Blogs from Downtown, Los Angeles, California, United States, North America

For those of you counting, the city of Los Angeles covers 503 square miles and Los Angeles County is 4,752 square miles big. See? HUGE. It’s the second most populous city in the US – a little less than half that of New York City. The map just totally blows me away! In addition, LA has 75 miles of coastline. Almost 4 million people. About 36% of residents were born outside of our country. When I was working, Los Angeles was a nightmare. I even shared an apartment and a car lease with the President of the company, because one of us was in LA so often. And it seems like, no matter where you are, everything is an hour away!! So, you New Yorkers complain about having to go from Central Park West to Chelsea?? ... read more

Though its name might suggest otherwise, the French dip sandwich was invented in Los Angeles, California. The sandwich is layered with decadent slices of beef on a French roll and then doused in roasting pan juices (a French technique known as “au jus”). The exact restaurant at which the French dip was created has long been subject of debate. Local favorites Philippe’s and Cole’s both lay claim to the sandwich, but experts believe that Philippe’s may have the edge. The restaurant first opened its doors in 1908 and has served Angelenos the iconic sandwich for more than a century.Two Los Angeles restaurants have claimed to be the birthplace of the French dip sandwich: Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet/url... read more

As coronavirus spreads across the U.S., Americans in some of the country's hardest-hit regions have stepped up to foster and adopt animals, keeping them out of shelters. NBC News contacted shelters and animal advocacy organizations with facilities in California, Michigan, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Texas, Washington, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, and North Carolina. Every single organization said it was overwhelmed by the outpouring of community support that got animals out of shelters and into loving foster and adoptive homes.Humane Society of the United States President and CEO Kitty Block said that the organization has worked with its 400 shelter partners to spread the word about the need to clear shelters by placing pets with foster and adoptive homes. "The call has been answered," Block said. Matt Bershadker, president ... read more

Arrived in Los Angeles today! We left our NYC hotel at around 8:30am and headed to the subway. My only complaint about the subway is that there aren’t any elevators, which would totally be fine except that it was extremely difficult to get our now very heavy suitcases down the very narrow and steep stairs. But we made it, and spent the next hour on two trains to get to JFK. Check in and bag drop were super easy and quick, and we had about an hour to kill around the airport until our flight. We were the last boarding group to be called, and even then the line was ridiculously long, so we decided to wait until it was shorter and be the last people on the plane, which is a very different experience to ... read more

It is getting to be time to hit the road again, this time Jennifer and I are on our way to Texas to visit her brother and do some snooping around in Dallas-Ft. Worth Texas. As was the case with the previous train trip we will be riding on Amtrak. However, we are not going to be going to on the Coast Starlight on this journey. We will be taking a more southern route this time as we are heading to Texas. I have included the maps on this blog as well as a picture of the map. Another difference this time is that instead of Jennifer and I sharing one compartment we are going to be taking two compartments of the roomette style. We did this for two reasons: 1. It allows us a little ... read more