Cielito Lindo

Cielito Lindo means "pretty little heaven" in Spanish, and that's where I felt like I was on Sunday when Marshall took me out for the day to celebrate our anniversary. He surprised me by taking me to Downtown Los Angeles to go visit Olvera Street, Chinatown and Little Tokyo! It was the best adventure we've had in awhile, and one of my favorite days spent. Not only was it fun, interesting and a day with beautiful weather, it was a photographer's dream! For those of you who don't know, Olvera Street is a small section of downtown that features many Mexican shops, restaurants and vendors, and is located near the historic adobe that was made by the Spanish settlers of California. Chinatown and Little Tokyo are just what they sound like. ;) 

The day really reminded me why I love living in California so much, particularly Southern California. There is so much culture to be found everywhere!  If I want to drive for 40 minutes, I can go buy a variety of interesting and cultural FRESH foods, walk down the street and hear people talking in all different languages, learn about the diverse history and people who contributed to the founding of the state that I live in, see and hear amazing art by all different kinds of artists, and see little pieces of many different kinds of lifestyles. 

We had burritos on Olvera Street, and I bought jasmine tea in Chinatown that "Smells like Chinese Heaven" according to Marshall. We visited the Japanese-American History museum which was an AMAZING experience that taught me a lot that I didn't know about the plight of Asian minorities in our country. We walked for 5 hours without stopping, and it was all very wonderful. I couldn't believe I'd lived in Southern California my whole life and hadn't visited before. 

The moral of the story is, if you're visiting California, please make time to visit this area of Downtown LA. It will be so worth it.

Picture spam time!

Looking down the street in Chinatown

Me in front of City Hall!

Flags on Olvera Street

Building in Chinatown

Graffiti'd freeway sign

Marshall's Chile Relleno burrito (left) and my Chile Verde Burrito! (right)

The Walt Disney Concert Hall

Marshall and I in the window of a historic building

Marshall being goofy with a sculpture

                                                                                                                                                                     Shirts for sale by a vendor on Olvera Street

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh and also...