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The farmers market is an open-air shopping center, opened as a private enterprise in 1934. Today it hosts more than 100 exclusive shops and eateries, offering gourmet groceries, fresh food, and more. In 1991 the Los Angeles City council declared the Farmers Market a Historic-Cultural Monument. Most of the merchants are open Monday-Friday: 9am-9pm; Saturday: 9am-8pm; Sunday: 9am-7pm. Some have extended hours. Next to the Farmers Market is The Grove – a beautiful open-air shopping mall with a dancing fountain in the middle, just in front of the theater and a double-decker trolley driving to the Farmers Market. There is a parking lot in the middle of the Grove. The first hour is free. Besides, some retailers are validating parking tickets. I managed to find an empty parking space with parking meters on the nearest street. It was cheaper and when I came at night – it was free. Old Farmers Market The Grove

Los Angeles has a sizeable Jewish community. Therefore, it makes sense to build a Holocaust museum to commemorate the 6 million Jews who got murdered by the Nazis and educate society against hatred and racism. LAMOTH, the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, was built by Holocaust survivors in 1961. In 2010 they moved to the current building near the Grove and the Old Farmers Market. The displays have a chronological order, from the Jewish world before the Holocaust, through the rising of the Nazis to power in Germany, and then the persecution of Jews, Ghettos, extermination, and the last two rooms dealing with resistance, the response of the nations and the Jews life after liberation. Most of the written content is on the six black columns standing outside the museum entrance. The visitors have to use an audio guide inside the museum to understand the exhibitions, consisting of primary images. As the loyal readers of this blog already know, I have a particular interest in the Holocaust. I used to guide Israeli Students in their journey to Poland to visit the extermination camps and ghettos. I also recorded an album with my band El Hameshorer, dedicated to the poems of Wladyslaw Szlengel from Warsaw Ghetto. However, I found the newspaper's display most interesting – To see how this enormous tragedy got such minor headlines in Los Angeles. Unbelievable. Admission is free. To the Museum Website

You can find a science museum everywhere. But the California African American Museum is unique. The museum was founded in 1977 as the first state-funded African-American museum in the USA. Since 1984 the museum is in the Exposition Park, near the Science Center and the Natural History Museum. The museum displays modern and contemporary arts of African American artists alongside historical objects, documents, and exhibitions.

Venice Beach is a 2.5 Km boardwalk, with sandy beaches, palm trees, street vendors and performers from one side, and stores, mainly T-shirts, on the other hand. We came here in the afternoon, just before dark, so I believe it is livelier in the morning and the summertime. Liat was full of motions because she knows the place from all the movies she has seen. But, for me, it was just a beach.

100 years Santa Monica Pier is a Californian landmark and a popular site for visitors and residents. It is located north of Venice Beach, with a beautiful boardwalk connecting the two places. The pier is consists of an amusement park, street performers, and food vendors and is famous as a filming location for many movies, TV shows, and music videos. Here are a few examples:

The Natural History Museum is located in the Exposition Park, near California Science Center, California African American Museum, and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The museum is beautiful. It consists of large and bright displays that make the visit very enjoyable and enriching: an extensive exhibit on Dinosaurs, displays of mammals from North America and Africa, Display of birds. Also, they operate an open laboratory with live animals and a lab that explores Dinosaurs' fossils. There is also one impressive exhibition on the history of Los Angeles. It was a lovely visit, and I highly recommend it for children and adults.

The California Science Center is located in the Exposition Park, near the Natural History Museum and the California African American Museum. From the outside, the California Science Center looks very impressive. However, it seems a little bit different from the inside: not so updated, with some old displays. Some Exhibitions are even using old TVs. And I don't mean that the TV is the object displayed – they are showing videos, as part of the presentation, on an old TV box. It seemed ridiculous and unworthy of a science museum. Maybe it's because the entrance to the permanent displays is free. I didn't enter the temporary exhibition that required payment, but I believe it was new and shiny. Although the exhibitions seem outdated, they deal with all the new issues of science: human inventions, life processes, ecosystems, air and space, and more. In addition, the hundreds of school students running around seemed delighted from the museum as it is.

Although I'm not an art fan, I believe that visiting the Getty Museum is a must. The architecture of the place, the gardens, the beautiful view justify the visit, even if the classic paintings are not your cup of tea. The visitors should park in a garage (15$ for a vehicle) and take a cable-car ride up to the museum. The entrance itself is free. There are a few kinds of guided tours, and I took the guided tour of the highlights. The guide walked us around the museum, explained the architecture and the principal of the museum, and showed us some of the museum's masterpieces, like "Irises" of Van Gogh and "Rembrandt Laughing" self-portrait. The Getty Museum is inspiring. I was just planning to jump to understand why this place was so much talked about, and unfortunately, I did not leave myself enough time to walk around. Lovely place. Very recommended. To the Museum Website View from the Getty Museum

