I am Death!

Another exciting, sunny day in Los Angeles!

Rose and I got on the metro and took it to Union Station to cross off more items on our list while our hosts were at work. When we got off, we got lost (I am always lost! Always!) but found our way to Olvera Street which is a Mexican marketplace that also seeks to preserve the customs and trades of early California. We thought it was just a market with street vendors but when we got there, we found that LA's oldest house, Avila Adobe, is there as well. The house was built in 1818 and visiting was free! We toured around and then kept walking down the street. Everything was bright and colorful but most importantly, it smelled delicious. Rose and I were on the fence about getting something to eat until we saw that we could get scrambled eggs and cactus.
Always eager to try something new, cactus sounded like a great way to start the day and we decided to split an order. We were both surprised by the taste and texture but really enjoyed it and I get to add another item to the list of weird ingredients and exotic things I've eaten.

While we were walking around, we discovered the Aztec zodiac. We aren't entirely sure how it's broken up but unlike the zodiac that we're all familiar with which is basically broken up into month long periods, this zodiac has a cycle that rotates every day and my sign? Death. My sign is Death. I am Death! Everybody else has an animal, but me? Death! I love it! The description was also freakishly accurate, so I, Thomson Jaffe, am Death.

The book tour continued after we left, and Rose and I went from the first house in California to The Last Bookstore. This bookstore makes the top five, everyone!

It was insane! There were books everywhere. They had a tunnel made of books! They had a room where all of the books cost a dollar and were organized by color! Some of the books were used and some were new and there was something cool to look at in every direction!

Rose picked up a copy of Nicholas Nickelby that caught her eye and when she opened it, had old newspaper clippings about a local production of an adaptation. Free bookmark! And the book itself only cost $5.

I didn't get anything, which means that I have to go back someday!

This is MY tunnel of love

Rose and I, although still pretty full from our cactus breakfast, walked over to Grand Central Market, which is all about food. We were interested in visiting a specific stand that we read about on... Buzzfeed but we walked around first to see if anything else looked better. You could get any type of food here! They've "been feeding Los Angeles since 1917" and feeding me since about 1 o'clock this afternoon.

Sarita's Pupuseria serves Salvadoran food such as pupusa, which neither of us had ever had but it sounded good.  It's a dish made of a thick corn tortilla and is normally filled with cheese, pork and/or refried beans. They had a cheese/garlic option so we decided to try that! Looking it up, it says it's typically made with just cheese, but the filling they used apparently included mashed potatoes.

After we ordered, we watched a woman actually make them and oh my goodness! She was like an artist! It was mesmerizing.

It also came with hot sauce and curtido, a cabbage slaw with red chili and vinegar. The hot sauce was delicious, the cabbage was not for me. Pupusa, however, is my new favorite food. I WILL learn how to make it! I've already gone on Pinterest to look for recipes and it's good to know that I'll have something to eat if I ever make it to El Salvador.

We were only a block away from the train at that point and returned to the apartment where I caught up with the final season of Parks and Rec! It's Rose's last night so we have a few more things to cross off the to do list before she goes but we've both had an awesome week.