Date: 09-12NOV2025
Arizona: The boys both wore tuxedos and Tracey repurposed a dress she wore for the Rebelle Rally Gala. Comfortable walking shoes were a must as there was a lot of walking and standing. 
Arizona: Tony sporting his thrift store tuxedo and sugar skull face paint for Tucson’s 36th Annual Dia de Los Muertos-inspired event called The All Souls Procession (https://allsoulsprocession.org/). 
Arizona: Tracey, Tony and our friend, Michael getting ready to walk in the Dia de Los Muertos processional. It took us several hours to get ready. 
Arizona: The ribbons are for both people and pets we have lost. We added some important pets to our ribbons this year which included Zarek (#1 guide dog), Sarge (#1 labradoodle), Cotton (#1 least needy dog), Tango (#1 Chihuahua guard dog) and Zoe (#1 sweet kitty). 
Arizona: We both have 30+ ribbons pinned to our backs with each representing a loved one who has died. All 3 of us (including Michael) lost our fathers since we last attended this event. 
Arizona: Tracey and Tony getting ready to walk in the processional. All of the costumes come alive with lights when the sun begins to set. Tracey had lights on her headpiece and shawl and Tony on his hat. 
Arizona: While this is a “fun” event to attend, we focused on thinking about and remembering our loved ones while we were walking. Lots of stories were told to each other. Many people carry photos and even make alters to their loved ones for this annual event. 
Arizona: Michael wore this cool mask. Tracey and Michael watched the Coco movie (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_(2017_film)) a few days before walking in the processional and it reminded them of the deep cultural ties this event has to this community. 
Arizona: So many great costumes, including this one. The dress made her steps very small and it must have taken her ages to walk the entire processional….maybe that’s the point? 
Arizona: There are always a few standout costumes at this event and these were 2 of our favorites. Tucson is a very artsy city and that showed in peoples outfits. 
Arizona: In addition to walker in the processional, there are also musical bands and this year there were even dancers. This troupe danced the entire mile of the processional. 
Arizona: There was rhythmic drumming from this Japanese drummer during the entire processional. You could both hear and feel the deep tone. 
Arizona: The individuals in white collected all of the letters which people wrote to their loved ones and then deposited them in the large metal urn in background. The urn and the letters were later set ablaze and the smoke was supposed to carry the messages to the loved ones. 
Arizona: The urn containing our letter was hoisted up above the crowd and then lit on fire. Afterwards, there was a musical act and a cirque du soleil inspired performance.
Día de los Muertos (Tucson, AZ): This is our 3rd time attending the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Tucson, AZ. This is one of the largest processionals in the US with 150,000 people attending as either observers or participants. This event is a joyful celebration of life, not of death, and provides an opportunity to remember loved ones who have died. We attended this year with our friend, Michael, and we all wore costumes and painted our faces with sugar skulls. We had ribbons affixed to our backs with each ribbon being an individual in our life who we have lost. This year we added ribbons for all 3 of our fathers. We also wrote notes to specific loved ones which get placed in a large urn and burned with the smoke carrying our messages to our loved ones. There were lots of tears and storytelling as we were writing out the ribbons and writing our individual letters. We walked in the processional for about a mile until arriving at the location where the urn is lit on fire. The evening ends with music and an artistic performance similar to a Cirque de Soleil. It was a wonderful evening remembering our loved ones and sharing in the collective energies of all of those who attended.
California: Downtown LA in the distance. Tony had never been to downtown LA and it has been 20+ years since Tracey had visited. Overall, we really enjoyed downtown LA and we would go back again! 
California: Tony can sleep anywhere. Here he is sleeping at 10 AM on a Tuesday morning while flying to LA. 
LA: We saw autonomous wheelchairs at LAX airport. This was foreshadowing for the autonomous (Waymo) cars we would take the following day. The future is now. 
LA: Gloria Molina Grand Park was nice and we had the place pretty much to ourselves as we were there on a federal holiday. We enjoyed a nice picnic sitting in the fuchsia colored chairs and tables. 
