 |
 |
|||||
 |
||||||
|
|
Leaving LA Behind..  Frog hug at the aquarium in San Diego       Shooting a music video on Rodeo Drive  Sprinkles cupcakes <3   Satisfying an obsession with headbands  vespa love    Shamu, the largest killer whale   Fountain cafe  Breakfast by the pool I'm sitting here on my flight to NY, & looking at four hours of flight. The first line of this entry alone took nearly 15 minutes to type {seriously} courtesy of a *very* annoying brother {in a very cute way that is, but still annoying } And now that he's finally engaged with the entertainment device, I am able to continue what I started. So yes, I've been away from you, for a very long time. I thought of you often, many random thoughts and small things that I felt the urge to share with you, but I used the little time I spent in my hotel room to catch up on sleep.. The truth is, I've slept less in my vacation than my work days. I intend to catch up on a week of sleep when I get home in a couple of weeks, meanwhile, I want to make the most out of my time out here & my next destinations. Los Angeles, Hasta Luego The last time I felt this way was three years ago, after my first visit to Tokyo. I looked outside the airplane's window as we slowly departed the home of Shibuya girls, & Harajuku kids and felt a pang of sadness to leave it behind. The sadness however was short-lived, 6 months later we were on our way to Tokyo, again. Departing LA was not very dissimilar; I looked outside the window & in the eye of my mind I saw a kaleidoscope of picture-perfect moments: Walking the 3rd Street promenade, coming face to face with Christian Bale, Seal, Heidi Montage, & Christian Slater, then strolling by Rodeo Dr. in all due fabulousness, & munching on my freshly baked red velvet sprinkles cupcake first thing in the morning. It was all like a dream. A dream come true. For that, I decided to jot-down snippets of this dream here for your visit to the City of Angels ;p Where to stay? The Beverly Hills Hotel is a great place to be. Get a private bungalow or opt for a room with a patio overlooking the quiet back gardens. The hotel is located on Crescent Dr. where you'll enjoy a morning walk in a beautiful neighborhood where everyone you run into smiles and wishes you a good morning despite the fact that you look like you just rolled out of bed {which in my case was mostly true}. The ancient building has 1920's glam scribbled all over it with great service quality to match. Upon my arrival I submitted 2 pieces of clothing for pressing, & when they asked me when did I want them back, I said "no rush.. tomorrow is fine" - They were hanging in my closet, starch pressed only 1 hour later +_+ That was the first spark to ignition the love -- the rest was history ;p Have breakfast by the pool The Beverly Hills Hotel pool is one place you should not miss, you never know who you might see there. It's the place to see & be seen. Surrounded by a beautiful view and beautiful people, breakfast becomes an experience. Order their worldly famous cranberry french toast and have it with fresh carrots juice while enjoying the setting. Gorgeously delicious! Have a quick breakfast at the Fountain Café On the lower ground of a hotel lies a famous diner-like cafe that makes some of the best belgian waffles I have ever had. I would drop by around 11-ish for those, or for a really early breakfast when I didn't feel like being in the see-&-be-seen spots. Best treat? the waitresses are always dressed in pink ;p Go to Bliss Spa The W-Hotel in Westwood has the much celebrated Bliss Spa, I opted for a manicure & a foot-patrol pedicure the first time, & may I just tellllll you how entertaining the experience was? {minus the talkative braggadocio 50-something lady occupying the station next to mine}, it was by faaaaar the best mani & pedi I have ever had. Highly recommended. The next treatment was a deep-tissue full body massage in a coral blue room that put me to sleep. The perfect amount of pressure, and perfect spots. Heavenly! Have a burger at Nine Thirty Not the time that is, but the restaurant ;p The same hotel that harbors the heaven mentioned above also has a lounge/restaurant on the ground floor named Nine Thirty, stop by & order their char-grilled burger served with steak fries, & your choice of cheddar or blue cheese ;p Have a bagle to go! Plain toasted bagle with cream cheese, or plain toasted with cheese and smoked salmon smear at Noah's New York bagles are absolutely mouth-watering! Fresh, crispy, & delicious. Have it with a mocha to go ;p Bring home a small Anthropologie I love this shop for many reason why I love shopping at Anthropologie is the fact that it's a bundle of cuteness! I love their design and travel books, the poofy skirts, and cute little things for home. I couldn't resist the Babushka nesting dolls salt shakers. Cuteness for poached eggs breakfasts on weekends =) Chocolate souffle under a starlet sky The Polo Lounge makes a great chocolate souffle, if you're a chocolate person {who isn't!