'Hoods 17, 18, 19: Maplewood St. Andrews, St. Andrews Square and Western Wiltern

OK, I have to admit I'm not always entirely confident in the map I'm using as a resource for Los Angeles neighborhoods, and this is one of those times.  I found it online, and it identifies 137 'hoods in LA—but sometimes it makes no sense to me, like how a place as gigantic as "Hollywood" is one neighborhood, whereas these three tiny little areas get the same depiction.

Still, the goal behind this quest was to discover more of LA and to better learn my way around—and since there's always been disagreement about exactly what constitutes specific neighborhoods, this map seems as good as any.

Anyway, on the way back from Larchmont Village in Central LA, my friend Jenifer and I took a route that took us through three tiiiiiiiiiiny neighborhoods (like a city block each).  They're located along Wilton Avenue between Melrose and Beverly (Maplewood St. Andrews), Beverly and 3rd (St. Andrews Square) and 3rd and 6th (Western Wiltern).

It's funny how adjacent to the west in Larchmont we passed a house like this:

And in these 'hoods, the houses were more like this:

Although we did hit a couple yard sales, I breezed through these neighborhoods.  Seriously, though, short of knocking on a door and asking if I could use a bathroom, there wasn't much else to do.

BTW, as we made our way home along Wilshire Blvd. and back into the Miracle Mile district (which I've already visited), as a bonus we stopped at Whimsic Alley, a Harry Potter store that I've been meaning to go to for more than a year.  From there, we took a side trip to the backside of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to see and walk beneath an art piece of a giant 340-ton suspended rock called Levitated Mass.

'Hood #10: Miracle Mile for the LA County Museum of Art

Today was Free Museum Day in LA, and therefore the perfect day to visit the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in LA's Miracle Mile neighborhood (on what's known as "Museum Row").  I've been to the 'hood's most famous museum—the La Brea Tar Pits—but amazingly enough, never to the art museum.

I met up with my Aunt Marcy and her sons (my cousins, although they're more like nephews) Nick and Simon.  The boys went to view the Japanese section first, and Marcy and I beelined it for the European paintings (her favorite) and the Contemporary section (my favorite).  

The place was positively loaded with Picassos—and enough other big name artists, i.e., your Warhols, Magrittes, Dalis, etc., that it was a fun mix of exploring unfamiliar works and visiting "old friends." 

And free for the day!  

Not only that, but as I was pulling out of the parking lot prepared to pay my $12, the attendant laughed when he put in my ticket, told me the machine messed up, and buzzed me through for free, saying, "This is your lucky day." 

As an fyi, even though this was a special event, LACMA is always free on the second Tuesday of each month, as well as after 3 p.m. for LA County residents on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.