The City of Angels

Our travels this week did not take us very far from home - only as far as LA. Last year, much to my delight, I discovered that I was eligible to apply for Finnish citizenship. This week I finally had my appointment at the Finnish Consulate in LA to present my application (along with Zach's since he is eligible too). So we made a quick trip down I-5 where a gallon of regular gas sold for $4.29 and spent two days taking care of business and visiting some sights around LA.

Our first stop was our Israeli friend's place near Hollywood. Gadi is an artist and has some of his work displayed throughout his home. His work is very colorful and energetic...

That's me with Gadi...

Gadi, Zach, and Gadi's Israeli actor friend...

Gadi cooked us a delicious Israeli meal in his new blue kitchen...

The next morning we met with the consular officer at the Finnish Consulate...

Waiting to sign our papers in the lounge...love those Finnish chairs...

The consulate is just down the street from Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, 

so after we took care of business, we strolled around the shopping district...

That's Rodeo Drive...

Unfortunately the stores were still closed, 

so I couldn't shop in my favorite designer shops...

Here's Frankie's favorite store...

One of those famous BH hotels...

The ubiquitous palm trees...

BH has very nice public restrooms...

After our fill the the rich and famous of Beverly Hills, 

we drove over to the Getty Museum...

You park your car in the large underground garage and 

take the lightrail up the mountainside to get to the museum...

The museum is largely constructed out of limestone...

Of course, before we could do anything, I had to make sure Z had a full stomach...

One of my favorite Van Gogh's, the Irises, was on display...

(Van Gogh created it while in an asylum in France in 1889)...

The museum not only has interesting exhibits and displays, 

but the grounds have lovely gardens and the architecture is very impressive...

Love what they did to the bougainvillas...

Strolling around one of the gardens...

One of the view points...

So our visit to LA was successful and the drive back home uneventful and fast. We should receive our citizenship papers in about six months, and then we'll have dual US/Finnish citizenship! Next stop...Finland?