Legendary Los Angeles
Hollywood, extravagant parties, piano bars, cocktails and fancy dinners… I had stepped into a completely different world - the legendary American dream city of Los Angeles. Farewell back packer, hello flash packer! It was Adam’s birthday, so we headed straight out for delicious chicken sandwiches and greasy french fries washed down with aggressive Long Beach cocktails - exactly what a girl needs when she’s been awake for almost 24 hours straight!
Needless to say an hour later, we were giggles galore, mucking around taking snaps on the king size bed overlooking the fancy indoor pool - carefree, frivolous and completely ruining the classy ambiance!! Look out LA - Kim, Kourtney and Khloé are in town! :)
Adam recently moved to LA for work, so we were lucky to have a lovely West Hollywood apartment to walk straight home to. The next day (the first of many consecutive hung over mornings) we dragged ourselves to Starbucks for a ‘tall' coffee - the smallest of the cup size options - and a bagel with cream cheese. Joggers on and cameras charged, we joined the outdoor fitness junkies of LA hiking up Runyon Canyon to get some idyllic views of the Hollywood sign and the sprawling city of Los Angeles.
Then Janek and I checked out the scene at Santa Monica and Venice Beach - sun shining and perfect weather - just what I expected in the middle of winter??!! I wondered what on earth all the interesting and alternative characters there on a Tuesday afternoon did for work? Nothing, I think. I was definitely getting a feel for ‘SoCal' (Southern California) - perfect weather all year round, be who you want, dress how you want, do what you want and enjoy life! That evening we treated ourselves to tacos, burritos and margaritas before strolling down Sunset Boulevard to the local Piano Bar, where Janek convinced me to sing at open mic night!! Unfortunately, the piano player didn’t really know the accompaniment for the songs I had chosen, so some bits were atrocious eyebrow raisers, but I still received a wild applause from my fans (Janek and Adam) and admittedly got a kick out of that little dose of performing again! I flirted with a guy for half the night while the boys embarrassingly egged me on… but turns out he was probably gay… I really know how to pick them! :)
The next day, in true LA style, we got our groove on at the infamous Millennium Dance Complex. Actually, it was one of those situations where our expectations were thoroughly misguided and we were challenged to step completely out of the comfort zone. The three of us were psyched for a great workout and to walk out of the studio with a funky routine under our belts that we could spontaneously whip out on the dance floor. Our hopes and dreams were shattered after the warm up when Donyelle informed us that today’s class was going to be about improvisation in the contemporary style (mind you, we were in a hip hop/jazz class… go figure?!) Janek and I had a minor panic attack. We felt silly enough being taught a routine in an LA dance school let alone making up our own moves!?! Adam embraced the moment, feeling a bit more at home being a ex-ballet dancer. After sitting out and watching for a few minutes, Janek and I mustered all the confidence we had, lowered the walls of insecurity and attempted to participate in this highly exposed and vulnerable expression of movement. Every cloud has a silver lining, so naturally by the end of the class we were having a ball creating letters of the alphabet through dance - using different parts of our body at various speeds, shapes, styles and intensity of movement. The unexpected benefits of this experience didn’t end there - it gave us inspiration to choreograph a dance… which we later performed in random places across America, including the glass cable car up to Mount San Jacinto, a gay nightclub in Palm Springs, a gay bar on Santa Monica Boulevard, and of course at the Beyoncé concert in Las Vegas! Just to thicken the silver lining a bit more, I also gained some insightful perspectives on my decision making problems during the dance class when Donyelle likened dance to life. There are an infinite number of ways to perform one movement in dance eg. right or up or point, and sometimes you have to choose just 3 options and play around with them so as not to be overwhelmed by the endless number of options available. I related to this analogy so strongly, it was as if I was just meant to be in that dance class.
In true hipster style, we made our way to Palm Springs in a Ford Mustang convertible. Oh yeah.
Frozen to the core, and rugged up in beanies, gloves and warm winter jackets we arrived in Palm Springs - where desert, palm trees and flat barren plains collide with luscious green forest pine trees and snow capped mountains. I actually got teary here when I experienced falling snow for the first time at the top of Mount San Jacinto!! So special.
