BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY: Adventures On The East Side

I spend a good amount of time talking about the glamorous, exciting world of Los Angeles, and while I like to think of myself as being a veritable connoisseur of each neighborhood, the truth of the matter is that I only keep to a few select regions of the city (ie. the clean ones). Occasionally though, I break out of my routine and explore those other oft-overlooked corners of the metropolis, even if it means intermingling with hipsters and those that profit off them.
And so with the goal of changing things up a little bit, I present to you my Saturday afternoon trip to… SILVER LAKE.

For those of you not in the know, Silver Lake is a trendy neighborhood on the East Side of Los Angeles that’s home to mostly hipsters, some bums, and a notable leather-daddy gay population. In other words, it’s eclectic. I wouldn’t categorize it as one of my favorite neighborhoods, thanks to its inconvenient location, hipster appeal, and light dinginess, but I still can appreciate its cultural offerings. After all, Silver Lake does provide Los Angeles with a much needed urban-indie vibe. And yet, whether it be unreasonable or not, the neighborhood has kind of become a punch line for me thanks to the predominance of in-your-face hipster-types — the kind that just make me want to slit my wrists with an Arctic Monkeys CD (and yes, I know. Arctic Monkeys were soooo two years ago).
Nevertheless, two of my high school friends were in town, and one of them was eager to see Silver Lake and the adjacent neighborhood, Echo Park. I really didn’t want to go, but I held my nose anyway and dutifully drove my friends around the area. Surely, this would be a horrendous afternoon; however, much to my surprise, I discovered that — shock of all shocks — Silver Lake was fun! Yeah, there were hipsters aplenty, and yeah, the neighborhood could use a paint job, but I realized for the first time that maybe I’ve just been too harsh on this East Side community. Who would have thunk it? Don’t get too used to this kinder, gentler B-Side. Chances are I’ll revert to my Silver Lake hating within a day or two as a jaded sense of stodginess sets in; so I better get this post out before my heart freezes over again.
Here are some photos from our adventure, which, in all honesty, began in Hollywood.

The afternoon kicked off at Pomodoro restaurant in Hollywood. This is me with my friend Michelle.

After lunch, Michelle was soon accosted by a man in a banana suit. She was quite entranced by his wares.

We then dropped by the Hollywood Bowl, which was serenely empty.

We immediately climbed onto the stage, which was fun until we realized all the birds in the rafters made us easy targets for rapidly descending poop.

My friend Nicole threatened to step on an already dead avian creature, but she later relented because, you know, that would be gross.

We then drove around Silver Lake, stopping at the brand new and much hyped LA Mill Coffee for an afternoon snack.

We had to take the photo over because I was looking the wrong way.

This orange infused cappuccino cost $6.

My smile hides a general contempt for this overpriced, underwhelming beverage.

We then went to a toy store down the street, and of course, it had a live DJ spinning. [rolling eyes]

Among the toys steeped in hipster irony, I did like this Mr. Toast figurine. I didn’t know what it was or see how kids could play with it, but it reminded me of the Junior Senior video. So, um, that was nice?

Of course, no trip to the East Side would be complete without a visit to the thrift shop.

Michelle was in heaven.

I was a little bored; so I experimented with some new looks. I actually almost bought this jacket.

I then got in touch with my inner drum major.

This little number was tassel-icious.

I particularly liked its snug elastic fit in the back. Surely Nina Garcia would approve.

I tried to strike an imposing stance in this sailor shirt…

…but I was unable to restrain the jazz hands. Just… gotta… dance dance dance!!!

Finally, after a long day of driving about, we returned home for some post-Bohemia Wii. Fun times had by all.