Tea travels headed off to historic Los Angeles for a quick weekend getaway. Los Angeles was founded in 1769 by Spanish explorers. That’s almost 300 years ago. Just shy of 300 by 45 years. The city is old, spread out and the home of diverse cultures from around the world. I wanted to check out The Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles. The market has been in existence since 1917. Los Angeles was experiencing exponential growth at that time and the population was booming. The downtown was busy and thriving. There were new and exciting ventures coming into existence at a fast pace and the theatre industry took hold downtown as well. The market was meant to cater to a diverse group of citizens that were excited, entrepreneurial and pouring their energies to create the most successful city economy in existence. The market evolved to meet the sophisticated needs of the burgeoning population.
The market has evolved over the past 100 plus years. It’s now a hub of historic, and well loved eateries and many new restaurants too. I stayed at The Biltmore for good measure and to immerse myself in the DTLA scene. The hotel has withstood the ravages of time and remains a glorious blend of Beaux Arts, and Spanish-Italian Revival architecture. The hotel has been well maintained and sits facing Pershing Square, that is currently under renovation, and quite nice with all of the new changes. After a lovely night’s sleep and sleeping in. I headed over to The Grand Central Market. First thing on the agenda was micro shopping at an Elove popup in the basement. Elove had a small pop up of lovely handmade tees that I couldn’t resist. The tees are made of heavy cotton and embroidered with calls to action to normalize mental health challenges. A mission to normalize human diversity and foster acceptance.
After the shopping, I was needing some fuel, and I decided on the The China Cafe for lunch. The China Cafe has been in existence since the 1950’s. The original counter and signage remains unchanged. The food is delicious and servings are more than generous. I ordered boiled noodles with hard boiled eggs, veggies, bits of chicken, and ended up having to take most of the huge portion home. Afterwards, I stopped at G&B coffee for desert. The baristas know their stuff here and the coffee is amazing. The deserts are fresh and organic and absolutely melt in your mouth with deliciousness. After this great meal, it was time to absorb it all, and head out to new places to explore. This little excursion to DTLA was really fun and I planned to do it again soon with more walking the next time, and exploring the bevy of sites to see.
