Jaunted

Shopping-in-SoCal / Santa Monica Travel / Lucky Magazine / Malls / Shopping / → All Tags

What Else is Inside the Just-Opened Santa Monica Place?

As promised, we have a whole new batch of photos from inside Santa Monica Place, the new mall that just opened at the end of Third Street Promenade, steps away from the iconic Santa Monica Pier. (C'mon, you've all seen it in "Forest Gump.")

While Third Street Promenade has provided most of the recreational and retail action for Santa Monica, it's going to have to take a backseat to this new mall. Aside from the designer brands (Louis Vuitton, Bloomies, Nordstroms, Burberry and Barneys Co-Op), Santa Monica Place is finally giving shoppers what they really want--a wide variety of food options.

The third-floor open-air Dining Deck has a mix of high-end restaurants (Sonoma Wine Garden, XINO and La Sandia) mixed in with somewhat upscale food court options like tacos, pizza, and Chinese food. Of course, you can still get a cinnamon sugar pretzel at Wetzel's Pretzels.

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TV Travel / LOST / Television Travel / Santa Monica Travel / Events / → All Tags

Buy a Piece of Oceanic Flight 815 During the Massive LOST Auction

Are you still mourning the loss the of the tv show that made "Oceanic Flight 815" a household name? Even though LOST officially ended its six-season run back in May, the show is about to re-surface...too bad it's only in pieces.

On August 21-22, Santa Monica's Barker Airport Hanger will host an auction of over 1,000 items from the filming of LOST, including everything from the DHARMA Initiative's VW bus to complete outfits worn on screen by the cast. Whether or not you're interested in buying (the majority of the lots are valued in the $100s), the hanger will hold an exhibition of the items—like pop-up LOST museum—on the two days from 9am to 1pm, with entrance tickets costing $42. That also gets you in to watch or participate in the auction too, in case you're curious to see how much a 6-pack of DHARMA beer goes for.

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Shopping-in-SoCal / Shopping / Santa Monica Travel / Malls / Lucky Magazine / → All Tags

Santa Monica Place Reopens Today Near Third Street Promenade

Way back in January 2008, Santa Monica Place, the mall at the end of the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Calif.--near the world famous Santa Monica Pier--closed for an extensive renovation. And we mean, extensive.

Much of the old mall, designed by Frank Gehry in 1980, was demolished and in its place, a 500,000sq.ft. three-story, open air shopping "destination" was erected.

Today that mall reopens as a spectacular high-end retail experience anchored by a stunning new Bloomingdale's. And not only does this new shopping mecca look pretty and modern but it's also eco-friendly and hopes to earn a LEED Silver certification.

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Christmas Shopping For Your Favorite Traveler At Fred Segal Santa Monica

If you've heard the name Fred Segal before, it's probably because US Weekly mainstays have often been photographed emerging from the store with a signature red, white and blue shopping bag in hand. The West Hollywood outpost may be better for star sighting, but we prefer the Santa Monica store, which is broken up into several idiosyncratic boutiques.

High prices and pretentious salespeople often deter shoppers from stopping by retailers of Fred Segal's ilk, but we've never had that problem in Santa Monica. We were there last night for a charity event last night co-hosted by Rachel Leigh Cook, to which guests brought unwrapped presents for donation to Toys For Tots, and did a little impromptu research into holiday gifts for travelers.

See what we found, with pictures, after the jump.

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Cirque du Soleil / Circus / Santa Monica Pier / Santa Monica Travel / → All Tags

Koozin' It Up In Santa Monica: The Kooza Cirque Du Soleil Show

While VegasChatter is all a-tizzy about the new Viva Elvis Cirque du Soleil show that is set to hit The Strip next month, the folks in Los Angeles are getting a chance to experience Kooza in their own backyard at the Santa Monica Pier.

