Christmas time in LA can be quite odd to us Brits, for whom the festive season usually means being bundled up in fleece jackets, with scarves barely exposing the face, chattering teeth and dealing with extremely long check-out queues in all the stores.
But spending the holidays in L.A. is a whole different ball game. Although the temperatures have dropped a little, we are still in the double digits at night and the days are ripe for shorts and tees. Especially at Christmas, this town seems more transient than ever, with many of us flocking to local airports to getaway to distant lands.
I’m writing this from Mexico right now, Ixtapa to be precise. And the weather is awful, which of course, being British, gives me something to complain about! The weather definitely has an impact on people’s mood. Well on the bright side, (pun intended) it makes for taking great moody photos.
For those who have stayed in situ, LA becomes a lot easier to circumnavigate at this time of year; the beach IS actually 20 minutes form Hollywood. You CAN get to downtown in under 15. (Which, by the way, at the wrong time of day during the rest of the year can take 45 minutes to travel 5 miles)
Speaking of downtown, we recently visited the Grammy Museum on Figueroa Street. It’s a must if you have family visiting you or are looking for something interesting to do during the hols. Currently they have a Taylor Swift Experience, which is quite entertaining, a giant Ghetto Blaster greets you on the second floor with a light-up dance floor for you to “Shake it off.” There is also a tribute to the late Donna Summer, where you can sit and watch some of her music videos. On the British side there is Beatles and Stones memorabilia, the songwriters’ hall of fame and an interactive floor where you give all the instruments a good banging!
New Year’s Eve Plans
It’s always a funny one, New Year’s Eve, it seems most people set their expectations too high to have a good time, and end up disappointed. Trying to spend it with the right people and how many? Which location?
Why not spend it at home and invite everyone you know and watch how all the excuses fly in. It’s gray because you don’t have to let anyone down and your true friends will probably be the only ones to show! Make a punch bowl and get some nuts, cheese selection crackers and grapes and voila! a good night is had by all.
Holidays are not holidays without a little lubrication. And with that in mind here is my special holiday punch recipe (adjust accordingly)
1 750ml bottle of rum
1l of ginger beer
3 cups of orange juice
3 cups of lemonade
5 orange slices
20 Maraschino cherries plus throw in some of the juice
Cinnamon spices
Stir lots and serve.
I’ll be back in the chair in the New Year and as always Brits in LA has a plenty of good stuff planned in thecomijng months. In the meantime please enjoy your time off and don’t take the LA weather for granted…. spare a thought for those of us suffering thunderstorms and humid weather (cue the world’s smallest violin) and those freezing their proverbial nuts off, back in Blighty.
See you in the New Year!
Craig
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