This is a long blog, but I think you'll find it to be worth the read.
Some of you know that I am currently in Los Angeles with my best friend Jolene.
I feel the need to blog right now because everything we have done in our 1st 12 hours here has been so incredibly overwhelming, and can only be described as a smorgasbord on the senses...
First, how we got here:
We left Summerside at about 9:00pm on Thursday night. With the mild weather we had been having at home, my car ended up stuck in the mud and I had t get CAA to come pull me out :-(
Halfway to Borden (where the Confederation Bridge is) I realized I had no idea where I had put my passport and thought I had forgotten it at home. So we turned back. It wasn't there. It had been in my luggage the whole time!
We finally set off for Halifax, with a whole whack of California Music blaring (Joni Mitchell, Nickelback, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc), and Big Yellow Taxi having become our anthem because it makes us so happy! lol We stopped for gas, coffee, etc, and made it in to the airport at about 1:00 am. We went up to the observation deck, where we rearranged some of our luggage, I charged my cel phone and Jolene painted her nails, while others passengers tried to catch some zzz's. We went down at about 3:00am, to wait in line to check-in at 4:00. We wanted to change our seats as we were not able to choose seats together when we booked the flight. Not knowing where to go, we ran into an absolute sweetheart of a man, Ron, who assisted us. We chatted with him for bit and finally checked-in on our own (with the funky machines they have there-too cool!) and got really good seats. I then took out my origami paper while we waited to check our baggages in... I made two flapping cranes (which have become my trademark!) and later gave them to Ron, who took them in exchange for a heartfelt hug! What a sweetie he was!
We got on the plane on time (6:00am), but it ended up getting into Toronto late because of de-icing. Then we had to pick up our luggage and get through customs before catching our next flight. By the time our luggage got to the carrousel, it was already 8:20 and our plane was boarding at 8:15!!! We ended up finding a gentleman who was also late and zoomed through customs after telling them his plane was about to board. He let us tag along, even let us go ahead of him, and we made it through customs quickly and easily. Thank Goodness, our flight to LA also got delayed, so we made it!!! Then there was a gate change (because of the delay) that we almost missed . So all in all, it was a confusing and tiring day.
The flight was amazing. We flew over (and clearly saw!) the Colorado Rockies, Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. We made friends with the 6 flight attendants, and I made them flapping cranes as well (of course!!!)
California!!!
So we arrived in California around noon (California time) which was really weird because people started saying "good morning", "how are you, this morning?" and "what would you like, this morning?" about 13 hours earlier (at 3:00 am Halifax time) . That was the longest morning EVER! It was like the Twilight Zone or Groundhog Day. We just couldn't seem to get beyond the morning!!!!
We took a shuttle to get to our hotel. Although the hotel is in a slightly rough neighbourhood, it is really decent and we even felt comfortabe going out on the bus at night (more about that later).
When we arrived, we chatted with the clerk, Peter, who is an absolute sweetie. He said he would give us a good room, and boy, did he ever! We have two queen beds and a window that faces a beautiful palm tree. The furniture in the room is all a very dark mohogany. It is clean, and comfortable. The bathroom counter is GRANITE! We have a fridge, a microwave, and a coffee maker, and when we asked for extra facecloths and towels, they were up to our room waiting at the door before we got up from the front lobby! We have free, high signal, high speed internet, and just outside the front door is a beautiful cactus garden! We can't be any closer to the subway station, and bus. We are soooooooooooo pleased!!!
So our first order of business was to go to the Price is Right to see about the elusive tickets. The bus driver was the nicest lady! She was so sweet, and I told her that. I also told her I was from the Canadian East Coast, so if I said she was sweet, it must REALLY be true!!! LOL She agreed!
Regrettably, we were not able to get tickets, because of Spring Break. The security guy was so nice though. Calvin was his name. So adorable...
So we hopped back on the bus and headed towards the hotel. On the way, I could see on the left, in the distance, a big-ass house in the middle of Beverly Hills. I don't know who's it is, but I certainly intend to find out. As I was looking over, what did I see? THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN!!!!!!! OMG-I can't even tell you how excited I was. So much for our plan to not look like tourists when we're in public!!!!!! I told Jolene to look over (we could only see it sporadically) and she finally saw it. We were so excited!
Instead of going back to the Hotel, we decided to grab a bite to eat at Denny's about 1/4 block from our hotel. The service was 1st rate (ctually, Jolene says it was BEYOND 1st rate-and I agree) and so was the food. Then we realized that about 6 steps out from Denny's we could see the Hollywood sign, too, which we wouldn't have known if we hadn't been on the bus to CBS Studios for the Price is Right Tickets! See? Everything happens for a reason!
