Daily musings in 90210

It was on day 3 of my holiday in Los Angeles that I threw walking out the window, along with my hopes of getting my lost suitcase back before the weekend. I honestly usually don’t mind walking, but at this moment my feet beg to differ. I should have known that walking from Westwood to Beverly Hills was not a good idea. But, I had looked it up on the internet before I left my hotel, and once I saw that it would only take me a little over an hour to walk there, I accepted the challenge. Looking back, this turned out to have been a mistake. An hour might not seem like a lot, but I hadn’t factored in all of the walking that I had done on previous days. It also didn’t help that I came across a humongous shopping mall on my way, which added another three hours of me being on my feet and strolling around. Unsurprisingly, then, my legs don’t feel like walking anymore. My pedometer, which tells me I’ve broken multiple records in the last several days, also reminds me to allow my feet some rest occasionally.

Aah- The LA Holiday Life!

As a result, I am currently writing this blog in the notes application on my mobile phone while sitting on a little grass patch, only to re-type this on my laptop later tonight. This grass patch happens to be an extension of Rodeo Drive, a famous street in the Beverly Hills area of Los Angeles. Expensive cars are driving by, palm trees on the side of the road, and there are luxurious villas all around me. It is exactly what you might imagine Beverly Hills to be. A city break in LA is nice, but I am imagining myself living here one day. You know, once I win the lottery, of course. Anyway, this little patch of grass is probably not intended for people to rest their feet, since it is right in front of these expensive villas. That is why it wouldn’t surprise me if that is the reason why people are looking at me in a weird way. Oh well, they should have built some benches.

RODEO DRIVE

I am distracted by my backpack. It smells extraordinarily good today, because when I went to the Sephora earlier in the day in the previously mentioned Westfield Century City mall, I immediately got handed at least ten samples of perfume. Actually, “handed” does not really do justice to the actual way in which I received the samples from the very forward sales person. She gave them away like she was Oprah Winfrey. So, even though I wasn’t planning on taking home any samples at all and just wandered into the store out of curiosity, I ended up with ten. In the process, I learned it is quite difficult to get American shop staff off my back. In the future, I will just take the samples and run.

Rodeo Drive- beware of cup cakes!

After the twentieth person stares at me sitting on this little patch of grass as if I am a unicorn, it is time to put myself back together and move on. I run into the Sprinkles Cupcake ATM, where I get to take a cupcake out of an ATM like it is cash money. After all the walking I did, I feel like I earned that. I order a signature red velvet cupcake, that tastes just like chocolate with cream cheese. With cupcake in hand, I head towards the more well-known part of Rodeo Drive where exorbitant shops try to lure people inside. Maybe I would have gone in, except I don’t think I’m their target audience. Besides, I am not sure if they would be too happy if I walked in with this cupcake in my hand. With my luck, I would probably accidentally get some of the cream cheese on their expensive clothes or accessories. Perhaps I should not push my luck today.

Pretty woman, walkin\' down the street

At the end of Rodeo Drive, I find a gorgeous hotel. It’s the Beverley Wiltshire Four Seasons. By this time, I have finished my cupcake, and I am just looking for a restroom. Also, I would love to catch a glimpse of what a five-star hotel looks like in the famous Beverly Hills Area. I admit it, I was just curious. So, in I walk. I feel incredibly out of place, but I go to the check in desk and ask if I can use the restroom. The man behind the desks points me to the right, and I scurry in that direction. I try to look around without it being too obvious that I have don’t really belong here. This place is amazing, and I resolve that I should stay here one day, even if it’s only for one night. Maybe as a writer for a travel company I may qualify for an exclusive discount at I am a little jealous, knowing that I am writing this blog article for someone who is probably going to book this hotel for their holiday in Beverley Hills without batting an eyelid. But the writer will become the reader; one day!

LOBBY AT THE BEVERLEY WILSHIRE (FOUR SEASONS)

While I am staring at myself in the bathroom mirror intently, in walks a staff member. Awkward. At least, that is what it feels like on the inside, caught like a deer in headlights. On the outside, I just smile politely at the lady and hope she is not somehow a mind reader. Apparently she is not, because she smiles back. I, however, still feel a little weird and I dash out of the hotel and back onto to the street. I now understand how Julia Roberts’ character felt in Pretty Woman when she walked into this hotel! The hotel actually markets “The Pretty Woman Experience” although that has romantic themes of creating your own love story. I just lived the real experience.

My luck is changing- a good omen for my holiday in Los Angeles!

Where to go next, I wonder. Google maps leads me to some stairs that give access to a little pedestrian zone that is connected to Rodeo drive on the other side, with more fancy stores. One of the store fronts that jumps out is that of Versace, which somehow reminds me of the Gringotts Wizarding Bank from the Harry Potter series. Hmmm, maybe it actually is, and it is just posing as a muggle store…

Then my phone rings. It is someone from the airline, with good news. My suitcase has been found. In fact, they are bringing it to the hotel that I am staying at, which means I can finally change out of the sweatpants that I have worn for a couple days now. I take this as my cue to go home. There’s no way I am walking all the way back though. I’ll just order an Uber instead.

I think I am going to have an amazing Los Angeles holiday experience!