A friend invited me to go with her to Los Angeles for a wedding. I was happy to go, because who wouldn’t be happy to visit Southern California, especially when your sister and her family live there?
I flew to LA a day earlier than my friend, on the cheapest airline possible, Spirit Air. Talk about your bare and basic flight! Not only is there a charge for checking a bag, there are also fees for checking into the flight at the desk instead of online, choosing your seat, and even bringing a carry-on bag! The flight to LA was great. I lay back, adjusted my neck pillow, and five hours later, I awoke to find myself hovering over Los Angeles.
I was not so lucky on the return flight. It was a slightly different style plane than the one that took me to California. On the red eye flight back to Baltimore, we were on a plane with seats that didn’t recline. Safe to say, everyone was miserably uncomfortable. Would I ride Spirit again? Yes, but with reluctance.
My time in California was delightful. My sister and her kids met me at the airport. The kids wanted N and Out Burger and a vanilla shake, so I had my own version of that–a raw fiesta burger on gluten free brioche and coffee smoothie–from an organic vegan restaurant in Studio City called SunCafe. A bit pricey, but every sip and morsel was delectable.
My sister’s house is darling–light, bright, and well-laid out, with a beach house feel and a backyard reminiscent of the tropics. I stayed there for the first night. She’s a realtor, and I’m pretty sure she used her insider status to find that charming little cottage in LA’s frighteningly expensive and competitive housing market.
In the morning, we went to Pop Physique, a boutique fitness studio providing barre/floor combo classes to lively music. It’s fun, in a torturous sort of way.
My friend arrived later that day, and we headed to Hotel Figueroa which is richly decorated to feel as though you’ve stepped into Morocco, but also quite hip.
The wedding was on Friday. I’m embarrassed to say we nearly missed it! Assuming it was an evening event, as weddings tend to be, my friend was in bed and I was out buying juices from Pressed Juicery, my new obsession. (I recommend the Greens 5 and the vanilla coffee.) I had nearly reached the hotel with our juices when my friend called me. “So, the wedding is at 10 am,” she said. It was 9:18. A brunch reception! Who’d ever heard of such a thing? We managed to get brunch-glam and arrived to the wedding on time, in record time.
The bride was beautiful, the setting was swanky, and the speech by the bride’s father was at once touching, hilarious, and embarrassing. As an outsider looking in, a mere stranger filling in for my friend’s husband, who couldn’t make it, I was still moved by the love between the couple and their families. It was a teetotal event, but every hotel has a bar, and every bar has mimosas.A bit of shopping, (I love Crossroads Trading Company, a California-based second hand clothing store, and I also got some great finds in the LA fashion district), a bit of bikini lounging at the hotel whirlpool, delicious food (Cafe Gratitude, for one), great company, a custom paper crown made for me by my four going-on-on-five year old nephew, and midsummer weather in early autumn made this trip the perfect weekend getaway. Can’t wait to go back next month!