Vegas (and L.A) baby!

Coming out of the mountains to Vegas is a surreal experience a little like being on the worst kind of extreme rollercoaster, with more flashy lights and BIGGER trucks that want to kill you. I must admit, Vegas wasn’t on our stop list, we had limited time, we had been to Vegas before and quite frankly, it’s only amusing for the first half an hour you are there, after that it’s like a never ending nightmare of consumerism. HOWEVER, the gorgeous, the FABULOUS, the STUPENDOUS Polly asked when we were coming.... and we just could not say no! So, sorry London Bridge (now in Havasu) but there are more important things to see. So, this is what lead us to be hurtling on a billion lane freeway in crazy town with a SQUILLION people after being on the actual moon in Arizona. And honestly, it was THE BEST. It was almost as if Polly and the totally charming and divinely sweet Adam knew us inside and out...taking us to classic 50’s Italian restaurants with red leather booths, or to brilliant Tiki bars so dim lit we had to read the menu with our phones, that played 80’s punk videos on Tv and surfing classics, or vintage shopping to buy yet more tiki and the most awesome outfits (oh and a stuffed eagle...well, Adam did...that would have been a step too far even for me!) We saw the backside of The Strip, which actually looked beautiful in the sunset. We talked, we gossiped, we laughed a lot, we saw bugs the size of birds and we walked the streets in 40+ degree heat. Me and Sam even managed a 4K run early in the morning, shouting ‘VEGAS BABY’ (when we had some breath and were not dying of extreme heat) I loved being with Polly and Adam, I felt able to be who I am, talk about things that mattered to us all and I am only sad not to live closer as they are true friends.

But onwards. Reluctant to head off for many reasons, knowing the drive is long and tedious (only broken up by a stop at The Biggest Gas Station In The World... 100 pumps) leaving such wonderful friends, but also of course that LA was to be our last stop. Now, Sam and I have been to LA quite a few times and I had booked us a few days there to relax before flying home - because it was familiar and I thought, well... we can go to some fab places we have seen before and just chill....UMMMMM nope. LA welcomed us like a cheeky old but very dear friend saying COME HERE, SEE THIS... and we were welcomed to what I can only describe as HOME. It honestly feels like home, maybe in the same way London does, troublesome, a bit of a pain, but also brilliant and fun and ever changing.

We stayed in an area new to us, Los Feliz, which was the first surprise. PEOPLE WALK AROUND. I can not emphasise how unusual this is for L.A., well actually the whole of America (cue the ‘nobody walks in America’ song, which sounds a little like the ‘nobody works on a Friday’ Song) but even more so for L.A. the centre of the car crazy universe. But no. Here in Los Feliz village, the roads are only 4 lanes and people amble up and down the streets, and sit outside cafes and bars...positively European. And where we are staying is just amazing...a super 70’s Studio pad.... with a shagpiled reading nook, a balcony looking over the lights of Downtown, the most comfortable bed with period 70’s lighting and a FREAKING JACUZZI BATH TUB. Just brilliant. With the most brilliant part being Rose and Christoff who own (and built the damned place) who we bump into after our first night out and who welcome us in for drinks and nibbles to following day. And of course we go. We see all new places that just blow us away. Originally disappointed because the tiki bar we wanted to see wasn’t open on Tuesday we decide to go to The Dresden, which was just across the road from the bar we were in. OMFG. No, I thought I needed a tiki bar, but it turns out I needed a CLASSIC cocktail bar, complete with leather edged bar, fake rock wall detail, a cream leather boothed restaurant, ASTOUNDING cocktails (ouch) and Marty & Elaine. A pair that have been playing at The Dresden for seemingly centuries, still dyeing their hair black, he singing Dean Martin classics, her on jazz piano and FLUTE ffs. It defies understanding and explanation, I just want to go there... every night.... for the rest of my life (something that I think I inform Sam of after our 4th cocktail)

With a head full of mainly margarita and needing fresh air, the following day was spent at Venice Beach, just so wonderful to see the ocean, be on a beach again. I had been craving the sea and Venice does not fail to provide sweet breezes, roaring waves and funny sights. We cycle (well, I cycle, Sam falls off his skates and then cycles...why on earth he didn’t get knee pads is just beyond me...) along from Venice to Santa Monica to Marina Del Ray and then amble past millionaire row back to the Marina for lunch