} -- reserve a table for dinner outside under the tree {make sure it's under the tree} & go for dinner and a chocolate souffle to remember right after sunset. The starlet tree under the mauve sky is the perfect picture-perfect setting to devour that souffle. It's always a good idea to order your souffle at the beginning of the meal, it takes 25-30 minutes to prepare. Go to the 3rd St. promenade Unlike most places in europe, Los Angeles is a night-city, & by that I mean people go about doing their things in the evenings. The streets of LA throb with adults, teenagers, & children after 21:00, and if you like people watching, the 3rd St. promenade is the place to go. Lots of mid-range shops, cafes and restaurants on the street.. Lots of people around, whether just walking by or demonstrating talents and fishing for agents or production companies. Catch a great movie at the 3D iMax theater The Bridge cinema at Howard's {on the San Diego freeway} is a great spot to catch a 3D movie. Unlike Universal Studios' theater, this one has reserved seating.. So, you don't have to show up 3 hours before your movie to make sure you get a decent seat. In an iMax theater always opt for a back seat, being too close to the screen would only ruin your 3D experience. You can book tickets online at: & just use the same credit card you used for your booking to retrieve your tickets from any kiosk there! Easy peasy, no? Go up the hollywood hills & take a photo! Just stand there, work your charms, & have someone take your photo with HOLLYWOOD in the background. Fabulous! When you go home, load it into Adobe Photoshop & Replace the 'H' with a bonus 'B' lol. If you're traveling alone and don't have someone to take that photo of you, don't fret, just stop one of the cars driving up and down the hill & have someone do that for you. LA people are simply fabulous! Go to Nirvana on a Friday Saturday night A traditional/contemporary indian restaurant that makes great butter naan bread, & scrumptious butter chicken. Also, order their stuffed mushrooms for entrée Go up the Malholland Drive To get a coast view of LA and a valley view go up the Malholland Drive. The air feels and smells different from each side of the hill. Our chauffeur took post-card material photos of my brother & I. They'll be framed {& I rarely think a photo is good enough to be framed!} Visit Malibu, walk on the beach I went to Malibu to shop for tack at the European Equestrian Center, the place was right on the beach, & stocked many different colors of my favorite jodhpurs. I walked out of the store with baaaags & baaaags that would later be shipped express back to Abu Dhabi, but I couldn't disregard the view, and the curiosity to see what's up those hills by the beach. It was the perfect time of the day, and the perfect weather. After several stops, & an endless stream of more post-card material photos we headed back to the hotel. I secretly wished I had a condo off one of those cliffs. Have dinner at the Gordon Ramsey restaurant in West Hollywood The star of the celebrity culinary show Hell's Kitchen, Gordon Ramsey, has a restaurant at the London-West-Hollywood hotel. You'll need to reserve in advance, & be dressed for the occasion *wink* Go to Santa Monica & Venice Beach On a Saturday, or a Sunday morning. Lots of people, lots to see. Have a cupcake! If you've missed the Judith Leiber cupcake clutch, don't fret, settle for the next best thing: Sprinkles heavenly cupcakes, Red Velvet is my favorite! Lunch at the Ivy Now, there are two Ivy locations, one in Santa Monica & the other in Beverly Hills, on Robertson Blvd. You want to be at the one in Beverly Hills with Matthew Perry & the rest. Keanu Reeves loves the place and is said to be a frequent Ivy-er. I haven't spotted any stars, but I sure devoured their peaches and dandelion salad with ricotta salata <3 Another thing that I really enjoyed about LA is the sight of mothers with their children. Seriously. No, my motherly hormones are not kicking, but seeing moms of 2 or 3 kids with perfect swim-suit material bodies is SO refreshing! Perfect abs, & toned arms and legs, no baby stretch marks, & no rippling flabs. It felt good, no.. GREAT to see such fabulous mothers. If I ever become a mother, I want to be one just like that =) Until my next post, I'll be spreading love, lots of love your way x *** Note that this post was written on a flight, & published 3 days after it's been written Labels: Photo speech, Travel $16 in my moola box | link | email this post |
|||||
 |
 |
 |
||||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
