big pond, little girl

Greeting the New Year 2012 with Neighborhood Tourism

January 1, 2012 at 9:26 pm Leave a comment

Hello dear readers,

Welcome to the New Year 2012 (of the western calendar)!! How fortunate we are to have survived another chaotic year on our planet.

It is January 1 and I have walked two blocks from where I live to enjoy Sunday brunch at Luca’s Fresh Bites (aka Luca on Sunset at www.lucaonsunset.com ) in West Hollywood, CA. I am sitting on a leather banquette facing the mountains of Laurel Canyon. The sun is out and it will be 80 degrees today. How lucky I am to live in what is considered to be one of the best microclimates in the world (along with Capetown (South Africa), Perth (Australia), and Valparaiso (Chile)).  Yes, weather is subjective, of course. 😉

I’m not that hungry today (thank goodness!), so I ordered something simple. And I am breaking the food combining basics of waiting one-half hour that I try to follow because everything here is eye candy and so tasty!!! I never feel guilty with their organic wonders.

Homemade granola at Luca on Sunset

To the left  is a photo of Luca’s homemade granola with fresh fruit and homemade yoghurt. The coffee you see is yes, organic (another special treat, I usually drink green tea) but today is a special day. And the Italian latte cup is inscribed “for music Puccini, for art Bernini, and for espresso Pasquini”!!

Luca is owned by a northern Italian and his American wife Rebecca. Everything served here is made with love, and the Italian entrees are authentically Italian as opposed to Italian-American. You can read the menu and see some photos at http://www.lucaonsunset.com . I like coming here not only because it is dependable but also because I believe in supporting local businesses that do everything they can to be green, environmentally conscious, and health conscious. I also like that this morning I am surrounded by two lovely Ethiopian ladies, a handsome family from East India, a variety of Asians, and various Americans of other backgrounds.  Today I hear gentle music from the Middle East.  Delightful!

Some people say grow where you are planted. Please know that despite my nomadic tendencies and passion for living in other countries, I still love LA!! I believe it is named City of the Angels for a reason, despite its reputation for glitz and the superficial. Believe it or not, LA, as many other places, can be a marvelous place for inner travel; it offers a plethora of Buddhist, Self-Realization, and Vedic temples, gardens, a great variety of yoga homes and churches, lakes and an ocean, and, need I add, my own little sanctuary in West Hollywood surrounded by trees, green, and the energy of light.

This year I hope to introduce you to more adventures in America and abroad, and to some of the heroes and heroines I meet along the way, such as Luca and Rebecca of today, all doing their part to make our lives more pleasant.

I am open to all the wonders that await me and I send each of you my wishes for a 2012 filled with laughter, happy opportunities, health, prosperity, peace, and traveling if you so desire.

Always with love, Guendalina

Entry filed under: Travel blog, Uncategorized. Tags: CA, inner travel, local tourism, Luca on Sunset restaurant, neighborhood tourism, West Hollywood.