Lavish Las Vegas
The next day, the three Kardashians hit Vegas baby!! At the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, our convertible was Valet parked and we checked in to our (upgraded) hotel suite. The Venetian has 4049 suites (a standard room is a suite), and it houses the Grand Canal with gondolas, a Sistine Chapel-like ceiling, exquisite frescos, hundreds of specialty shops and gourmet restaurants in an Italian street-themed retail complex with authentic cobblestones, strolling performers, Madame Tussauds Las Vegas wax museum, a wedding chapel, theatres showing broadway musicals, and a number of other Venetian architectural features and replicas! I took my time in the shower as big as a bathroom; blow dried my hair in the refined Italian marble bathroom as big as a lounge-room; and enjoyed a pre-dinner drinkie in the graceful and sophisticated room as big as a house with an oversized dining table, coffee table, L shaped sofa and ottoman... La Dolce Vita! We strolled down Las Vegas Boulevard aka the Strip, soaking up the glitz and glamour - neon lights, mammoth brightly coloured LED billboards and video screens, the Bellagio’s impressive water fountain show set to music, and dramatic New York-like cityscape architecture including replicas of the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triumph. I was dazzled!
And then there was Beyoncé at MGM Grand - the best Christmas present ever! Forever grateful, boys :) As expected, she was phenomenal - such a talented performer in a spectacular show with awesome back up dancers. We were so lucky to be about 5 or 6 metres from the stage, so I could see all her facial expressions, her gorgeous beaming smile, and her incredibly hot bod which dominated the auditorium with agility and sex appeal.
On a tight schedule, we reunited with the convertible, roof closed :( and treated ourselves to a scenic drive with the spiky alien-like Joshua Trees speckling an arid landscape… welcome to Arizona! About 3 hours later we reached our destination - The Grand Canyon - only to be told that there was zero visibility and no refunds on tickets purchased to see the famous natural wonder. So, essentially, we went to the Grand Canyon, but technically, we didn’t actually ‘see’ the Grand Canyon haha. The return journey was definitely a reconciling factor as we marvelled at the unusual yet beautiful Joshua Tree Forest, silhouetted against a remarkable sunset.
Return to Legendary Los Angeles
As If the day wasn’t big enough already - Las Vegas to The Grand Canyon and back to Los Angeles - after arriving home at about 10pm, it was upper class LA party time! In the Hollywood foothills lies a beautiful house owned by the creator of Ugly Betty. Yes, that’s right, I went to an exclusive Christmas party at the house of the creator of Ugly Betty!!!! Janek has connections. As usual, I didn’t want to go initially - none of us even know who’s party it was at that stage, but being a lazy bum and feeling unglamorous, I wasn’t really in the mood for socialising, but also felt like I shouldn’t pass up an opportunity and a party invitation. I asked Janek if he thought there might be some straight guys or girls there, and he wasn’t sure but we hoped there would be… Think again! As I stepped through the front door of the ritzy-looking residence, it literally balls to the wall extreeeeemely attractive, well dressed gay guys, as far as the eye could see!! Not one female in sight. I was completely dumbfounded, lost for words and unsure what on earth to do. Engulfed in a sea of intimidatingly good looking men, Janek turned to me flashing an apologetic pity face. When I found my tongue again, I suggested that perhaps I just escorted the boys to the party and now it was time for me to go. Janek, hesitantly suggested that perhaps I just stay for a few minutes, have a drink and then see how I feel… well, a few (too many) drinks later, I was having a ball! I excitedly introduced myself as a “girl” to the four other females at the party of at least 100 gay guys, and talked the ear off one of the poor female bar tenders while she waited for the toilet. We had photos taken and developed by a professional photographer in a Christmas set at the back of the house - next to the pool, drank far too much free vodka, and met a number of ‘somebodies’ including the producer of Cougar Town and Scrubs, an LA modelling agent, the lawyer for some of America’s big production companies, 7-foot pro basket-baller Jason Collins who is the first openly gay NBA player, and the host himself, Silvio Horta - creator and producer of Ugly Betty and screenplay writer for Urban Legend.
I spent the following week laying low in Adam’s apartment in LA while Janek and Adam went to Miami. One day I had a singing lesson with someone who gave me some great tips and compliments and inspired me to move to New York and give Broadway a go! I did some christmas shopping, went on long walks, met tonnes of friendly Americans, ate far too much unhealthy food (end of the trip blow-out I’m calling it), went to yoga classes at a local gym and decided I really like LA!! Let me just add that this trip came about because I asked Janek what he was up to in December, for some inspiration for the final leg of my journey. When he said LA, I was a bit disinterested and nonchalant, because I had been to LA before and it didn’t really appeal to me…but I decided the company was worth the trip… next thing you know, I love LA and I want to move there!!! Yep, nothing changes, I’m still as flippant as ever and have no idea what I want to do with my life :)
