Rudd On The Road By Steve Rudd Part Fourteen: St. Patrick's Day With A Difference

Part 1:Catching up with Steve as he hits America. Part 2 Part 3: A chance encounter with a city full of surprises Part 4: Cheap thrills on the Mexico City metro Part 5: Mexico City: A Beginners Guide Part 6: A Storm Over Troubled Pyramids Part 7: City Living in the South of Mexico Part 8: All Aboard 'The Nerve-Shredder' to Puebla! Part 9: A Perfect Demonstration of How to Protest Part 10: Sun, Sand, Sea ... and a Man on a Mission Part 11: Going Barmy in Barra. Part 12: Onwards and Upwards Part 13: The Green Side of Hollywood Part 14: St. Patrick's Day With A Difference Part 15: A Run-In With Gordon Ramsay Part 16: When in Venice ... Part 17: On Foot Across LA Part 18: A Mile Of Miracles, And Then Some Part 19: Going West for Eastern Inspiration Part 20: Stray Dogs and Cheeky Monkeys Part 21: The One Hundred Baht Experience Part 22: Trios Amigos! Part 23: A Cashflow Crisis Part 24: Spontaneous Combustion Part 25: A Temporary Loss of Faith Part 26: Signing My Life Away

In the wake of an exhilarating hike into Runyon Canyon, one of Hollywood's best-kept secrets, I was all buoyed-up to sample a prime slice of LA nightlife. It was St. Patrick's Day, and I was keen to see how Americans celebrate it. Rest assured, I wasn't disappointed. They celebrate the day with just as much gusto as stout-addled folk back in Ireland. Opting to head downtown in order to appreciate the wide variety of bars in the district, I was accompanied by Dave Kebo, a movie-making friend who I'd first met in Istanbul back in November 2008. While the underground train network serving LA isn't as extensive as residents and visitors would like it to be, it served us well enough since a stop was conveniently located a short walk from Dave's house in Koreatown.

Surprisingly, given the size of the city, the underground was eerily quiet even at 5 p.m., proving that most people prefer to use the bus to get around, or to drive themselves. We emerged on the edge of Pershing Square, a focal point of the Downtown district. Since I last visited Downtown LA in 2006, a staggering amount of investment has helped to dramatically transform the image of the district.

Countless run-down apartment blocks have been gentrified in fine style for starters, with high-rise lofts that are located in the heart of the Downtown district now fetching a small fortune.

As a result of such extravagant gentrification, the outer limits of Skid Row are becoming increasingly arbitrary in nature, the down and outs now having little choice but to literally live on the doorsteps of the filthy rich in some instances. Dave and I were due to meet one of Dave's friends, Felix Chan. He met us halfway between Pershing Square and his apartment block. He invited us up and showed us around before we headed out to hook up with another of their friends: an actor, writer and musician by the name of Vince Vieluf. Vince lived just a few blocks from Felix, having just moved downtown from the Larchmont district. His loft languished on the top floor of his block, coming complete with sweeping views fit for a king from the terrace.

While Dave conducted some business on his mobile, and while Vince excitedly showed Felix around his new place, I made the most of the height advantage to take a few photos as the sun sunk behind a cluster of skyscrapers to the west, casting cold shadows in our direction. Come 7 p.m., the St. Patrick's Day celebrations were in full swing. 'Bar 107' on 4th Street took some getting into, not least because strict ID checks were in operation and the burly security guard blocking the door didn't trust the look of my British driving license, instantaneously questioning its validity.

Fortunately, my British accent went some way in helping to prove that I really was British and that my driving license was genuine. Inside, the small room was packed, a bevy of Irish flags dangling from the ceiling. Chilled cans of 'Guinness' were served as standard. An hour later we shipped out in varying states of inebriation, bound for 'The Association', a swanky cocktail lounge in which we ordered yet more 'Guinness' to satisfy our collective thirst.

By this stage in the evening I'd ascertained that Vince was an in-demand actor who is perhaps best-known for his high-profile roles in movies such as 'Rat Race' (in which he played Blaine, the freshly lip-pierced brother of Seth Green's character) and Brad in 'An American Werewolf in Paris.' When he asked if I recognised him from 'Rat Race,' I said I did... not that he seemed convinced. I did recognise him though; I just couldn't believe it was really him.

As well as being an actor, he's a writer, director and musician, and he was riding a wave of elation in light of the fact that he'd recently attended a well-received showing of 'Order of Chaos' which he'd directed. As we chatted, he soon expressed his adoration for British music, acknowledging his love for arty bands such as Pulp when one of their songs blasted out of the stereo system. Vince then went on to confide that he was on the cusp of releasing an album, his vibrant style of music boldly fusing Depeche Mode-esque vibes with dark lyrics that are charismatically delivered with panache. He could barely contain his excitement. Truth be told, as I casually surveyed the sights and sounds of the exuberant nightlife in downtown LA, neither could I. For more information about Steve's travels, and to view photos from his trips past and present, he can be contacted via 'Facebook' by typing 'Steve Rudd' into the Search box in the top right-hand corner of the homepage.

