Al, I hope that I am sending this note before your planned trip to the LA area and Pasadena. I wanted to let you know of some new local activities that you might find of interest when you are here.

The Getty Villa was the original home of JP Getty's art collection. It is a re-creation of a Roman villa that sits on a low hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the border of Pacific Palisades and Malibu. It was one of my favorite places to visit in LA until it was closed when much of the art was moved to the current Getty Center in Brentwood. Well, after 8 years of renovation the Villa is reopening on January 28 as a museum just for the Getty's antiquities collection. As with the Getty Center, admission is free but advance parking reservations are $7 and are required. See http://www.getty.edu/

This past Sunday, a phenomenal exhibit opened next to the beach in Santa Monica. Ashes and Snow comprises 100 large photos and several films and is housed in a large temporary space in a parking lot next to the Santa Monica Pier (hence the name of building is the Nomadic Museum). The photos are totally unretouched, amazing images of young people and animals (like elephants and whales). You really have to see them to believe them and even then you may not trust your eyes. Admission is $15 for adults. The exhibit is open through May 14. See http://www.ashesandsnow.org/exhibition/

Finally, let me put in another plug for the downtown walking tours offered by the Los Angeles Conservancy. You can see some of the impressive architectural jewels in downtown's historic core that most residents never even know exist. Al, if you don't want to get in your car, you can easily take the Gold Line of the subway from Pasadena to downtown. See http://www.laconservancy.org/tours/tours_main.php4

Cheers, Mark in Los Angeles