Afzal's Planet

The magnificent Pacific Ocean during sunset in Santa Barbara, CA (Taken with Instagram)

Santa Barbara is a paradise (Taken with Instagram at Santa Barbara, CA) I can’t believe I used to live here! Back to Boston reality shortly.

Delicious Persian food at Raffi’s #kabab (Taken with Instagram at Glendale, CA) Pictured is saffron rice with kabab koobideh and barg, barbequed tomato and green pepper, and salad shirazi. Raffi’s Place Restaurant always delivers superb quality kabab.

Sweet ride #venice #california (Taken with instagram) Volkswagen buses and Volvo station wagons are the cars that I associate with California. You just don’t see these rides as much in Boston.

There’s nothing like the billboards of L.A. The Beatles are thrown on modern streets and iTunes all at once.

“Jobs Not War.” The graffiti on Melrose Ave. gives the L.A. shopping district its edginess. Numerous boutiques, vintage stores (American Vintage being the best!), and modern furniture shops can be found on Melrose, as well as Fairfax High School. Imagine going to high school in the middle of the hippest shopping area in L.A. It was no wonder that the highschoolers were fashionistas.

I remember liking Melrose a lot at 5 years old, I guess I haven’t changed.

“Seaweed Rock Brain”

Taken in Santa Barbara, CA on Henry’s Beach.

Downtown Los Angeles at night. L.A. may not be as much of a metropolis as the cities I’ve grown to love in the east coast, but recently I have been thinking a lot about going back to California where I grew up. It would be “hella” different for me after living in the east coast for the last 7 years. I sure miss good Iranian food, mountains AND ocean together, my relatives, and sunny after sunny day. 

One of my earliest memories of art was when my artist mother took me to see Christo’s umbrellas. A series of umbrellas were scattered throughout the dry hills of Southern California. I remember asking my mom, “Why are there umbrellas here?” Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude are known for their installations of objects into natural environments and the stark contrast is astounding. One of their most famous projects, “The Gates,” featured a collection of orange flowing curtains in New York City’s Central Park and their upcoming project “The Mastaba” in the United Arab Emirites looks really interesting. (If you click on this image you will be forwarded to their website).