Copyright \ufffd Steve Rudd 2009

thisisUll.com Featured Writer Steve Rudd
Click for Home Page	Click for Index Page

Places to Visit - Beinvenue: Paris in 3 Days for Less Than 100,000 Calories! By Ruth
	Prologue: The long weekend in Paris was a spur of the moment idea hatched by my daughter. I was initially sceptical about the cost. Summer fares to Europe are never less than extortionate. My cousin in Paris pointed out that fares spike sharply at the end of June and remain high throughout the summer months. Armed with that information, we checked flights for the first week of June Read more...

Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road Part Twelve: Onwards and Upwards By Steve Rudd
	I don't do early mornings. At least I don't do them very well. I mean, was it 5 a.m. already? We'd had less than two hours of sleep, and it was time for my friend Evangelina to whisk me to the airport in order for me to catch my 7:50 a.m. flight with 'Mexicana' back to Los Angeles. Having joined a bunch of Evangelina's friends for some food and drink at a cantina close to Bellas Artes in the Historical Centre of Mexico City the previous night, Read more...

Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road Part Part Eleven: Going Barmy in Barra. By Steve Rudd
	As I grew increasingly accustomed to the laid-back beach-life around which the tiny Pacific Coast town of Melaque revolves, I realised it was going to be no easy task to pull myself away from this area of Jalisco, Mexico. The pace of life which afflicts Melaque is a world away from the hustle and bustle that comes as part and parcel of larger towns and cities Read more...

Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road Part Ten: Sun, Sand, Sea ... and a Man on a Mission. By Steve Rudd
	In terms of beaches, visitors to Mexico genuinely are spoilt for choice. World-class stretches of sand are to be found on both The Pacific Coast and The Gulf of Mexico, with old favourites in the ridiculously commercialised forms of Acapulco and Cancun still managing to draw in huge crowds with ease. However, some of the country's lesser-known beaches are Read more...

Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road Part Nine: A Perfect Demonstration of How to Protest. By Steve Rudd
	Fans of folk who like to voice their opinions can't go wrong in Mexico. I mean, barely a day goes by without some demonstration or protest taking to the streets, and those in its favour tend to come out in such force that it's only a matter of time before the 'rally' passes you by. You certainly don't need to make the effort to seek out such rallies Read more...

Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road Part Eight: All Aboard 'The Nerve-Shredder' to Puebla! By Steve Rudd
	I really couldn't blame the lady at the ticket counter for giving me such a puzzled look. After all, I had just asked for a ticket counter instead of a ticket. I was at the main bus station in Oaxaca City, Mexico, intent on buying a ticket north to Puebla. Having clocked numerous signs emblazoned with the world Taquiller, I wrongly assumed that such a word was the Spanish for Tickets. In truth, Read more...

Places to Visit - Cusco, Peru - La Ultima Cena Con Cuy By Ruth
	The flight from Puerto Maldonado was uneventful. The flight attendant served coca tea, Inca Cola, and Cusqueno beer to interested passengers. The city of Cusco, the historic capital of the Inca Empire, sits in the Andes Mountains. The elevation is roughly 11,000 feet. The updrafts buffeted the plane a bit during landing. At the airport, old women peddling bags of coca leaves crowded towards the passengers. x Read more...

Places to Visit - Rudd On The Road - Catching up with Steve Rudd as he hits America in style ... Part 1 By Steve Rudd
	The flight from London to LA was a long haul to say the least, yet it was made more tolerable by the company. I'd barely got settled when the guy beside me introduced himself as Jim Becket, a film director and documentary producer who lived in a place called Ojai, a little north of Los Angeles. He'd just returned from working in Athens where he'd sold the rights of his latest documentary to Read more...

Places to Visit - Playing Chicken In Turkey Part 1 By Steve Rudd
	It wasn't the best welcome to Turkey. It was the dead of night, we'd just crossed the border, yet there I was, beside a Mancunian called Liam, being frog marched back to the tiny hut that issued visas. Upon crossing the border, us English lads had been issued the correct visa, but the official had inexplicably neglected to stamp the visas with our entry date. Read more...

Places to Visit - Roaming Around Romania By Steve Rudd
	I was worried. It was four a.m., I was on a train bound for Bucharest, and somebody was tugging at my bed sheets from below. Coming around from a bout of deep sleep, I urged my weary eyes to focus. They were having none of it though, refusing point blank to reveal the person before me. 'Is there a problem?' I asked, hoping that a response might bowl my way in English. Read more...