Kooza is the story of a little boy who's trying to find his place in the world. Called The Innocent, he's guided by The Trickster who shows him all sorts of things in the world of Kooza from a bumbling king and his clown sycophants to a loudmouth pickpocket, pretty female contortionists, jugglers, dancers, tightrope walkers (and cyclists) and tumblers extraordinaire.

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Pizza / Santa Monica Travel / Pizza Shops / → All Tags

NY & C Gives The 'Good Pizza on the West Coast' Thing a Try

It's hard to find a quality slice of pizza in Los Angeles and in fact, most shops here just try to emulate a New York or Chicago-style pizza. The attempts are appreciated by East Coasters like ourselves but of course, it's just never the same. The biggest stand-out so far has been Joe's Pizza, just off the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, which is an outpost of the famous Joe's Pizza on Bleeker Street.

However, a new pizza joint has opened, also in Santa Monica, on Wilshire Boulevard and it's decided to split its offerings between New York and Chicago style pizza. NY & C even splits its physical space between Chicago and New York. One wall is devoted to NYC photos and memorabilia and the other is for Chicago.

There's deep dish Chicago-style pizza and specialty pizzas like the Navy Pier (green peppers, tomatoes, garlic and mushrooms) and the Windy City with four types of meat (sausage, pepperoni, salami, sliced beef), mushrooms and extra cheese. There's another pizza with meatballs, mushrooms, tomatoes and green peppers that's called The Sears Tower. Um. Do you mean the Willis Tower.

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Santa Monica Pier / Santa Monica Travel / Food / Restaurants / → All Tags

Santa Monica's Lobster Turns 10, The Pier Celebrates Its Centennial

The (lobster) claws come out at the tenth anniversary of a Santa Monica Pier institution

Santa Monica Pier is the heart of the oceanside city's kinetic life force. Amid a flurry of tourists milling toward the neon-lit ferris wheel, shirtless muscle men on bikes, and street performers competing for spare change, The Lobster offers some refuge, not to mention amazing seafood and 180 degree views of the Pacific Ocean.

The pier institution celebrated the tenth anniversary of its reopening on Monday evening with a private VIP reception, drawing a mixed crowd of older locals and young, energetic foodies who clamored straight for the surf 'n' turf spread. Tables overflowed with an assortment of the menu's best: fresh oysters, mini crab cakes, filet mignon, lobster (natch) and seared tuna.

Complimentary wine and cocktails were also circulating as guests toasted ten years of business at the historic locale. If you're in the area and in search of a more upscale—but still relaxed—alternative to other grab-and-go eateries lining the shore, The Lobster is a good bet.

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Television Travel / Reality TV / Santa Monica Travel / Shopping-in-SoCal / → All Tags

Santa Monica's Fred Segal To Get Its Own Reality Show

Nearly a year ago we spoke of our love for Fred Segal Santa Monica, a posh, celeb-frequented, overpriced boutique with cutesy department names like Flair, Fun and Emphatic.

Back then, we mentioned that we preferred this boutique over its West Hollywood counterpart largely because it was close to the beach, free of D-list celebrities holding their appointments with the paparazzi and with more manageable parking. We'd like to take all of that back now that we've learned the store has just announced its own reality show on Bravo.

The show will focus on the oft-stressed and competitive sales team as they cater to well-to-do customers who demand the latest in clothes, shoes, accessories and beauty products.

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The Church Where Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen Got Married?

To "All the single ladies"...who thought Tom Brady was going to break up with Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen, we have some bad news. He did put a ring on it but it wasn't your finger.

Nope. Tom and Gisele, after much speculation and gossip, got married at the St. Monica Catholic Church in Santa Monica, Calif. yesterday, Us Weekly reports.

The bride, 28, donned a form-fitting ivory lace strapless gown with a trumpet skirt, scalloped edges, long train and a floor-length veil with attached handmade satin roses and attached satin headband, all by Dolce & Gabbana. Her three dogs also wore matching Dolce & Gabbana floral lace collars.

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