- Walt Disney Concert Hall
I’m interrupting my stories about Scotland to celebrate my 600th post by doing a little catch up on what’s going on in my life at this moment.
Today I’m in downtown L.A. I’m here to attend BlogWorld Social Media Business Summit & New Media Expo (#BWELA)! I’m really excited about the avalanche of workshops that I will encounter over the next 3 days and can’t wait to get started sorting out which ones I’ll attend in person and which I’ll listen to after the conference.
BUT, before I dive into the conference I wanted to share a little of what inspired me today. You see, not so very long ago I lived in a suburb of L.A. In fact I lived just about 40 miles north of here for 18 years. And while we didn’t come into the “city” frequently, we did have a chance to enjoy the benefits occasionally. I’m not really a city girl, I’m fairly certain that I wouldn’t want to live here, but I love visiting. Something about the soaring skyline and bustling traffic energizes me. I get the feeling that important things are happening here. Deals are being brokered, historic decisions are being made and ideas emerge here that are changing the world.
These are just a few of the things that inspire me about L.A.:
- Driving past the iconic Capitol Records building
- Passing billboards about new TV shows and movies (do you see that in your town?)
- Enjoying dinner outdoors in November
- Landing on radio stations in 7 or 8 different languages
- The city skyline – it’s breathtaking
- Exit signs for Little Armenia, and Historic Filipinotown
- Realizing that the Pacific Ocean is just minutes away.
- Appreciating all the sculptures and great architecture in downtown
- Remembering that they have an “all news-all the time” radio station (AM1070). I miss that.
- Celebrating the fact that the L.A. Philharmonic plays regularly at two awesome venues – The Walt Disney Concert Hall (see below) and the Hollywood Bowl (one of my absolute favorites). I miss that too.
So here’s how my day went in this inspiring city…
I drove from the Burbank airport this morning and met my daughter and son-in-law for breakfast (which I don’t get to do nearly as often as I’d like). Amy and Andrew are a couple of inspiring people too, but that story will have to wait for another time. I enjoyed a few hours with them, then headed down to the hotel where I’ll be staying for the duration of the conference.
On the way there, I passed the AMAZING, Frank Gehry designed, Walt Disney Concert Hall just a few blocks from the hotel. After checking in, it was such a gorgeous day that I decided to walk there. If you’ve never seen it in person, you really should make a point to go. I would love to take a tour and would especially love to attend a performance there. I understand that the acoustics in the auditorium are nearly perfect. Another fun tidbit is that there’s a small theater and gallery space in one corner of the Hall, called REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater). I used to work at CalArts (California Institute of the Arts) when REDCAT was being built and the staff and student body were anxiously awaiting it’s completion, so I have a bit of a vested interest in the place.
Anyway, here are a few photos of this awe inspiring complex.
The amazing thing is not so much imagining the building, but actually making it come to life with all those curves and waves. It’s spectacular!
While there I stopped in the gift shop because these places are just dripping with culture and creativity. I saw this great T-shirt and a bunch of other inspirational items, but it wasn’t really a shopping day for me, and I can’t really afford a $120 scarf no matter how beautiful it is, so I had to pass on all but a couple of little things that I picked up for Christmas gifts.
After dinner, I had a chance to go out and play a little with my camera and here’s a fun shot.
So now, it’s off to bed to rest up for 3 days of inspiration and information to come.
Have you ever been to Los Angeles? If not, what do you find inspiring about your own town?
Hope to see you soon!
Unexpected Wonder 
Mim, you live near some amazing places as well. So much history around you. I LOVE Washington DC and would love to live closer so I could go more often. I’ve never been to New York City, but hope to go someday soon. I’ve heard that it’s much different than Los Angeles, but they both have that great “big city” vibe. I grew up in Ohio, so I’m familiar with your area and love it. Someday when you have a chance check out the West. It’s really very different and wide open and would be a fun adventure.
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I have never been west of Minneapolis and so I will have to take your word on the wonderful-ness of the west coast. I love where I live in PA because I am about an hour from Philadelphia and all the history it has to offer, 2.5 hours from Washington which offers history and art in mostly free venues, and 3 hours from NYC which offers everything. I have been to a few other cities including Chicago (which I thoroughly enjoy) but no city compares to New York City. I have been itching to visit again and think a day trip with my youngest may be in order soon.
Enjoy your conference!
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