WonL
The random thoughts of an architect-turned- lawyer from the deep south living in Washington, DC...
Monday, March 12, 2007
L.A. Highlights
We only had two days to spend in Los Angeles so were naturally quite limited in the vacationing we could accomplish. I'd say we did fairly well considering. Here are our most memorable moments...After we arrived on Tuesday, we picked up our convertible rental car and had some In-N-Out before checking into our swanky hotel. While the burgers were divine, I must say that I found the french fries to be horrendous. Honestly, if I want french fries, give me the real thing. Healthy french fries should be banned.
Back at the swanky hotel, we admired our modern surroundings: bubbly swinging chairs hanging from the ceiling; toys in the pool; artistic light montages on the walls; Californians playing on their laptops and of course an aquarium in the lobby where a woman lives at night.
We got dolled up and headed to Santa Monica so my friend could attend her reception and I could wander the beach. I did some great shopping around the 3rd St.Promenade and watched the sunset near the Santa Monica pier.
We had dinner at the Border Grill and were treated to great food and even better service. I was quite surprised at how downright nice most of the people in L.A. were. I had always heard of the stereo-typical southern Californian and let's just say I was not expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised. So much so that I asked the waiter to come home with us. After seeing the excitement on his face, I clarified that I didn't mean "home" back to our hotel, I meant "home" back to D.C. I explained to him that an attentive, knowledgeable, polite server could make a killing in our nation's capital. He came back to our table three times to thank us for our very kind words. He even brought us each coupons for $20 off. After bidding Jonas the waiter farewell, we headed back to the hotel to peruse the mini-bar and play in the expensive robes on the balcony.
On our second day, we woke up early, put on the sunscreen, put the top down and headed up the Pacific Coast Highway (or "PCH" for those in the know) to Malibu. I had been told by more than one person that this was the most beautiful amazing drive in the country. I'm might have to disagree.
Don't get me wrong, it was pretty, but I think "amazing" or "breathtaking" might take it a little too far. I hear things are supposed to get better north of Malibu but we just didn't have that much extra time. We did find ourselves a secluded beach to stop and play on the rocks.
The drive was still worth it as we rather enjoyed having the top down, hair whipping in the wind and sun beaming on our faces.
Back in town, we did the Hollywood thing for a few hours. We saw some shiny gold stars and some footprints and handprints and a really amazing view of the sign.
We got dolled up again and hit Sunset Boulevard for some adult beverages. The night was fairly uneventful minus that little issue of the hot bartender accidentally giving away my credit card to another girl. He leaned in all cute and charming holding a credit card with a "sweetheart, I have some bad news." He said that it was an honest mistake considering I had a last name very similar to the other girl. I tried to keep my bitchiness to a minimum as I expressed my doubt that her last name was actually anything like mine (it's pretty unique). We had about twenty minutes of discussion that included the manager and some complimentary drinks and profuse apologies. When I asked Hottie Mc.Bartender to see the other girl's card I noticed that her last name was like mine. In fact, it was mine. In a crazy turn of events, he had actually given the other girl her own credit card. After fending off many-o-drunks during our brisk walk up Sunset Boulevard back to our hotel, we ended our night by giggling incessantly over the condoms in the mini-bar.
And folks, that's L.A. for ya.
Labels: Travel