Los Angeles, California, USA.

The short:

I loved LA. I know that's controversial and most people tell you to stay away, but I really, really liked it. Despite that it labels me a "valley girl", Beverly Hills is right up there for me and I have to say that I do think I could live there. Everything about it from the people, shopping streets, quirky little restaurants, one-off boutiques, totally unique and beautiful homes (and let's not forget the weather) makes it a very desirable place to be as far as I'm concerned. With places like Malibu and Orange County a stone's throw away, I don't get how people can not like the place, but each to their own I suppose. Its main downfall is definitely the traffic, which is pretty shocking to be fair, but as Geoffrey (the son of the family that hosted Thomas and I) said, you just get used to it and it stops being a frustration any longer. I'm not sure that would be true for me, but it definitely isn't enough of a reason to mark it any lower in my books. The views over LA from some of the homes in the surrounding hills are absolutely unbelievable; it is a beautiful city!

The long:

Saturday:

Thomas and I arrived at the Josephon's (some old family friends of mine who kindly offered to host us during our stay in LA) house at just gone 3pm. Winnie, the mum, had told me that they would be having a BBQ in the afternoon, so we were a little surprised when we turned up to a fairly large, smart, catered family party. Everyone was super friendly and the food was, naturally, seriously yummy. 

I was totally in awe of how stunning their home is, with a huge floor-length window spanning the entirety of a wall facing downtown LA giving amazing views out over the city, but not before being forced to take in the bright turquoise colour of their pool and gorgeous pointy trees popping up behind it; it is incredibly picturesque. I got trigger happy.

Geoffrey had 2 of his uni friends there as well, so Thomas and I spent the afternoon drinking with them and getting to know them better. Things started to get out of hand when Thomas produced his killer spicy sauce that he bought as a gift for Morten; too much testosterone was in the air and the seal had to be broken. 

4 of us tested it and, although it was very spicy, it wasn't anything like what I was expecting. Having said that, though, that was only after having licked a tiny amount off the end of a toothpick (which is what the guy who sold it to Thomas said to do), so I can imagine that if you had a spoonful of the stuff it might be a slightly different story.

Egos all in tact we headed out to a sports bar to play some pool, but we didn't get very far as the bouncer (yes, bouncer) wouldn't accept mine and Thomas' driving licences as proof of ID, which we both thought was outrageous. All was not lost though, as Geoffrey and his friends knew of somewhere else not that far away.

Once the boys had had their fill of pool and beer we moved on to a karaoke bar that they are rather fond of. I didn't know what to expect, but I have to say that I was rather impressed by some of the acts they sang; most of the people had a genuinely great voice! Of course, "when in Rome"; I signed up to do My Humps by Black Eyes Peas with my trusted back-up singers in tow.

We had a lot of fun and, as the drinks kept flowing, all sense went out of the window and Geoffrey and I found ourselves re-enacting our childhood together, playing patty-cake

and posing for the same classic toddler photo of us:

^ He's definitely a bit bigger now!

We got home at just gone 3am and, after raiding the fridge for leftover BBQ (sadly to no avail) but settling for lemon tart and cookies, we crawled into bed. 

Sunday:

In possession of a horrible hangover, we made a plan for the day. First stop, Getty museum. The museum itself is a work of art, with beautiful buildings and gardens to take in before you even walk inside.

Unfortunately, the museum doesn't let you take any pictures of the art, but there were some really cool pieces. I wish I knew more about art, but regrettably my knowledge only extends to enabling me to look at something and say whether I like it or not. They had a temporary photography exhibition that both Thomas and I really enjoyed, as well as some incredible sculptures with minute details that literally blew our minds. I wasn't quite as fond of the permanent exhibitions though, which mostly featured 15th-17th century paintings that I would describe as "church art". There was also some very bizarre art that I would imagine the artist created with the intention to shock, for example, photography featuring neatly arranged chicken offal, which I suppose must be an acquired taste. Overall, I really enjoyed touring the museum and realised how much I would really like to start attending more art exhibitions back home.

Next stop, Runyon Canyon hike. 

The hike is renowned for celebrity spotting and is incredibly popular with dog walkers as it's one of the few places in the city that allows dogs to roam free off the leash. It takes you on a wonderfully scenic 2-mile loop that provides great vantage points overlooking the city. Of course, we timed it with my favourite time of day and watched the sunset and the light change over Los Angeles as we followed the trail.

^ We saw the infamous Hollywood sign.

Although I didn't get to see any celebrities sweating it out (as far as I'm aware), it was a great experience that I would say is an absolute must when visiting LA.

Since we were so close, we walked further in to Hollywood and did the Walk of Fame and Mann's Chinese theatre. 

There was actually a red carpet premiere at the theatre for the new series of the TV show "American Freak Show", which was cool to see.

Final stop, Cafe Gratitude. I begrudgingly got the boys to agree to join me at a vegan restaurant that I'd heard wonderful things about via the wonderful Deliciously Ella. I had a great time, munching down kale chips and slurping on fresh rosewater lemonade, followed by the "macrobiotic bowl" for main course, 

which consisted of braised Garmet yams (sweet potato), adzuki beans, sea vegetables, sautéed kale, homemade kim chee, black sesame seed gomasio, garlic-tahini sauce, teriyaki almonds, and a combo of local brown rice and quinoa. It was beyond delicious. Those who know me know that when I am enjoying food I can't shut up about it; as hard as I tried I couldn't stop blabbering on about how delicious it was and how much I was enjoying it. I can't say the boys joined me in my praise, but they thought it was nice enough and Thomas agreed that we still hadn't broken our great success of dinners with not yet having had a bad meal (touch wood), which I think is as good a result as I could have hoped for! Michael, get ready, because I'm taking you to one in England (don't worry, I know you will like it).