I recently saw something on tv about how the best way to get over jetlag is to stay up until midnight in the new timezone, on your first day there. So after supper, we came back to the hotel, showered, and tried to plan out things for the next few days. Then Jolene fell asleep. I decided I was going to see this "little" place I read about in Frommer's called "The Grove". I woke Jolene up and asked her if she wanted to come. She decided to tag along. We hopped on a bus (the same one that took us to CBS earlier that day), and went off to see if we could find The Grove.
WOW-What an incredible place. When I talk about sensory smorgasbord, this was totally it...
As we neared the location, we saw all these lights! We knew we were in the right place... The first thing upon arrival was the valet parking... how cool is that.
Now here's what The Grove is... Imagine this. An outdoor mall, combined with the lights, sounds and smells of a fairground... I wish I could show you, but even the pics don't do it justice.
First when we arrived, Jolene wasn't doing well, and I thought the jet lag was probably really affecting her, with one of the reasons being that she was probably a bit dehydrated (anyone who knows and loves me knows that I drink so much water it's virtually impossible for me to get dehydrated...) So I bought her a bottle of water and grabbed one for me too (which I downed in about two gulps!).
Once Jolene felt a bit better, we started to walk around. At The Grove, you are greeted by a bunch of fairground style huts, selling hot dogs, pretzels, and Hagen Dazs Ice cream. Then, to the left is Nordstorm's, to the right is the Gap. Straight ahead is a litte grassy area and a beautiful tree and flower garden, with a stage set up. In the distance, a Huge, old-fashioned, vertical, broadway-style lighted, revolving sign says "The Grove". It is huge and it is beautiful. In the foreground, you have a "dancing" fountain, which has about 20 jets that literally "dance" to the music!!! A cobble stone walkway takes you around to all of the stores, but it has trolley rails in it. A free double decker, open-topped trolley comes along, dinging the bell, as it carries people to and from 3 stops. Before leaving each stop, the conductor yells "All aboard!". We sat upstairs on the trolley, giving us a very different perspective (we had walked all of it first).
The stores that line the cobblestone walkway are places like Barnes and Nobles (with a Starbucks in it), All American Girl, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, Victoria's Secret, The Cheesecake Factory, Apple (everything you can possibly imagine for your ipod!) etc, etc. etc. along with a bunch of neat cafes, restaurants and bars. There are also booths all along the sides of the cobble stone walkway, selling everything from dog clothes to cel phone cases and bracelets to hats and purses. Everywhere you go, there are different smells, from jasmine tea, to deep friend funnel cakes, to ribs, to perfumes, to ethnic foods,
and even smoke in the Farmer's Market part.
The Farmer's market... Now that's an experience in itself!
Smells of fruit and fish and pastries, and stores like you've never
seen-souvenirs, crafts, foods and even a sticker store! It was
vaguely reminiscent of Granville Island in Vancouver, but on a much smaller
scale.
It made me realize that you could live in LA and eat out every day for the
rest of your life and never eat the same place twice. Compared to our
restaurant selection at home, all I can say is-wow...
The feeling of being at The Grove was so surreal. Jolene and I kept
comenting about how it just didn't make sense. It was outdoors, but it
didn't feel like it. The sound of people talking and laughing, and the
music in each store and on the stage, the ever so slight dampness of the evening
cooling off, the sound of the water from the ountain splashing, the wind in our
hair on the trolley, the heat from the patio heaters as we sat and listed to a
live band performing live music, with lights in the background and the fountain
dancing to their music. The taste of an all american hotdog at 9:30 pm and
a cone with Hagen Dazs Ice cream in it. Children doing cartwheels on the
grass in front of the stage, and couples walking hand in hand. It
was, well, surreal. I can't imagine an experience that would play a bigger
role on all of our senses than this one....
So we left there at about 9:45, but missed the bus, unbeknownst to us... We ended up waiting a little under an hour for the bus to come, but we didn't mind because we were sitting in front of the CBS studios on Beverly Blvd, while we watched luxury car after luxury car drive by. It seems eveyone here had a new, shiny luxury car or SUV. We haven't sen a single pick-up truck and only one minivan! lol There were tons of cabs, from a bunch of different companies, and the police drove by often making us feel generally safe (but cautious!).
We finally got back to the hotel around 11:00 and we crashed, having been awake for over 40 hours....
I woke up at 6:00 this morning. I'm on a good schedule now. We're headin' to Hollywood now. I do believe we'll lunch at the Hard Rock... Woohoo!
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