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Hawaiian Airlines Flights from Santa Barbara (SBA) to Los Angeles (LAX)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Hawaiian Airlines, which operates 3 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Santa Barbara (SBA) to Los Angeles (LAX), departing between 11:16am and 2:10pm, and one additional non-stop flight regularly scheduled to depart at 6:50am and arrive at 7:40am, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, Saturdays. Usually a Saab SF340A/B is flown for this route. The average travel time from Santa Barbara, CA to Los Angeles, CA is 51 minutes.*
* Some flights must connect with additional service on this airline.
During your Los Angeles vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Hollywood Entertainment Museum
Initially intended to be a cornerstone of Hollywood Boulevard renewal, this 33,000-square-foot facility was plagued by internal politicking and faulty architecture long before it opened in 1996. Once you find its awkward subterranean entrance, you'll enter a seriously unkitschy museum devoted to the entertainment arts. On display are highlights from a treasure-trove collection of original sets and props from nearly a century of film, TV, and radio. For example, you can pull up a stool at the complete Cheers bar (look for where the stars carved their initials in the bar during the final episode) or sit in the captain's chair of the original set from Star Trek: The Next Generation. The best part is a series of interactive demonstration rooms that teach various tricks of filmmaking; visitors can create Foley soundtracks for a movie segment, test their skills at digital editing, and try out other fun, educational procedures. Fans of the defunct Max Factor Museum of Beauty will be happy to learn that the collection from Hollywood's premier motion-picture cosmetic designer is shown here -- antique makeup pots, glamour photos, and superstar toupees intact. If you're still not satiated, sign up for the studio back-lot tour to learn all about the film-making process.
Norton Simon Museum of Art
Named for a food-packing king and financier who reorganized the failing Pasadena Museum of Modern Art, the Norton Simon displays one of the finest private collections of European, American, and Asian art in the world (and yet another feather in the cap of architect Frank Gehry, who redesigned the interior space). Comprehensive collections of masterpieces by Degas, Picasso, Rembrandt, and Goya are augmented by sculptures by Henry Moore and Auguste Rodin, including The Burghers of Calais, which greets you at the gates. The "Blue Four" collection of works by Kandinsky, Jawlensky, Klee, and Feininger is impressive, as is a superb collection of Southeast Asian sculpture. Still Life with Lemons, Oranges, and a Rose (1633), an oil by Francisco de Zurbarán, is one of the museum's most important holdings. Perhaps the most popular piece is The Flower Vendor/Girl with Lilies, by Diego Rivera, followed by Goya's Disasters of War. The collection of paintings, sculptures, pastels, and prints by French Impressionist Edgar Degas is among the best in the world. Tip: Unless you're an art expert, you'll probably want to take the "Acoustiguide" audio tour -- it's $3 well spent.
J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center
Since opening in 1997, the Richard Meier-designed Getty Center has quickly assumed its place in the L.A. landscape (literally and figuratively) as the city's cultural acropolis and international mecca. Headquarters for the Getty Trust's research, education, and conservation concerns, the postmodernist complex -- perched on a hillside in the Santa Monica Mountains and swathed in Italian travertine marble -- is most frequently visited for the museum galleries displaying collector J. Paul Getty's enormous collection of art. Always known for antiquities, expanded galleries now allow the display of Impressionist paintings, truckloads of glimmering French furniture and decorative arts, fine illuminated manuscripts, contemporary photography, and previously overlooked graphic arts. The area that's open to the public consists of five two-story pavilions set around an open courtyard, and each gallery within is specially designed to complement the works on display. A sophisticated system of programmable window louvers allows many works (particularly paintings) to be displayed in the natural light they were created in for the first time in the modern era. One of these is van Gogh's Irises, one of the museum's finest and most popular holdings. Trivia buffs will enjoy knowing that the museum spent $53.9 million to acquire this painting; it's displayed in a complex that cost roughly $1 billion to construct.Visitors to the center park at the base of the hill and ascend via a cable-driven electric tram. On clear days, the sensation is of being in the clouds, gazing across Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean (and into a few chic Brentwood backyards). If you're like me and don't remember a thing from your college art appreciation class, plunk down $3 for a self-guided audio tour that gives a brief overview of the 250-plus works in the collection. The 45-minute architectural tours, offered throughout the day, are also worth looking into. Dining options include several espresso/snack carts, a cafeteria, a self-service cafe, and the elegant (though informal) "Restaurant" offering table service for lunch (Tues-Sun) and dinner (Fri-Sat), with breathtaking views overlooking of the ocean and mountains (reservations are recommended, though walk-ins are accepted; call tel. 310/440-7300 or make reservations online at www.getty.edu).Realizing that fine-art museums are usually dreadfully boring for kids, the center provides several clever programs for kids, including exploratory games such as Perplexing Paintings and The Getty Art Detective; a Family Room filled with puzzles, computers, picture books, and games; mythical storytelling sessions on weekends at 11am, noon, and 1pm; weekend family workshops; and self-guided audio tours made specifically for families.Entrance to the Getty Center is free -- they don't need your money -- but parking reservations are required weekdays (though we've heard of people getting in without one on slow days). College students with current ID and those arriving by public transportation, motorcycle, or bicycle do not require reservations. Reservations are not required after 4pm or all day Saturday and Sunday. Cameras and video cams are permitted, but only if you use existing light (flash units are verboten).
