Los Gallos

Advantages: A World Class City
Disadvantages: Don't try walking, the bus, or light rail

...Los Angeles: Bigger Than Life Let me state it right off at the start: I love Los Angeles. It is a great city to visit or to live in … IF you know how to get around, and how to put up with the eccentricities of the place. Getting Around L.A. Originally, Los Angeles was a much smaller city. Long Beach, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Santa Fe Springs….those were all separate towns a long way from L.A. You reached those towns by riding the old red trolley cars. Sometime in the late 1940's the urban planners who are responsible for this awful sprawling mess made a conscious decision: Los Angeles would be a megalopolis connected by a system of freeways…people living in the megalopolis would, of course, be wealthy and every person would own a car. So, during much of the 1950's the streetcar lines were... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Didn't stay long enough to find out...
Disadvantages: Intimidating for first time visitors.

...it along La Cienega up to West Hollywood, where our Ramada Hotel was waiting for us. One peculiar feature was that all the furniture in the reception was made out of glass, so on your way across to the elevators, you keep whacking your shins on virtually invisible coffee tables. The jet-lag wasted us. At three in the morning we were wide awake. The time warp logistics of losing hours and gaining hours during air travel were always beyond me, and I couldn't get my head round it. Back home, they were all sipping their second cup of coffee of the morning. By midday the next day, we were ready for bed. We emerged into a pastel Los Angeles morning. We were the only people out walking on the streets. The only other people who go by foot in LA are other Europeans and the joggers. It's an incredibly vain city - every other shop is a gym... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Sprawling exciting metropolis with tons to do
Disadvantages: Can get smoggy

...Here are my top 5 tips on Los Angeles 1) Be prepared for mad driving conditions. Driving on the huge 7-lane freeways is a great experience but takes a bit of getting used to. The main thing is to plan where you are going before you set out - the signs clearly show interconnecting roads and destiantions bu8t you don't want to be fiddling with maps as you drive 2) Don't miss Universal Studios. This is great fun theme park for all ages. Very young kids may prefer Disneyland but for anyone else this has more thrills and more interest. The T3 ride - a 3-D combinations of film and actors is fantastic. 3) Hollywood is good fun. Go on a tour of the stars homes which is full of gossip. You may just see lots of gates and driveways but it gives you a feel for the town 4) Catch a movie. You can't do to the city of Hollywood and not see a movie... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful