Sorry I was not able to blog our trip to Olvera Street on Saturday. It was great - and we managed to fit in China Town as well.
This is the train we went on from San Fernando/Sylmar to Union Street Station
It was a double decker - well I think there were actually three floors in a way because we had to go upstairs on the way back and there was still another upstairs. Anyway, it was a great train ride, smooth, comfortable and they even had carpets on the floor. When we were leaving Union Street to go back the driver was a real wit and had us all laughing at some of the things he said. Anyway, this is Union Street Station
Can you see the seats?
It felt like I was stepping onto the set of an old movie. I just loved the way the seats were and everything about it had that kind of "Pullman" feeling (does that sound right?) It was sort of 'elegant' and they had a lovely restaurant at the far end which also had a cordoned off area outside and had traditional waiter service - I could have sat there for a lot longer than Chas would have liked.
This was looking down Olvera Street, notice the three guys on the left of the picture - they were singing and strumming guitars when we arrived and when we left they were there too. I had a bit of a spend at some of the stalls and one that fascinated me was this one full of leather footwear.
Every size imaginable
Now one or two of you have commented about my seeming to be eating a lot (you are right) and we stopped and had enchiladas at one of the stands - delicious! And you got serenaded too!
This is the oldest surviving house in LA - and I guess this tree is pretty old too - I just loved how it was twisted and gnarled - so textural.
After spending some considerable time there we went via the Dash to Chinatown. That was good too. Some great Palaza's with loads of stalls and shops. I think I would really need a full day there to do it justice. One of the big supermarkets we went into had Fish Maw on sale (don't know what it is) at $399 per lb. Yep, no full stops in the figure.
That's it bottom left
If you click on the picture to get it to open bigger you will see that all the food is quite expensive to buy - look at these (are they mushrooms?). They are pretty expensive too.
So all in all a busy day. No crafting to show you as today has been so hot I just sat and read with having no computer (Chas, bless him, got it fixed tonight after working on it most of the day). Tonight I met some of Mary's friends, George and BJ so we had a good evening with lots of laughter. Maybe a bit of crafting tomorrow? Anyway, for those who asked - here is the Vagabond - Tim Holtz' die cutting machine
Open
Closed - the suitcase look
Grand Calibre in the background