Monday:

A slight lie-in was in order to get over the last 2 days, so brunch was held at "In-N-Out", which I have previously been told quote unquote "makes the best burger that you will have in your life". This claim is one that I vehemently disagree with, but I think if you rephrase it to the "best fast food burger" it has more of a chance of succeeding, although I would even then still have to disagree. Thomas gave it an 8.5/10, so enjoyed it much more than me, but each to their own. I prefer Five Guys. 

Shopping time. We hit Beverly Hills (love), strolling up and down the uber exclusive and glossy Rodeo Drive, before heading over to the slightly more affordable area of Melrose. Thomas and I bought a couple of things, but had no where near enough time to truly get our "shopping thang" on because we had to drive home and change before heading BACK to Beverly Hills for dinner; ridiculous on our part to not have brought clothes with us as it meant a 2-hour round trip for purely a wardrobe change. Oh well, you live and learn. Plus it meant we got to have a quick glass of champs with Bob and Winnie before heading out, which was really lovely.

We dressed up and had dinner at the iconic Ivy restaurant. Thomas and I had been sparing a few pennies for a nice night out and finally the time had come; I was super excited!

The fairy lights and white picket fence were enough alone for me to score it highly, but the best was all yet to come. You can tell you're in a classy joint when you receive a glass of champagne on the house whilst you wait for your table!

I had been before so knew what to expect in terms of decor, but I agreed with Thomas and Geoffrey that it is a little surprising when visiting for the first time. It has a cute cottage theme going on and Thomas was bang on when he described it as "hyggelige" (best translation for you Brits is "homely", but that still doesn't quite cut it).

It had such a nice ambience and I am sure that the reason it is so popular with A-listers is that it is different to typical swanky restaurants. The food was sensational. Obviously, I had to capture it all to share with you.

^ That was the best seafood linguine I can recall ever having. And it was such a generous portion. I was in a very good mood.

All of our puddings were delicious and made even more so by Thomas generously buying some of his favourite dessert wine to accompany them. We even got a box of freshly baked Italian chocolate chip cookies in a pretty little box to take home. Bloody top restaurant. Must, must, must return.

Dinner was followed by even more sophistication with drinks at hotel Chateu Marmont.

All in all, a superb evening and a wonderful way to spend our last evening in LA with Geoffrey.

Tuesday:

Geoffrey, Thomas, Winnie and I set off for Camarillo in the morning to go to a factory outlet full of great shops. Thomas and I most certainly got our "shopping thang" on this time, that is fo shooo. It was as if the mall had been designed for us, with the exact shops that I have been wanting to go to all in 1 place. I managed to find everything on my wish list plus a few sneaky extras, and Thomas left a pretty happy man too, so it was a hugely successful trip overall. The cherry on the cake though was that we each donated $10 to charity receiving a 25% off discount card for 1 item per participating store, which meant we saved some serious $$$, and I mean serious $! There's nothing like a good bargain.

Winnie then kindly took us for lunch at a lovely seafood restaurant where we filled our tummies with tasty fishy grub. 

Back at the Josephson's, Thomas and I said our thank you's and goodbye's before heading to Venice beach with Geoffrey for our last little bit of time together. We strolled down Venice boardwalk taking in all the colourful shops and weird and wonderful people; I kid you not, there was the most ordinary looking man walking hand-in-hand with an actual Goth Queen, which isn't something you see every day.

It's such a vibrant place and it was cool to see all the different things that people do there, from rapping to skateboarding to a man tensing in speedos in the outdoor gym.

^ I will gladly take photo credits for this beauty. 

There is some really excellent graffiti around,

including on the trees, which I particularly liked:

Once we were done people watching we went to the top of Hotel Erwin and had a drink at their rooftop bar whilst watching the sunset.

Bye Geoffrey!

Bye sun! It was such a gorgeous sunset. I couldn't believe how quickly the sea swallows up the sun when it starts sinking in! 

Thomas and I hopped in our car and set off towards the Staples centre in downtown LA to watch the basketball match that we had bought tickets for, between LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors. Unfortunately, the LA traffic lived up to its reputation and we arrived just after the start of the game, but we quickly got into the swing of things as the atmosphere was incredible and our seats surprisingly good. 

I was so shocked at how small the court is; I had no idea it was so little! It was an intense game and the score super close through out, which made it really exciting and got the crowd going. We really did have great seats, not just for viewing but also because of the people that we were surrounded by. There were 2 women sat next to me that were clearly huge Clippers fans, screaming their heads off the whole game. The things they were saying though were absolutely hilarious, from giving instructions to the Clippers and shouting insults at the Warriors. They had everyone around us laughing hysterically, which made our first basketball game experience that much better!

But what I really loved was the game entertainment during time-outs and in the quarters; I could definitely get into sports at home if we got to see some of that! Of course, they had cheerleaders, but also an amateur dance group (that were amazing), and filmed the fans in the crowd doing quirky things too (my personal favourite). THIS GUY was just the best thing ever:

He had no shame, and I mean none. The camera was on him for the majority of the time during the breaks because he really was that funny. I have no idea who he was with as all the people sat around him seemed to be looking at him like he was crazy, but good for him!

A game takes much longer than I envisioned due to all the fowls and time-outs that are called, so Thomas and I actually had to leave before it finished to begin the treacherous drive ahead of us to Las Vegas. When we left the Warriors were just a few points up, so we were pretty excited to check out the score the following day, with high hopes that the Clippers would have managed to pull ahead. Sadly they did not! The Warriors won 112 to Clippers' 94 points. Oh well, it was such a great event to see and I'm so glad that we decided to go and drive to Vegas afterwards rather than miss out; the sleep deprivation was worth it.