Exploring LA: The Last Bookstore

Last Friday, my friend Melina invited me to go exploring with some of her friends. Although I've been at USC for a month now, I've only been off campus for something other than walking to CVS twice, so I was more than excited. Led by our fearless leader, we took the metro down a few stops to Grand Central Market, and wandered through. It reminded me of il Mercato Centrale in Florence, with the indoor/outdoor vibe and all the smaller food stalls. I was too busy taking it all in, and forgot to take photos oops.

After walking around some more, we found a small gelato shop, which was honestly the cutest thing ever. The employees were so nice and gracious in allowing us to sample as many flavors as we wanted. Melina and I ended up splitting the yummiest greek yogurt plum jam gelato- the perfect sweet/tart blend of summer.

Sweet tooth satisfied, we walked across the street to the Last Bookstore, the largest independently owned bookstore in LA. For a bibliophile like me, it was an incredible experience. Books, records, and gorgeous book-themed art plastered the walls. There was an author visit happening in the middle of the store, and tons of other people browsing.

Apart from the books, there was a lot of art displayed on the walls, and it was fun to walk around and look at them all. I discovered how much I love art and museums in Florence this summer, and I wish we had more time to peruse each one and compare them to one another 

I loved this bench and table display! Everything about it was so rustic and messy, but put together and industrial at the same time. 

Overall, I had a lot of fun, and I can't wait to explore more of LA and come back here. Apparently there's a section of the store that has thousands of $1 books. Unfortunately, it wasn't open when we were there, but hey- more reason to come back!

This is a little unrelated, but walking around downtown LA, we saw a lot of different kinds of people. Since we were all together in a big group, it was pretty safe, but I definitely wouldn't go out alone. In my freshman seminar right now, we're reading a book on the heroin trade in America. We're exploring it from all angles: the drug traffickers, addicts, and law enforcement, so it's very interesting. If anything, the book has taught me that anyone can be addicted to heroin - not just the typical homeless people that you see on the streets in big cities. As we walked around last week, I wondered if any the people we saw were tied what we had been reading about in class. Just food for thought, I guess :) 

Until next time, 

xo, Hima