Places to Visit - Gibraltar and La Linea, Spain By Mo
	Recently I went on a week long trip to Gibraltar and La LÍnea, Spain staying with my mum and dad in their La Linea flat. My twin sister and her boyfriend were also at the flat on holiday for a week and had rented a small car booked online for only 60 quid for the week. I think that included car insurance too so a pretty good deal. They all met me at Gibraltar airport and we walked across the border with Spain Read more...

Places to Visit - The London, Bath and Bristol Chronicles By Steve Rudd
	I knew I should have taken the train. Being stuck behind a combine harvester is never fun in a car. In a coach, it's murder. The battalion of towering power-line supports that stoically marched across the dead level Lincolnshire landscape didn't help. From their indifferent vantage point, they simply taunted. 'Technology is overtaking everything,' said the woman in front, Read more...

Places to Visit - Kate Langan's Travel Journal - Thailand
	Tonight we ate at a Thai Taverna, there was a baby elephant going by so Becky took my photo. We are staying in Phuket also as we have found a really nice basic room that's really cheap. It's clean and got 4 stone walls - not like the wood hut! I loved the wood hut but was bitten to death by the mozzies. No mozzies here - yey! And I'm not a huge fan of the cockroaches! Read more...

Places to Visit - The Three Peaks Of Yorkshire Challenge 10th June 2006 By Steve Rudd
	'Good morning gentlemen - rise and shine!' As I slowly came to my senses I couldn't help but glance at my watch. I'd been warned the previous night that we would be woken up at 4:15am sharp, and barely a second later. Unfortunately, that really was the case, and as exhausted as I was, there was a mammoth 25 mile walk ahead... It's a shame that I'd only managed Read more...

Places to Visit - A Weekend in Amsterdam By Dave F
	Amsterdam is a city of freedom which instantly appeals on a lot of levels. What's the point of a holiday if you don't have the freedom to go and do what you want, when you want? If, like me, you want to wander aimlessly from coffee shop to coffee shop getting as stoned as humanly possible whilst ogling half-naked women through dirty windows and snacking heavily along the way, Read more...

Places to Visit - Christmas in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka By Dave F
	I hate Christmas for too many reasons to mention and the chance to get away from it all this year it was an opportunity too good to pass up. Knowing someone with a house in Sri Lanka which stands empty for 9 months every year definitely has its benefits. I'm travelling with a mate and his daughter who've been here several times before so I get some insight Read more...

Places to Visit - Skiing In Bulgaria - Part Two By Steve Rudd
	Giant Christmas trees loomed as far as the eye could see below, as I marvelled at the extraordinary engineering it must take to make a gondola a reality. After the thirty-minute ride to the top we were immediately greeted by a stunning panorama of the surrounding countryside which was beautiful beyond words. So pristine and so serene. Well, serene if you can discount the Read more...

Places to Visit - Skiing In Bulgaria - Part One By Steve Rudd
	I could have thought of worst places to be, seeing in the New Year, as the last second of 2005 ticked over into 2006. Happy New Year indeed. For the best part of the past ten years myself and my friends have contented ourselves with heading into the town centre of Driffield every December 31st for one of the few nights of the year when it genuinely hustles and bustles. To drink Read more...

Places to Visit - Walking The Pembrokeshire Coastal Path - Part One By Steve Rudd
	Get out of the city and into the country, sooner rather than later. A great many people genuinely have no idea how scenically diverse and breathtaking some swathes of countryside are in the UK, and such a fact is a great shame, because while they might be spending all their spare time in dirty and cramped urban environments, there's often fresh air and inspirational Read more...

Places to Visit - Thailand By Rich Mills
	Expressing the experience of being here in Thailand is difficult to put into words. The sensorial experience is so mind blowing that you begin to feel overloaded. However it is the smallest of things that grab your attention, and stick in the mind. We are waiting for a taxi to take us down to the ferry, so that we can go over to the small island of Koh Maak. This is where we will get the full Read more...

Places to Visit - Ostend Weekend By John Allbones
	I needed a break. Well, you just do sometimes don't you? The constant day to day drudge of the nine to five erodes your spirit until a change of scene is all you crave. Nothing fancy, just a few days will do. Preferably abroad, it just seems more of a break when you're on foreign soil. I managed to grab a late deal on a long weekend in Ostend. So desperate was I to get away, Read more...

Places to Visit - Eight Feet and Two Weeks On Crete Part 2 by Steve Rudd
	One of the best ways of exploring the huge island of Crete is by car: in your own time, at your own speed and in your own style. Without the stress and cost of embarking on guided tours. Head into any of Crete's major cities such as Hania, Rethymno or Iraklion and you'll be bombarded by rent-a-vehicle establishments, all of which are fiercely trying to Read more...