4 Days In L.A. - Please review my itinerary, suggestions very welcome

Hi. I can't help much but just had to comment YES, YES, YES to the Farmer's Market - it's fabulous! Also, the Getty Center is amazing.
I think your itinerary sounds great. Hope you have delightful weather.

I can't help much either, but I was curious about this...."Evening: Drive to Getty Center to hike and maybe have dinner at the Center, or pack a picnic."...for two reasons, 1) you're going to hike at night alone?, and 2) I wouldn't count on a picnic in mid-November, weather-wise.

sf7307 - Yes - you're right. I was thinking of late afternoon, early evening (not a real serious hike - just walking around the grounds, a safe distance from the Getty), and maybe eat outdoors if the weather cooperates -- if not, indoors. Do you know what the grounds are like around the Getty? Have you been?

Sorry, I haven't been. I was just concerned because it will be dark somewhat early. But I'm sure the grounds are fine -- they wouldn't be open if they weren't.

ChgoGal, there isn't any hiking right by the Getty. Although it is set up in the hills, once you take the tram to the top, the only place you can go is the museum and the gardens, not big enough for an actual hike. The museum closes at 5:30,and it will be dark by a little after 5:00.

One suggestion if you have time after Santa Monica/Venice is to go to Will Rogers State Park for a short hike. You'd head up to Sunset Blvd. in the Pacific Palisades, then when you leave and head for the Getty, you drive along Sunset Blvd. thru the Palisades and Brentwood, a very pretty area. A left turn onto Sepulveda Blvd. and you are almost to the Getty parking lot. You may not have time for this though.

You might also go to the Griffith Park Observatory if you want to combine hiking, a view, eating and an interesting site.

http://www.griffithobs.org/

What about Griffith Park for hiking? You can hike up to the observatory for great views of the L.A. basin. www.lacity.org/rap/dos/parks/griffithpk/hiking.htm

I have been to the Getty Center, but I don't know of hiking trails there. A walk around the gardens and grounds would be nice, but not what I would call a "hike".

Osteria Mozza is a single-friendly dining place. You can just pull up a stool at the mozzarella bar. www.mozza-la.com. Sushi bars are good for this purpose as well.

Neighborhoody breakfast places - Uncle Bill's in Manhattan Beach, Good Stuff or Martha's in Hermosa Beach. Both cities are close to LAX.

Thanks for all the great suggestions and information! I think I was combining the info I had for GRiffith Park with the Getty - and thought they both had walking/hiking opportunities.

Please keep your reccomendations coming - especially for restaurants and theater!

lvk- thanks for the Osteria Mozza recco, and the b'fast places. They look really good.

Getty Restaurant doesn't serve dinner on Fridays, but it's a great spot for lunch. The garden cafe might be open into the evening, I'm not sure. It's very close to the Geffen, though, if you want to try an early dinner on Saturday. It would probably take you 10/12 mins to drive to the Geffen and park.

"Evening play at the Geffen." Just curious, "Equivocation" or "Louis Prima and Keely Smith"? We have tix for the first and loved-loved-loved "LP and KS."

Although farther from your hotel, I like the hikes in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Solstice Canyon is probably my favorite "quick getaway" for a few hours, but Paramount Ranch is fun. I also like the Observatory area in Griffith Park.

http://www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/maps.htm
http://www.guidespot.com/guides/best_hiking_trails_in

The land surrounding the Getty Center is privately owned.

A friendly, neighborhood-type place for dinner in Beverly Hills is Da Pasquale, about three blocks from Rodeo Drive.

http://www.dapasqualecaffe.com/

Thank you, all! Wonderful information. Making notes of it all!
Jean - I have a ticket for "Equivocation." Will be my first time at the Geffen and very much looking forward to it.

Runyon is a fun hike - you will be hiking with a lot of people and dogs - parking is on the street.
An easier place to navigate might be Franklin Canyon Park. Since you are staying near Beverly Hills, take Beverly Dr. to Franklin Canyon Dr. Abundant parking and a pleasant walk that feels very country - not LA-ish. http://www.lamountains.com/parks.asp?parkid=14
Also you might like Clementine's for breakfast, a small neighborhood place, in Century City - on your way to the airport. Lunch at Joan's on Third (Beverly Hills), Dinner at Misto (Santa Monica).

Instead of driving from Santa Monica to Venice you may consider walking. It is about 3 miles and would be great for people watching. As an alternative you could rent a bike and cover even more ground in either direction. Have fun!

ChgoGal, we really like the Geffen and finally bought season tickets this year. If the weather's mild, arrive early and enjoy a drink on the pretty "old California" terrace.

