Okay, I am incredibly behind with my city posts! Here goes:
Los Angeles, City of Angels, City of the Silver Screen, City of Stars....
City of incredible heat and no sidewalks and plastic boobs and lips and everything else. I am not a huge fan of Los Angeles -- too much traffic, too many highways, too little reality. I didn't really get to see much of the city -- most of my time was spent in my (albeit lovely) bed in my red room in our apartment in Los Feliz, recovering from chemo or resting up for a chemo. I went to Santa Monica a few times, walked on the pier, ate seafood, went to a fancy restaurant, dipped my toes in the Pacific for the first time. I walked on Hollywood Blvd, saw the stars, drove sloooowly past Gromin's Chinese Theatre, and shopped in fancy stores.
The best part of LA was that I had some wonderful visits from friends. Jenn and Lisa came out to see me for a few days, a trip that was unfortunately truncated by a chemotherapy session (certainly not part of the fun they had in mind when planning this vacation). But we managed to make the most of it. They stayed in a stunning hotel in West Hollywood called The London West Hollywood, where I rode in an elevator with some famous guy I've never heard of. (Wait, I'll look him up....ah, here we are -- Justin Bobby from "The Hills". They had their season premiere party at the hotel, and despite Jenn's best efforts and our keenest paparazzi skills, the closest we got to stardom was my elevator ride with sullen sunglasses-wearing (at 11pm) Justin and Jenn's encounter with...umm...some other chick who's not-so-famous from the show. The boss lady. Jenn will be disappointed in me when she reads this)
We did some shopping in Beverly Hills, ate lunch at The Ivy (for those of you who don't know (like me), The Ivy is a very chi-chi place to eat overpriced salads and drink champagne underneath umbrellas, while being gazed at by people walking by on the sidewalk, and gawking at those around you who may-or-may-not-be celebrities. I clearly can't pick them out of a crowd, but Jenn can -- we had another reality-tv-celeb siting here.
Anyway, then we were off to San Fran for chemo -- but we stayed at The Westin, and we ate dinner at The Cliff House -- that's one thing about Lisa and Jenn; they can turn any occasion into a lovely event!
Johanna, my closest childhood friend, who used to ride bareback with me and fall off with me, also came out on business, and I got to spend a really fun day with her, which included shopping, fancy dining in Santa Monica, and In-N-Out burger, which was a highlight of my trip to LA! She continues to be a wonderful source of encouragement and support and laughter in my life as I go through this journey. And, she gave me the lovely news that she and her longtime boyfriend Michael are engaged!!! She was planning on telling me a few weeks before, over the phone, but then I called and said I had cancer, which is kind of a major buzz-kill, so she wisely chose to save the news for in-person. It was really great to see her.
Melissa and Tillie also came to stay for a few days, when I called bawling about all my hair being on the floor of the shower instead of on my head. They swooped in, and we shaved my head. We also slept in, ate out, played with Matilda, and took her to the beach so she could dip her toes in the Pacific as well. They hung out backstage with me at work, and the entire company is now as thoroughly charmed with Tillie as I am.
And of course, there's been Jane, my constant support and guardian angel through this, who has flown out and cared for me, worked for me, and generally made my life possible during the crappiest of times. She was out several times, keeping the show (and my job) going while I was away, helping me in the post-chemo days, and hopefully occasionally having a good time!
So LA was a whirlwind of a lot of things, most of which revolved around my diagnosis, but many of which were lovely and fun and thrilling and exciting. That's LA -- a lot of crap, but a lot of glitter too.
Los Angeles, City of Angels, City of the Silver Screen, City of Stars....
City of incredible heat and no sidewalks and plastic boobs and lips and everything else. I am not a huge fan of Los Angeles -- too much traffic, too many highways, too little reality. I didn't really get to see much of the city -- most of my time was spent in my (albeit lovely) bed in my red room in our apartment in Los Feliz, recovering from chemo or resting up for a chemo. I went to Santa Monica a few times, walked on the pier, ate seafood, went to a fancy restaurant, dipped my toes in the Pacific for the first time. I walked on Hollywood Blvd, saw the stars, drove sloooowly past Gromin's Chinese Theatre, and shopped in fancy stores.
The best part of LA was that I had some wonderful visits from friends. Jenn and Lisa came out to see me for a few days, a trip that was unfortunately truncated by a chemotherapy session (certainly not part of the fun they had in mind when planning this vacation). But we managed to make the most of it. They stayed in a stunning hotel in West Hollywood called The London West Hollywood, where I rode in an elevator with some famous guy I've never heard of. (Wait, I'll look him up....ah, here we are -- Justin Bobby from "The Hills". They had their season premiere party at the hotel, and despite Jenn's best efforts and our keenest paparazzi skills, the closest we got to stardom was my elevator ride with sullen sunglasses-wearing (at 11pm) Justin and Jenn's encounter with...umm...some other chick who's not-so-famous from the show. The boss lady. Jenn will be disappointed in me when she reads this)
We did some shopping in Beverly Hills, ate lunch at The Ivy (for those of you who don't know (like me), The Ivy is a very chi-chi place to eat overpriced salads and drink champagne underneath umbrellas, while being gazed at by people walking by on the sidewalk, and gawking at those around you who may-or-may-not-be celebrities. I clearly can't pick them out of a crowd, but Jenn can -- we had another reality-tv-celeb siting here.
Anyway, then we were off to San Fran for chemo -- but we stayed at The Westin, and we ate dinner at The Cliff House -- that's one thing about Lisa and Jenn; they can turn any occasion into a lovely event!
Johanna, my closest childhood friend, who used to ride bareback with me and fall off with me, also came out on business, and I got to spend a really fun day with her, which included shopping, fancy dining in Santa Monica, and In-N-Out burger, which was a highlight of my trip to LA! She continues to be a wonderful source of encouragement and support and laughter in my life as I go through this journey. And, she gave me the lovely news that she and her longtime boyfriend Michael are engaged!!! She was planning on telling me a few weeks before, over the phone, but then I called and said I had cancer, which is kind of a major buzz-kill, so she wisely chose to save the news for in-person. It was really great to see her.
Melissa and Tillie also came to stay for a few days, when I called bawling about all my hair being on the floor of the shower instead of on my head. They swooped in, and we shaved my head. We also slept in, ate out, played with Matilda, and took her to the beach so she could dip her toes in the Pacific as well. They hung out backstage with me at work, and the entire company is now as thoroughly charmed with Tillie as I am.
And of course, there's been Jane, my constant support and guardian angel through this, who has flown out and cared for me, worked for me, and generally made my life possible during the crappiest of times. She was out several times, keeping the show (and my job) going while I was away, helping me in the post-chemo days, and hopefully occasionally having a good time!
So LA was a whirlwind of a lot of things, most of which revolved around my diagnosis, but many of which were lovely and fun and thrilling and exciting. That's LA -- a lot of crap, but a lot of glitter too.