L.A. SUNDAY

Too odd to start at the end? But c'mon, this is just my style ...

My last day trip was in Los Angeles, all by myself in a beautiful summer Sunday. Not that I have too much authority to act as a guide for the city that I knew for no longer than seven days, but I had a good day and so I think it's only fair to share it.

First of all, I gotta say that LA was never my dream destination. I had a certain prejudice. For me, the city came down to Beverly Hills and Hollywood, and they didn´t quite made me interested. I ended up there because my sister was studying at UCLA and, making the long story short, the family planned a trip to "get her back".

On Sunday, everyone boarded back to Brazil but me, who had scheduled my flight to Monday. I rented a car and went to see what was there to do. During June and July, the day starts cloudy, as a resident told me, and around noon the sun appears high and shiny.

My first stop was the Farmers Market, which I had already visited, but I knew I could find gifts that were still missing. It is quite a tourist spot, with a food court with lots of variety of fruit and food stands. At the same place, a shopping center where the best brands surround one of those dancing fountains. Like I said, very tourist like. But pleasant, especially on a sunny afternoon.

The second target was suggested by Andreia, who lived there and loves a flea market. The Fairfax Trading Post happens every Sunday, at the corner of Fairfax and Melrose Avenue, and is one of the best flea markets I've been to (a suuny day and beautiful people scored many points). For $ 2 entry, you will find furniture, records, art, wonderful empanadas, and what charmed me most, tents specializing in old boots separated by style, vintage band shirts, corsets and custom jewelry made from pieces of the beginning of the 20th Century.

Taking advantage of having no one telling me not to cut my hair which was already at my waist line, and also the fact of being in a suitable neighborhood, I left the fair and went looking for a hair salon. I had already done a GPS search and knew that there were at least two at that point of Melrose, I just had to check whether they were  open on a sunday. The first one I saw was charging $ 85 a haircut, and I thought, kind of expensive for a mini-madness. I sympathized for the second one right away, and despite the grumpy clerk, I knew I wanted to cut my hair there even before asking the price.

Luckily, it was much more reasonable. Rudy's Barber Shop is an interestingly decorated, and as I found out only after getting their business card and looking at  their website, a story beyond friendly and a promise that could not suit more perfectly with what I expected that day. On the home page you read: "If you wake up in the morning and decide you need a haircut, you don’t have to wait 3 weeks for an appointment ... You can walk into any Rudy's any day of the week and get a great haircut." They were founded in Seattle in 1993. Nothing more grunge, uh ... On the ‘About’page you find a cool video that talks about it and show all address (they´re in Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles and NY).

You know, I believe in signs. And I got rid of about 30 cm of hair! Trista, a super nice girl who was born in Orange County, was responsible for grooming, and could not have better understood my expectations. You know you made the right decision when you think why haven´t I done this before, huh?

And so, I went a few pounds lighter to the hip hop party that I wanted so much to know, The Do-Over, in Hollywood. To my disappointment, arriving there the queue was too big and I quit. But for those who like that sort of sound, I'm sure it's worth. You could see that it was on fire!

Was already getting late, and I was getting hungry. I decided to go to Westwood for a walk and eat something. The neighborhood is very close to UCLA and I had already become familiar with it. There are some interesting shops and a climate of movie set, I can not explain why. I ate a pretty decent falafel sandwich and went back to the hotel with a great impression of the city.

Luckly, when I arrived in Sao Paulo the weather was warm, otherwise I would be longing for the trip much worse!