is played on asphalt and uses a tennis ball.  We play on a raised, metal platform and use a hard ball like a racquet ball. They also serve into a different area of the court than we do.  The positions are the same and as far as I could tell the scoring was the same as well. Cool to watch!

Marijuana is legal for medicinal purposes in California, but you can see the signs with green crosses and an outline of a leaf EVERYWHERE! Most also have "the doctor is in" signs and advertise that for 40$ you can see a doctor and get a prescription! lol 

The same day we visited The Getty. It is a gorgeous facility and free (Besides the $15 parking fee lol) After you park, a monorail takes you to an expansive stone building that itself is a piece of art! The views were amazing and the gardens wonderful to walk through.  We didnt even see the inside of the museum because of time restrictions, but I did get a few little things from the Museum Shop (which also is a good way to find out what masterpieces are in the museum).  I would have liked to have seen Vincent van Goghs "Irises". A list of the most popular paintings in the collection can be found here http://laist.com/2013/10/29/most_popular_paintings_getty_online.php#photo-1 

Italian travertine stone with fossils

The bougainvillea is on a rebarb trellis! Very clever and just beautiful! 

My week finished back in Philly and on Friday I went a tasting menu dinner (chief decides the 6 courses) at Ella's http://elaphilly.com/  delicious but not a lot of food.  Then to a concert of a band I never heard of (though I did recognize some of the songs) 

Fitz & The Tantrums played at the Electric Factory on Friday. Super fun concert!  Saturday night I attended a Hoe Down Birthday party for a friend and I can add Square dancing to my list of firsts for the week too!  Its probably been since 4th grade gym class since I attempted Square dancing! lol Notice I said attempted... I wasnt good then and I am not good now! haha  Unfortunately I also lost my Iphone so no pics from the party (License and Credit Card inside the phone case too) =[  #fitzandthetantrums #thegetty #venicebeach #ellasphiladelphia