I can second elnap29's suggestion of Clementine's. I had lunch there today! There's a small parking lot behind building (enter from Santa Monica Blvd.) and some metered street parking nearby. Don't park in front of the neighboring houses, though, or you'll get a ticket.

Another place for breakfast that is more or less on your way to the airport is John O'Groats at 10516 W. Pico Blvd., a couple of blocks west of Beverly Glen Blvd. Lots of street parking, but very busy on weekends.

Thank you all. (And I thought I might have trouble planning my LA trip!)

Barblab - I'm glad to hear the walk to Venice is do-able (as long as weather isn't nasty.) That sounds great.

Jean -- Will definately get to the Geffen early and have a glass of wine - sounds wonderful.

Anyone have suggestions for long-form improv? (I'm not a sketch comedy fan). I'm thinking of IO West, but any locals have suggestions?

two suggestions ...

Venice Beach should be on a Saturday or Sunday if you want the full effect -- meaning all the vendors; street entertainers; musicians; roller bladers and fun people-watching. It will be comparitively quiet on a Friday.

Breakfast quite near your hotel should be at Hugo's on Santa Monica Blvd. in W. Hollywood. Great breakfasts -- and great celeb spotting

Not near your hotel, but worth the drive, is breakfast at Gladstone's in Pacific Palisades. The breakfasts (and coffee -- served with little containers of chocolate chips and chocolate mousse) are excellent--but the view is even better. Overlooking the ocean, a few times I've been able to watch dolphins swimming by. It's a beautiful beach to go for a long walk to walk off that breakfast.

Songdoc,
Thanks for the reccos! Getting close to travel-time!
Many thanks to all for the information!

I second a meal at Fritto Misto (I think elnap29 was referring to Fritto Misto) in Santa Monica, but I would suggest their lunch specials instead of dinner. No view to speak of, but the food is great.

Everyone's pretty much suggested all my favorite breakfast and hiking places, so nothing to add there.

Have a great trip!

Thanks to all who replied! Had a wonderful time in LA. The Elan Hotel on Beverly was probably the nicest hotel experience I've ever had. Hiking at Coldwater Canyon park was WONDERFUL, and visiting the Getty made for a lovely afternoon. The Geffen was a nice theater with a lovely staff and courtyard for coffee/drinks -- but I thought the play, "Equivocation," was a little too emotionally-distant and muddled. Will definitely go back the next time I'm in LA, though!

ChgoGal, we saw "Equivocation" last night. Not my cup of tea, and I got very fidget-y in the second act. I did like the scene-shifting between reality and acting, though. Interestingly, the play received very good advance reviews and positive "ink," but the previous play in the season series (which we enjoyed more) was panned. I guess I have no taste.

I'm glad you had a great time. I was out of town last weekend, but I heard the weather was lovely.

Jean - thanks for your review. I agree -- I liked the shifts between reality and acting, too. Well... gotta love live theater. You never know how it's gonna hit ya', right?

Had lovely weather!!! If only Chicago had more of that sun!

I wasnt impressed with the Getty Center at all. Too far from the city for a good view. The garden was too small and not much there; check out the Bronx Botanical Garden. The photo collection was ok but too small. It's free so dont expect much.

BTW, I think Universal Studios Orlando is a better choice than in LA.

The Getty Center is a unique place, but it is not an encyclopedic art museum and its exhibition space is quite small. It has a garden/landscaping but not a botanical garden (no plant research, etc.).

If you're only going to the Getty Center for the view, you'd better pick an exceptionally clear day. If you want a view of primarily downtown L.A. (as opposed to the entire L.A. basin seen from the Getty), you should go to the Observatory instead. If you want to visit a botanical garden in L.A., go to the L.A. County Arboretum or the gardens at the Huntington Library.

http://www.arboretum.org/index.php/

http://www.huntington.org/default.aspx

If you want to see a lot of art in one place in L.A., go to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art which has more than five times the exhibit space of the Getty Center.

Well different strokes for different folks. POMAH loved the Grove, what can I say!

I can take or leave "Nordstrom on the hill" I guess for me one trip was enough (the collections are a bit specialized).

RE: Universal Studios LA versus Orlando: Well, if you want to see an actual, historically-notable, working motion picture and TV studio where many famous films were actually shot-- as opposed to a movie- and TV-themed theme park with a small TV studio added as an afterthought--, you'll want to go to Universal Studios Hollywood.

Since just about every them park in Orlando is based on an original California park, one comes up against this all the time. Me? I'll take the originals and, after I'm done, I'll have a much more interesting and scenically-breathtaking area to explore. And you'll be hard-pressed to find equivalents of Temecula or the Santa Ynez Valley around Orlando...!