"The eagle has landed," my husband texted his brother upon arriving home with my mother-in-law.
"One small step for man, one giant leap for Mum," came the swift reply.
My British mum-in-law is adjusting rapidly to life in SoCal. It doesn't hurt that the weather has been uncharacteristically cool for April. "It feels just like home," she announced with some surprise.
Megan had gymnastics yesterday from 9:30 until 3:00, so after spending a little time watching her, we took Marion downtown to see some sights. She had always heard that downtown Los Angeles was kind of seedy, so she was surprised to see clean streets and gleaming high-rises.
Our destination was Olvera Street, site of the original Spanish settlement of El Pueblo de Nuesta Señora Reina de los Ángeles in 1781 (hence, one of the few parts of the city that can be deemed "old"). It turned out that yesterday was the annual "Blessing of the Animals," and so hundreds of people were there with their pets (which delighted my mum-in-law, who is an animal lover). However, all the lots near the attraction were charging "event parking:" flat rates of $13 for the day.
As we only planned to stay for an hour, we wound up across the street at Union Station (which charged the relative pittance of $2 per 20 minutes). It was a good choice. Marion could not help but be impressed by the beauty of the Mission Revival building.
I have fond memories of visiting Olvera Street as a child. It was where I tasted my first churro, visited my first fortune teller (a handwriting analyst) and once purchased a set of "Mexican jumping beans."
It was as festive as I remembered: the shops and stalls were stacked with colorful merchandise, and the restaurants were filled with happy customers (especially the ones who were sipping margaritas). There were multiple bands of mariachis playing.
I snapped about 40 photos there and could easily have stayed the afternoon, but for the fact that we were all hungry and Mexican food is not the best cuisine for my diet. That's when my husband hit on the bright idea of heading over to Little Tokyo for lunch. (I can eat most sushi or sashimi with abandon.)
My mum-in-law is not a fan of exotic or spicy foods, so we needed to find a menu that included hot dishes as well as sushi. We hit the mark at Joy Mart, in the Japanese Village shopping center. There was something for all of us there (and it was GOOD).
I'm enjoying the idea that in one trip to Los Angeles, Marion got to experience a little bit of Mexico AND a taste of Japan.
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