. We returned home to our pad, sunkissed and READY for a total trip down memory lane, because one of the crazy things we had booked to do in LA was to go see Miss Saigon! This was the show that Sam & I (and so many other friends) worked on 25 years ago. I think we both worked on it for a year or so, I went back to it for a spell after Dais was born - and every song, every cue, every costume change is etched into my soul! No one goes to the theatre in LA, so tickets at the spectacular Pantages Theatre were incredibly cheap, the seats excellent and have to say the show was everything I wanted it to be. Yes it was nostalgic, but it was also a brilliant staging. Yes, I obviously knew all the words, but the cast were strong and a joy to watch. Yes, me and Sam did hold our breath when we knew the helicopter was coming, but it did not fail to move me. We wandered home with huge smiles, fond memories of times long gone and a commitment to see some of those folk again soon.

Thursday was spent WALKING (‘Nobody walks in America...’) we walked up to the edge of Griffiths Observatory, dreaming not only of which house we should buy, (hacienda style? Mid Century Modern? Ultra Modern? Faux Victorian?) but also how we should decorate it and the type of guard dog we might need. Our Airbnb landlords were astounded just by that, but then we ALSO walked all the way down Melrose...which yes, even for a normal town would be far, perhaps a little too far for my tiny feet, but in LA is like walking to Australia. But we wanted to see bits we hadn’t seen before - and going through districts was fascinating - from extreme wealth to people living in tents, or under blankets on the street. The land of opportunity is only for some sadly, and in LA this is never more stark. We round the evening off with drinks with Christoff and Rose and their friends, with tales of their house building and we discover that Christoff and Sam are virtually separated at birth, doing the same thing, liking the same things, I have to drag Sam out for fear we were overstaying our welcome, only to meet Christoff on the way back after we had discovered another fab tiki bar, and to be brought BACK into their house for more wine and promises that Sam can take out Christoff’s Harley for a run

. Friday was MAXIMUM HOLLYWOOD day.... Sam went out for a spin, cruising up and down Hollywood & Sunset Boulevard on a freaking Harley... and then we decided to amble over to West Hollywood for lunch and knowing the film we just about to see, we obviously stopped at the iconic Musso & Franks - 100 years old and still the same as it had ever been. Glorious, indulgent and made us giggle! Worth every cent to be there and to experience that. All of this a prelude to our main event...going to see the new Tarantino nig opening weekend in FULL 70mm Cinerama at the Arclight on Sunset. Introduced by one of the staff and told to shut up and turn off phones (YES, this should be standard...) the packed cinema full of Americans whooping and cheering THEIR town on screen, just so involved and loving every minute! Hilarious and emerging into the dazzling sunlight on the very streets that were being portrayed on screen was magical, especially as they had actors handing out goodies and two of the cars from the movie...and it really was a MOVIE not a film. Brilliant, just brilliant. A total Hollywood day, topped off by ambling around Los Feliz village - ‘the best fish tacos’ and some rather splendid sangria in a deliciously hip bar.

And then it was time to leave. A final run, meaning I had run in all the states we stayed in, 10 states...a real goal and one I really am immensely proud of achieving. A final day spent on the beach at Venice, with the ocean lapping at out feet, the breeze in our faces and final fish tacos in our tummies and the BAM..the tedious drama of taking back the hire car. Always stressful, always unpleasant and longer than it should be. Hate hire car companies with a passion. But... the pay off was past me booking premium tickets to fly home with...so not only did we skip the endless bag drop queue in the airport as we could walk straight to the front, but also we had first class lounge invites (open bar, limitless champagne, wine, beer - dear lord have they met us?) which meant with a satisfied sigh, we settled down to just relax before our long long flight home....that again praising past me for being so brilliant with the premium upgrade tickets meant we had more free drinks, HUGE seats, lots of leg room and I fell fast asleep even before the end of the film I had wanted to see, waking up an hour before landing!

The trip has been simply breathtaking. So much fun being with the man I love 24/7 with no arguments, no desire for ‘space’ just endless wonder and excitement at what we were seeing. We laughed big every day, we explored every tiny museum we could find, we drank margaritas in every town we could, we talked to folk, we WALKED and we were just together, being Sam and Ruth, Ruth and Sam, forever. Just the best.