Rodeo Drive is home to more than one hundred of the world’s leading international brands housed in exemplary, architect– boutiques along its three, palm– blocks.

Even if you can’t afford to buy anything from the Rodeo Drive shops, it doesn’t hurt to window shop — and maybe admire some of the nice cars on the street, possibly parked by those who aren’t just window shopping.

The cobblestone– Two Rodeo Drive is probably the most charming section to walk around in. It’s a shopping center within a shopping destination, a beautifully landscaped outdoor mall that shines with European charm and American commerce.

In 1880, A. F. Gilmore and a partner bought two dairy farms in the Los Angeles area. The partners elected to split their holdings ten years later and Mr. Gilmore took control of the large 256–acre ranch, its dairy herd and farmhands at what is now the world famous corner of 3rd & Fairfax. Then in 1990 when A. F. Gilmore wanted to expand his dairy herd, he started drilling new wells for water and discovered oil. Quickly, the dairy herd was replaced by a field of oil derricks which remained in place until Los Angeless boundaries expanded to surround the Gilmore property.

The Gilmore property remained largely vacant into the 1930s, when at the height of the Depression, two entrepreneurs, Fred Beck and Roger Dahlhjelm, approached A.F.’s son, Earl Bell (E.B.) Gilmore, with “an idea.” In July 1934, a dozen farmers and a few other merchants parked their trucks at the corner of 3rd & Fairfax and sold their fresh produce from the back of the trucks.

This pedestrian friendly mall has European inspired facades, and cobblestone pathways perfect for exploring. There’s plenty of alfresco dining, a lawned area for entertainment events, and a dancing fountain that acts as the mall’s centerpiece.

Ride on the top deck of the vintage double–decker fun trolley, that travels between The Grove and the LA Farmers Market.

The Grove also offers a concierge service in the Grand Lobby. They perform an array of tasks, like making restaurant bookings, bag storage, concert tickets, and registry services, and also offer complementary cell phone and stroller rentals.The Family Room is also in the Grand Lobby, and has nursing rooms, change rooms and a play area for kids.

This was the most exciting part of our Pasadena trip. Although having all three attractions (library, art and botanic garden) at one place is a little bit unusual, the one day short visit was really remarkable.

Library: It’s one of the world’ls great research libraries with more than 11 milion items spanning the 11th to 21st centuries.

Art Museum: British, European, American and Asian art including more than 45,000 world renowned examples of decorativ arts, painting, prints and drawings, photography and sculpture.

Encompassing about 130 acres, the Botanical Gardens feature living collections in 16 stunning themed gardens with more than 83,000 living plants, including rare and endangered species, and a laboratory for botanical conservation and research.

There are three major gardens: The Rose garden, The Japanese garden and The Chinese garden. The colorful roses are spread around and lead the way to the Japanese garden that then continues to the Chinese garden. Let’s have pictures do the talking...

The time spent in the library and art collection surrounded by beautiful gardens is well worth it and one could write about them for pages and pages, but the botanic gardens are stories for themselves.