The South Bay In LA Gets The Gold

Throughout the South Bay in LA you can see signs posted congratulating our local Olympic Gold winning Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor. Actually, the South Bay has many Olympians past and present as well as many professional athletes.

CONGRATIONS Kerry and Misty!!!

Don't miss Misty May on Dancing With The Stars

A Taste Of LA Aboard The Margarita Train

Ok...it is technically not a train but a London style double decker bus

Our driver explaining the rules of the bus....no standing but drinking is ok.



A friend of ours has a annual tradition of renting a bus and inviting his friend to do a margarita tasting throughout various Mexican restaurants within the Los Angeles area. Every year it is a different route and no one knows where they are going to be going.

We all meet up at the first location then head on the bus. On the bus is gallons of pre-made margaritas and huge amp speakers to enjoy the ride in the sun. It is a lot of fun but it is a good thing it is only once a year.

Some of our stops are below.

Beyond the South Bay in LA: Paris, France

After a 2 hour trip on the Eurostar (train) from London and through the Chunnel (the tunnel under the English Channel) traveling up to 186 mph we arrived in Paris...the city of love.

This was my third time to Paris but my 17 year old son's first time so we visited as many local sites as possible. The weather was mostly nice to hot with a couple thunderstorms in between.

Besides the Eiffel Tour the first thing that pops into my mind when I think of Paris is the food. In London there is a pub on every corner and in Paris there is a cafe on every corner. My son soon became a huge fan of the croque monsieur which is a is a hot ham and cheese (typically gruyère) grilled sandwich and everything you eat in Paris tastes good.

We visited the Louvre, Versailles, the Avenue Des Champ Elysees as well as some side trips to the Latin and Greek quarters.

FYI give yourself a couple days to visit Versailles, the garden alone is about 250 acres.

Notre Dame

Jardin Des Tuileries

Arc De Triomphe

Grand Palais and the Seine river

Eiffel Tour (yes tour and not tower)

View from the Eiffel Tour of the Trocadero

Musee' Du Louvre

Versailles (it looks like it is a painting even in person)

Basin of Latona fountain at Versailles


The Rhone fountain by Jean-Baptiste Tuby at Versailles

The Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles

We must have walked 5-10 miles a day as well as taking a few metro (subway) and taxi rides. At the end of our trip we were looking forward to the long flights home...so we could just sit, watch some movies and get some much needed rest.

Beyond the South Bay in LA: London, England

Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey

Holy cow did we get pounded in London...no...I didn't get pissed (British slang for drunk) but I got pounded as in £ ed. At 1 British pound = 1.8609 (closer to 2 to 1 with exchange fees) the U.S. dollar does not go a long way. Even if you eat a pubs and order fish and chips you will end up spending around $20 and that is just one medium sized piece of fish.

My son had his first international trip and we flew from LAX to LHR. I have been to London quite a few times so I have seen most everything so now I was able to show my son around like his own personal tour guide. He turned 17 in London.

We walked many miles every day and he quickly learned how to navigate the Underground/Tube (subway) which he was not so fond of...too many people I guess. He really loved London though...except for most of the food with exception of dim sum at Harrods.

On the right is the first and only beefeater/yeoman warder that is a woman. (You have to have 20 years of military service before you can become one.)

Big Ben and House of Parliament
(Big Ben is actually the name of the bell inside of the tower)

View of Tower Bridge from the river Thames

London Eye (ferris wheel) and our boat arriving to take us to Greenwich

Queens Guard at Tower of London

Admiralty Arch



Other places we visited was Trafalgar Square, Leister Square, British Museum, National Gallery, Odeon theater (Dark Knight movie), Victoria Station

Greenwich
(look closely at the sky...see the plane? That was one of the planes above the stadium at the
Red Bull Air Race)

Prime Meridian Line in Greenwich

The trip is half over...now we are off to Paris via the Eurostar. See you in Paris!