The Caffe del Arte, Beverly Hills There are a couple of tried-and-tested ways to get under the skin of a place when you have relatively limited time available. Our favoured approach is to do all the stuff we do at home as much as possible: except do it in the unfamiliar/exotic location. A good starting … Continue reading
Posted in August 2012 …
On US size: geography and food
LA was big. The scale of it is almost beyond comprehension. We touched the surface in our 4 days there before moving onto one of the South. LA beaches, Huntington, which is where we are now, and will be for the next 2 days.. It was easier once we realized that there was simply no … Continue reading
Architectural Arrogance
I knew there was a very good reason to not read guidebooks. I knew it. Because they tell you as much about what you don’t want to know as what you do. We decided to brunch it in downtown LA today. I was flushed with success at navigating back from Warner Studios yesterday at rush … Continue reading
Street Walking Beverly Hills
The only pedestrians down and out in BH mid-morning were of the Kempner variety Couldn’t see the seven dwarves anywhere The only jogger in town at that hour I’m very non-discriminatory in my obsessive interest in suburban edgelands. An ultra-wealthy enclave is just as worthy of close examination as a light industrial estate or the … Continue reading
Advice for Travellers on Viewing LA at Night
1. Get proper directions to Mulholland Drive, not half-baked instructions from a helpful Italian waiter. 2. Or get a decent map/street plan. 3. Travel in any vehicle substantially smaller than a Suburban Chevrolet. 4. Do not miss turning for Mulholland Drive and think you can then easily escape the slip road to the Highway. 5. … Continue reading
Salt and a Mole
I’ve met a man. He is a self-produced rapper and his name is Salt. It happened on venice beach, just a normal day. He told me I was funny, and we shared some laughs over a dalmatian that was the size of a horse. He kept calling me Babygirl, and at one point, hypnotised by … Continue reading
My loss of autonomy
Back again, darling. S’been a while, I’m aware, but to get back into things, I’m going to make this relatively short and sweet. The crux of the matter this time is my loss of autonomy and general inability to do or think anything for myself when on holiday with the family, and in particular, when … Continue reading
Beverly Hills Fantasy-Reality
We’re now in LA. A very big (BIG) place. So BIG that no-one is to be seen walking at all. It’s not the heat so much, though it IS quite hot, more the immense scale. Rodeo Drive is a short drive….but for us a 20 minute walk…… from the Beverley Hilton (where Whitney Houston died) … Continue reading
The “Real-ness” of Santa Barbara
An enticing glimpse over the hotel balcony into the hidden alleyway opposite Classic promenade view Travel always feels to me like a search for the real. Distinguishable from mere holidays, of course, which are a search for hedonistic pleasure. I’m generalizing, of course. It’s a bit of an intellectually arrogant distinction with a kernel of … Continue reading
The Little Kempner Again
For those of you who read my last blog post, you know that I want nothing more from my time in America than to see a celebrity. If I can darken my pale pasty skin colour then that is simply a bonus. My ambitions are high, what can I say? Any car enthusiasts out there, … Continue reading
A Chevy for Six, Please 