It all began with a plane ride through busty cloud formations and in the air bloody mary concoctions, and needless to say, anticipation was high on my trip from NY to LA. I hadn't been back since I was a kid, and can't say I knew what to expect. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the location upon arrival was all of the color, life, and happiness in the air: yes, I knew there would be sunshine and smiles, but I wasn't prepared for the wealth of saturated rich colors of the people and places.
This will be the first of a few posts to come covering LA ground, but I feel it is best to start at the beginning. We stayed in the ultra unique and unequivocally artistic
Hotel Le Petit Ermitage. Think: lush, mysterious, and romantic: very on par with the ambiance of Wong Kar Wai's films, especially
2046. Their whimsical website even features the intriguing song by Japanese composer,
Shigeru Umebayashi, which is the song carried throughout the Wong Kar Wai film "In the Mood for Love". And indeed, the hotel puts you in the mood for love and nothing short of it.
Filled with hallways of paintings hung up gallery-style, floral carpets that's design flows up off the plush and onto the walls with a few simple golden paint strokes, knick-knacks that are quaint and eclectic, and who could forget: the roof-top pool decked with a fireplace and filled with lots of shabby mixed with chic decor. Although I failed to take a photograph of the top level dream space, simply because I was too busy enjoying it, I did try to capture what I enjoyed most about the rest of the hotel.
Stay Tuned for: Hearts of LA: Part Two; Coverage of the costumed inhabitants, old buildings, and iconic images that make up the popular hot spot, "Hollywood Hall of Fame".
The boy holding the cardboard sign with the neatly written plea of "Trying to get to Michigan. Every dollar counts." really seems to epitomize the land of the LA in my mind. It is filled with all of these long, lost reminiscing New Yorkers serving nachos at a Mexican bar, and wish-they-could-land-a-gig actors who paint themselves gold and go out on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to earn a buck or two. The costumed creatures of the Hollywood area take "just put on a smile" to a whole new level, but it doesn't mean that it isn't fun to be a tourist for a day.
Above: Grauman's Chinese Theater
Below: Hollywood resident remains pensive for 20 minutes, wondering which would be a better start to his day: a cruise around town with his movie star map flapping in the wind or a trip down reality lane with the news clutched in his hands. {He opted for the map, if you are curious.}
Above: Closer look at the Michigan boy who clicked his heels together three times, but ended right back up on the same Hollywood corner the next day.
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