My Visit to Santa Monica

by: Yamakawa Kyohei

　 In this post, I would like to provide you with information about my trip to Santa Monica, which is located in west portion of Los Angels. It was first time to visit Santa Monica for me, so I was really surprised since Santa Monica is completely different town from Riverside.

 　I went to Santa Monica Pier and Santa Monica Third Street Promenade that is very famous for its shopping mall on Saturday. I like Third Street because it is very lively place. There are so many cloth shops like H&M, American Apparel, and Old Navy, etc.; therefore, do not forget bringing enough money in order to enjoy shopping. There are not only cloth shops, but also nice-looking music shops, large book stores, and seafood restaurants. Smells of foods made me hungry, for customers was eating outside of restaurants. In addition, Street musicians and performers tried to make tourists fun. A group of two black young men danced reggae, whereas a band sang and played musical instruments.

　On Sunday, I went to Getty Museum which is located on top of the mountain. Due to the location, air is pure, and view from the mountain is really beautiful. It is like a heaven. Mainly, the museum displays painting in the Middle age of Europe and furniture used by French nobles like Louis XIV. They taught me livelihoods at that time. While commoners suffered from poverty, nobles used such gorgeous furniture. I can understand why the French Revolution happened easily.

　Through my trip, I met many kind people. One woman told me which bus station I should go politely when I was confusing. I could not visit everywhere I wanted to go such as Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, however I had a great experience that I cannot go through in Riverside.