http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32937 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32937 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32371 Owner and chef, Jason is a gracious host.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32371 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31980 For Bohemian flair, it's not quite Silverlake or Echo Park but it makes for a great night out.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31980 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/28945 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/28945 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/27804
Complete with take out foods and bakery. You can order greek specialities, lamb, sandwiches and salads, all moderate prices. Order at the counter and your food will be brought to the large and festive main room where you will join a hundred or more diners seated at tables. Papa's is not a formal place. The food is well prepared, customers come from USC and from Wilshire Blvd businesses. It's a great place for foreign visitors to relax and savor good food at moderate prices.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/27804 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22183
I am a regular visitor to Los Angeles and have figured out how to enjoy much of the area without a car. For a first-time or repeat visitor, my advice is to base yourself in Santa Monica. It has much of the iconic LA topography: sunsets on the Pacific Ocean; a sandy beach full of people who are in much too good condition; wandering “street” characters of every stripe; the occasional movie star sighting; one of the best outdoor food markets in America; superb restaurants; and, above all, the sense that this could not be anywhere else in the world but the LA we envision. All that is missing is Disneyland and that can be reached if one must.

My hotel of choice is the Georgian. It dates back to the 1930s and was preferred by more than a few movie stars for a romantic getaway. The building retains its elegant old bones but has been smartly updated. There are delicious breakfasts based on local ingredients, bracing ocean air, and those sunsets. The elegant Merigot hotel is another choice and its Cezanne restaurant offers many dishes based on local ingredients. I love the fish dishes there. Within three blocks of the Georgian Hotel are at least 50 restaurants, cinemas with 12 screens showing the latest hits and important independent films, and even a pub popular with British ex-pats. It is right across the street from the ocean and I would try to get in a swim every day.

You can rent a bicycle and cover a lot of local terrain. Santa Monica also has a superb local bus system as well as limited-stop long distance buses that go to Beverly Hills and downtown LA. Selective use of taxis can take you places where buses do not reach. The two I would recommend are both part of the J. Paul Getty Museum (www.getty.edu/museum), for which reservations are required to attend. The Getty Villa, straight up the Pacific Coast Highway, holds a superb collection of Greco-Roman art in an idyllic setting. It is a short trip from the Georgian Hotel. A bit further, and probably the most expensive transport (about $40) you will incur, is the Getty Museum, an omnium gatherum of paintings, sculpture, drawings and photographs. The Getty has one of the best educational initiatives of any museum in America. It also has good eating facilities, so I tend to make the visit a full day.

And what do I do if I need or want to go further afield? New Yorkers are resourceful and also friendly. I tend to befriend residents of LA, almost all of whom own a car and are willing to give me a lift. In exchange, I invite them for drinks on the terrace of the Georgian just in time for sunset over the Pacific.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22183 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/21287
Gug Sushi isn't a place you come to flash the cash (unlike much of L.A.) or even for the atmosphere: its sole raison d'etre is the fantastic food. The menu offers a bewildering variety of different roll combinations, so it was only fair that we tasted quite a few. The names of most now escape me, though all were delectable, however, the eponymous Gugu roll and one which prominently featured unagi (eel) stick in my mind.

It may be a bit of a trek from the more popular tourist areas of the city, but for sushi fans it is definitely worth it, and the prices are extremely reasonable.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/21287 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20275 The steaks are as awesome as the atmosphere, coming in at a reasonable $25 with sides in the evening but even cheaper at lunch with the specials.

Try the cocktails too if you have any cash left in the budget!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/20275 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9205 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9205 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9173 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9173 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9167 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9167 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9177 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9177 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9164
Go there for drinks before dinner somewhere else (the restaurant is okay, but overpriced and there are far better Japanese restaurants). If you've never been to LA before, Yamashiro's view will give you a sense of where everything is in the sprawling megalopolis. Spectacular.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9164