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Delta Airlines Flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to Houston (IAH)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Delta Airlines, which operates 7 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to Houston (IAH), departing between 12:40am and 4:45pm, and 4 additional non-stop flights, departing between 5:45am and 6:20pm on select days of the week. The average travel time from Los Angeles, CA to Houston, TX is 3 hours and 9 minutes.*
* Some flights must connect with additional service on this airline.
During your Houston vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Menil Collection
Here, on display in an unremarkable neighborhood near the University of St. Thomas, is one of the world's great private collections. Jean and Dominique de Menil arrived in Houston in the 1940s, fleeing the war in Europe. For more than 4 decades, they purchased and commissioned works of art; brought artists, architects, and academics to the city; organized groundbreaking exhibitions; and did much for Houston's art museums and for the art departments of Rice University and St. Thomas University. Their collection, especially the modern art, is vast, so much so that only a fifth of it can be exhibited in the museum at one time. The structure housing the collection was designed by Renzo Piano, who worked closely with Mrs. de Menil. It is graceful and personable and doesn't seek to impress the visitor or impose itself on the collection. In these qualities it is the physical embodiment of Mrs. de Menil's ideas about experiencing art. When you walk into the museum there is nothing between you and the art -- no grand lobby with marble stairway, no large banners or gift shop vying for attention, no tickets to buy, no tape-recorded tours. Viewing the art becomes a direct and personal experience.The Menil Collection is concentrated in four areas: antiquity, Byzantine and medieval, tribal art, and 20th century. This may seem an incongruous mix, but, strangely enough, it holds together. The collectors never intended to gather up the most representative of a period; they simply followed their own tastes, which were modern. And one interesting consequence of this fact (intended or not) is that, in walking through these galleries one right after another, the viewer gradually discerns a universality in some modern art that connects it all the way back to antiquity and across the boundaries of Western culture to the tribal peoples of other continents.In addition to the main museum, four satellite buildings form a museum campus. One of these satellite buildings is the much-talked-about Rothko Chapel, with its 14 brooding paintings by Mark Rothko, created specifically for this installation and the last works before the artist's death. In front of the chapel stands Barnett Newman's Broken Obelisk. A block south of the Rothko Chapel is the Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum, which is worth seeing as much for the building that houses them (designed by François de Menil, son of Jean and Dominique) as for the frescoes themselves, which were ransomed from international art thieves. Across the street from the main museum, in a building also designed by Renzo Piano, is a permanent exhibition of the works of Cy Twombly, which, though perhaps difficult to approach, are easy to view because of the gallery's exquisite light. It lends a luminous quality to the large artworks, and somehow just being in the place livens one's spirits. Finally, Richmond Hall, 2 blocks south of the campus, holds an installation by neon light artist Don Flavin.
Houston Museum of Natural Science
This is quite a lot more than your average natural history museum. Yes, it has everything you expect (and some you might not): dinosaur skeletons, displays of Texas wildlife, a stunning gem and mineral collection, a Foucault pendulum, and exhibits on early cultures of the Americas, climatology, chemistry, and oil and gas exploration. But what gets most of the buzz is the miniature rainforest environment created in the Butterfly Center. You can walk among hundreds of living butterflies as they dance about in the steamy air amidst a small waterfall. As you enter, you pass through the insect zoo, which holds some fascinating and bizarre living specimens of beetles, spiders, and other bugs that you wouldn't necessarily want running around freely with you.Also in the museum are an IMAX theater and a planetarium. The museum recently reequipped the planetarium with new computer animation projectors that enhance the quality of its programs about stars, galaxies, nebulas, and other astral bodies. In years past, the directors have assembled some great temporary exhibits, so ask about any temporary shows that might be open during your visit. The museum occupies a corner of the Hermann Park about 3 blocks from the Museum of Fine Arts next to the equestrian statue of Sam Houston.
Bayou Bend
Ima Hogg was the daughter of Gov. Jim Hogg, a man who obviously had a cruel sense of humor. Miss Hogg, however, did not grow up shy and self-effacing. Long after the governor was dead, she was a power to be reckoned with in local affairs and did much to keep the chicanery in city hall to a minimum. Her mansion, Bayou Bend, was built in the 1920s by Houston's most prominent architect, John F. Staub. It holds in its 28 rooms a treasure trove of American furniture, paintings, and decorative objects dating from Colonial times to about 1870, and is set amid 14 acres of beautifully tended gardens in a variety of styles. This is a must-see for antiques collectors and gardeners.Part of the Museum of Fine Arts, the collection can be seen by self-guided audio tour or by guided tour, for which you must make reservations. I prefer the guided tour, mostly because I like to ask questions. It takes 90 minutes and costs the same as the audio tour. Guided tours leave every 15 minutes. You can see the gardens on your own. Bayou Bend is on the backside of River Oaks, but is unapproachable from the main entrance to the neighborhood. The only way to get there is to go down Memorial Drive, which follows the north shore of Buffalo Bayou, then turn left onto Westcott to enter the grounds.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Houston area, including:
Houston Airport Marriott
Don't let the address fool you -- this hotel is not on "Hotel Row." It's located smack-dab in the middle of the airport itself between terminals B and C, and it's on the airport tram line, which means no messing with taxis, shuttle buses, or rental cars. With this enviable location, the hotel gets a lot of business conferences. The revolving rooftop restaurant adds to the hotel's popularity -- you'll see planes landing and taking off with a view that is pretty much the same as that of the airport's control tower. Guest rooms at the hotel are large and attractively furnished. The bathrooms are not particularly big, but the beds are comfortable, and everything else about the rooms is great. The revolving rooftop restaurant is a lovely place for dinner, which is served from 5:30 to 10pm (open for lunch to groups only).
Hilton University of Houston
This is unlike any other Hilton Hotel in that it is part of the Conrad Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management and is staffed not only by professional full-timers, but also students performing their lab work. It deserves consideration because of its rates, which often drop significantly when there are no academic conferences or parents' weekends; its location on the University campus between downtown and the attractions in Houston's southeast side; and its service, which is often excellent. Rooms throughout the hotel's eight floors are large L-shaped layouts with modern furnishings that include a sleeper sofa. Eric's, the hotel's restaurant, is far better than most hotel restaurants and offers a menu with a Latin flair. The University Center next door has a health club, a large pool, game room, and beauty salon, all of which the guests have access to. Note that the parking garage has a low ceiling and cannot accommodate vehicles such as large SUVs and pick-up trucks.
JW Marriott Hotel by the Galleria
On Westheimer facing the Galleria, this high-rise hotel offers lots of amenities and a central location. Rooms are smaller than at the Westin hotels but are more attractive and come with more features. And the service and the amenities are better here. Bathrooms are well lit and come with make-up mirrors and terry-cloth robes. The decor is modern and a bit on the plain side. Avoid reserving a room on the fifth floor, where the health club is located. The hotel's room service offers Pizza Hut pizzas from its kitchen.
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