Unlike many other botanical gardens I have visited worldwide, this place is unique because of its wildness. It's not sharp and knit – the opposite, you feel like you are in the wild with extensive areas of trees and vegetation arranged by continents and climatic zones. In the center of the garden, there is a big lake with ducks and gooses. Lots of peacocks and squirrels are running all over. Some historic structures are here, including Queen Anne Cottage built in 1885 and a Victorian-style Coach Barn from the same time. Unfortunately, I had only two hours to spend in the gardens, but it could be easily half a day, even more. It's is a charming place, so peaceful and relaxing – exactly what I needed after three days of museums in Los Angeles. Queens Ann Cottage Coach Barn

We came to the city of angels directly from Saint Louis, from another conference Liat was attending. We had an early morning flight, so we left the Los Angeles Airport around 10:30 AM with a rented car, driving towards Hollywood Forever cemetery. I always knew that my first site in Los Angeles will be the fresh grave of Chris Cornell, my most beloved musician. Cornell was a great vocalist and guitar player, known for his solo albums and as the leader of Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple of the Dog. After finding Cornell's tombstone at the Garden of Legends, we visited the two mausoleums on-site. Then, we drove right to Jerome C. Daniel Overlook Above The Hollywood Bowl on Mulholland Drive, considered the best view of the Hollywood sign. The sign looks really small from there, but it sure gives a great view of the city: We tried to drive to the Hollywood sign itself. Unfortunately, it was Sunday, and it looks like many people participated in some events in Griffith Park. Hence, the police blocked some roads, and there was no parking place nearby. So we had to give it up and hurried to our next stop: a guided tour in Warner Bros. Studios. My wife Liat is an avid fan of "Gilmore Girls," so jumping between the places where the show was filmed was a big thing for her. We heard some stories about how specific scenes were filmed. We saw the studio ("stage" as they call it in the film industry) where some current TV show is being recorded. We ended the day early and headed directly to rest in our hotel. On the 2nd day, Liat had to go to her conference, and I decided to check the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. It was pretty disappointing: it looks like the visitors can't see the wood because of the trees. Lots of information without a straightforward narrative. At the same time, I was amazed by the exhibition of newspaper headlines. You could actually see how a growing murder of Jews in Europe takes such small headlines in the United States. I ate lunch at the adorable Old Farmers Market just next to the museum. The farmers market and the Grove shopping mall next to it make it a lovely shopping, dining, and entertainment complex. I decided to go to the Museum of Natural History – a great place to visit. I've been there for two and a half hours, and if they weren't closing, I could have been here for more. After the museum, I picked up Liat and two of her colleagues. We went to the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame to see the stars on the sidewalks, and the handprints and footprints of the biggest movie stars in front of the Chinese Theater. I've started the 3rd day by visiting two museums just across the street from my hotel: the California African-American Museum and the Science Center. The first is a unique and essential museum. The second looks old-fashioned, although there are some fascinating exhibitions, and I saw many school students having a lot of fun there. Although I'm not an art fan, I felt I must visit the Getty Museum because I heard some good things about it. Well, I'm glad I did it – it was a great experience to see this incredible place. I was amazed by the museum buildings more than the art itself, although it includes paintings of Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Bruegel, Gauguin, etc. After getting back from the Getty, I picked up Liat, and we went to Venice Beach. Liat was very excited to be in a place where so many scenes were filmed. I do not understand much about the cinema. I enjoy a good movie, but I have no formal education in the field, and I really do not remember what was filmed and where. So, for me, it's a perfectly ordinary beach. In Israel, we got beautiful beaches as well. Maybe even prettier. But then, Liat showed me a video clip of the Red Hot Chili Peppers taken right here. Cool song. We walked the boardwalk to Santa Monica Pier – approximately one hour walk. At the same time, dozens of locals and tourists made the same way by bicycle. Santa Monica Pier gets into the Ocean, making you feel like you are standing at the end of the world. Oh, it reminds me of "Preaching to the end of the world," a song by Chris Cornell: We didn't have much time on the pier because we were in a hurry to have dinner with a local friend in a lovely restaurant in The Grove, overlooking the dancing fountain. When I woke up on our last day in Los Angeles, I felt like I have a museums overdose. So, I looked for places where I can walk in the fresh air. I thought about exploring Griffith park, but I was afraid I don't have enough time for it– Liat was lecturing at noon. I wanted to hear her, and our flight back home was right after that. So, I decided to go to a botanical garden. I searched online and found an impressive one 30 minutes' drive from our hotel: Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. What a great choice. It was so relaxing and charming – a beautiful ending for those full days in the city of angels. I know I explored only a fraction of this great city in my three and a half days here. So, I guess I'll have to come back sometime.

A national museum holds excellent collections of French 18th-century painting, furniture and porcelain, sculptures, and a vast selection of weapons and armors worldwide. Entrance is free of charge.

Jandawi brothers is a famous patisserie in the Bedouin town Zarzir (in the north). They have a massive selection of Baklava (very sweet filo with various types of nuts) Great Knafeh (traditional Middle Eastern pastry made of shredded filo, goat cheese and topped with sugar syrup). What I liked most were the Maamoul cookies – a famous Middle Eastern pastry filled with dried dates. It was perfect. It is an excellent stop for coffee and sweets. Enjoy🤗 For more places in the area press here