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Los Angeles area, including:
The Mosaic
I've seen hundreds of hotel renovations in my travels, but none have impressed me as much as this boutique Beverly Hills hotel. The new owners pumped $3 million into completely renovating the entire hotel (formerly the Beverly Hills Inn), and the result is spectacular. The lobby is a showcase of functional art, with gleaming tile mosaics, fabrics in deep, rich tones, and a profusion of artfully arranged orchids. Continuing a recent trend that I'm all for, a wall has been removed to allow direct access from the check-in desk to the bar and lounge, where guests are encouraged to sample the house special -- a Mosaic sake martini. The guest rooms are equally impressive, all done in soothing earth tones with 300-count Frette linens, goose-down comforters and piles of pillows, windows that open onto the quiet neighborhood street or garden courtyard, minibars stocked with Wolfgang Puck snacks and libations, and sparkling bathrooms with Bulgari bath products and huge Rain Forest showerheads. Other perks include free high-speed Internet access, poolside cabanas, CD players, DVD players in the suites, late room service from the hotel's small cafe, a fitness room, and covered parking. Tip: The corner deluxe rooms are worth the extra $15.
Hotel Shangri-La
Perched on Ocean Avenue overlooking the Pacific, the seven-story Shangri-La is in a great location -- a high-rent residential neighborhood just 2 blocks from Third Street Promenade shopping and dining. Built in 1939, the hotel has a timelessly sophisticated Art Deco facade with interior trimmings to match. Okay, so the furnishings are far from L.A.-chic and the hotel is decidedly low-tech, but considering the location, size, and comfort of these rooms -- not to mention the free parking -- the Shangri-La is a very good deal, and the management is constantly making improvements. Guest rooms, which are mostly studio suites (most with kitchenettes, all with fridges), are extremely spacious, and most offer unencumbered ocean views. Bathrooms are small and simple but clean. The two-bedroom/two-bathroom suites are a bargain for large families. Just across the street is a gorgeous stretch of Palisades Park, which overlooks the beach and offers the coast's finest sunset views.
Farmer's Daughter
Most people end up at the Farmer's Daughter hotel fortuitously because they're waiting to be the next contestant on The Price is Right. The CBS Studios across the street recommend the budget motel to its game show fans, but I'm recommending it just because I dig this chic little lodge. It's cheery from the moment you walk in the lobby. Bright yellows and cool blues mix well with the country-kitsch theme: rooster wallpaper, faded barn-wood paneling, denim bedspreads, cow-skin rugs, and a parade of inflatable animals that float around the pool. It's obvious that someone with smart fashion sense and a little money turned a dumpy motel into an oasis of stylish affordability for people like me who drive Jettas and wear flip-flops in the winter. Money-saving perks include free Internet hookup, free parking, a free DVD library, and across-the-street access to an entire Farmers Market of inexpensive foodstuffs and some wild weekend entertainment. Tip: Request a room facing the alley -- the view is terrible, but you don't get the 24-hour road noise off Fairfax Avenue.
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