LA: The outside of the Walt Disney Concert Hall designed by Frank Gehry which opened in 2003. The metal skin is stainless steel but similar in design to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain which we previously visited which is made from titanium. 
LA: Inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall the vibe is much warmer than the harsh metal exterior. The wood is Douglas Fir and designed to resemble tree branches. 
LA: We took a 90 minute self-guided audio tour of the inside, outside and gardens of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. This tour is free and we were quite surprised we were allowed to freely wander through this entire property. A must do for those visiting downtown LA! 
LA: The outside of the Walt Disney Concert Hall was stunning, but the inside was equally as interesting with the use of materials, colors, window placement and of course acoustics. 
LA: Walking around the building we could see light reflecting of the metal panels and it created unique color mosaics which changed with each step. This building is where the Los Angeles Philharmonic plays. 
LA: The building has a state-of-the-art washing system in place to keep the windows and the metal panels clean. 
LA: The wall has a 26 degree curve to it and was quite a challenge to build. Interestingly, this building was originally designed by Gehry to be made from stone but he was “persuaded” by Lillian Disney to change it to metal similar to the Guggenheim Bilbao. 
LA: While it was not an overly sunny day or warm outside, the metal panels were quite hot to the touch and not anywhere we would let exposed skin linger. 
LA: The Blue Ribbon Garden next to the Walt Disney Concert Hall was gorgeous with huge trees and lush landscaping. It is hard to believe this was created on the 3rd floor of the building and so far above street level. In retrospect, we should have eaten our picnic lunch here instead. 
LA: The large water fountain was a surprise gift from Frank Gehry to Lillian Disney and called “A Rose for Lilly”. It is made up from 1000’s of fragments of Royal Delft Blue porcelain which Walt and she loved. It was quite stunning! 
LA: The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) was a free museum with many interesting sculptures. #poorpiano 
LA: The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) included this African inspired piece which Tracey especially liked. 
LA: The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) had this display of tomato plants (not real) at various stages of growth and death. This was one of Tony’s favorite pieces. 
LA: The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) was not crowded, free and had many interesting galleries to explore. 
LA: We really liked our downtown LA hotel, but the cost of 2 bottles of Evian water (in glass) cost $20. 
LA: This is the main lobby of the central downtown LA library. It was gorgeous with its painted murals, decorative floors and globe chandelier. 
LA: Yes, this is the central downtown LA library. The building was large but felt more like an art gallery than an actual library. 
LA: Our lovely Jaguar SUV autonomous “taxi” operated by Waymo. We felt very safe and the car reacted 100% appropriately to all situations including making right hand turns on red, going around delivery cars parked in active lanes, stopping for a car making a u-turn in front of us, avoiding a pedestrian who quickly stepped off a curb not at an intersection and avoided people and carts in the streets when we transversed through Skid Row. Waymo was way safer than many of our Uber drivers. A++ 
LA: Setting off on our first Waymo…spoiler alert the car did great. We felt very safe in spite of Tracey’s face. 
LA: An artist working on a mural near the Vegan Joint restaurant where we had a tasty meal.
French Visa Interview (Los Angeles, CA): We also visited Los Angeles for a short and sweet visit with the sole purpose to attend an interview for our Long-Term Visitors Visa for France. We decided to make a mini holiday out of this trip so we spent 2 days in downtown LA touring the Walt Disney Concert Hall (designed by Frank Gehry), visiting The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), picnicking in Gloria Molina Grand Park and walking through the stunning Los Angeles Central Library. We were pleasantly surprised how much we liked downtown LA and found it to be walkable, fairly clean and generally safe for such a large city. We stayed at a cool hotel (Wayfarer Hotel), ate at a tasty vegan restaurant (The Vegan Joint) and even took our 1st Waymo (fully autonomous with no taxi driver). Our visa appointment was uneventful and now we wait to hear from the French Consulate in Washington DC to review (and hopefully approve) our completed application and 1″ thick stack of supporting documents. We definitely over prepared and needlessly stressed about this appointment as it was completely transactional in nature. Our flights were all on time or even early and there were no lines at any of the TSA checkpoints. The only negative for this trip was that LAX airport itself was sort of a shithole and very disjointed in its layout, but overall, it was a great mini holiday.
Next Up: We are spending a few days doing more local backyard exploration with a visit to Prescott and Jerome, AZ.
Discover more from The Tofu & Chickpea Scramble
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Dear Tracey,
What great photos! I wondered if you would be going to this again. We\’ll have to see it once we live closer. That is so sweet of you to include a ribbon for Zoe. She certainly was a sweet kitty.
Take care,
Sheri
I think you and Shed would really enjoy The Day of the Dead processional. It is always one of the first 2 Sundays in November.
I was intrigued by your trip to LA. Of course, I was glad to read that your interview went so smoothly and have all appendages and digits crossed for a positive outcome. But I was equally taken with your descriptions of downtown LA. In all my trips down there, I believe I have only been in the downtown area Once, when Stephen was about 16 and we were catching a commuter train to visit Chapman university in Orange County, with Laura. 🙂 I have, therefore, forwarded your email to him to give him some ideas for some places we can visit the next time. I am there. To his credit, he always takes me to various beaches and canyons and ravines and what not to hike and be out in nature, and so I have a positive image of Los Angeles overall, which sometimes flabbergast people. He also has taken one of those autonomous taxis, but did not have a totally smooth trip. Apparently, it drove very tentatively and, when it was time to let him out, did so on the side of a busy street, some distance from the sidewalk and adjacent to a construction site. He said a Driver probably would have driven a little farther and turned onto a side street to let him out safely. Anyway, baby steps. Again, when next, I go down there, I hope to try one of these vehicles with him and Saskia, for myself.
Take care, and keep us posted.
Oh, yes, before I go, I should mention that Stephen was laid off about 10 days ago. Given the state of the film industry, it was not unexpected. He is approaching it positively and starts a six week project management course today, something he could not have done while working full-time with an unpredictable schedule. A break between jobs may also help to rest his right hand and is a carpal tunnel syndrome. He had already booked a trip home for Thanksgiving and another at Christmas while Kylie goes to her parents where they will be joined by her twin sister from New York. So I am looking forward to having him home for the holidays and ensuring that he gets some rest and relaxation even as he continues his online class and looks for new opportunities, possibly not back in the film business.
Happy Thanksgiving if we don\’t talk before then, but I do hope we can chat again before the new year.
Hugs,
Karen and Saskia.
Sent from my iPhone with help from Siri and Voiceover.
Karen-
So sorry about Stephen’s job but glad he has a plan and deciding to make a career change. Project Management is a great choice and opens up so many opportunities in lots of different industries.
Downtown LA did indeed surprise us in how much we liked it. We were dreading going to LA but instead we had such a good time. I would love to hear the LA philharmonic play at the concert hall sometime. We will talk soon.
I certainly enjoyed going to LA with you – oops, I mean reading about your trip. I can picture Tracey wearing the beautiful African dress that she liked and appreciated.
I’m very impressed with the Walt Disney Concert Hall and will certainly make that a “must-see” next time we are in L.A. The library amazed me. You’ll have to visit Chicago’s main library next time you visit us. It is not really up to what you saw but is interesting.
You are a terrific writer and you are very kind to allow all of us to enjoy your trips and observations.
Sending love and wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving!
Valerie
I think you and John would really enjoy the concert hall tour. We were so surprised it was free, required no reservations and we were given open access to the building. Next time we go back I would love to see the LA philharmonic play as tgey are housed there.
Hugs to you both.
P.S. This is link with info for the tour: https://www.musiccenter.org/visit-explore/visit-explore/tours/walt-disney-concert-hall-self-guided-tours/
I think you and John would really enjoy the concert hall tour. We were so surprised it was free, required no reservations and we were given open access to the building. Next time we go back I would love to see the LA philharmonic play as tgey are housed there.
Hugs to you both.