The Cross-Country Chronicles: Welcome to LA LA Land

The last time I was in LA was on a famil as a freelance writer for AAP. The LA I experienced was the plush, red-carpeted urban jungle where celebrities prowl for Prada and drink cocktails in private poolside cabanas. I stayed at snazzy hotels, I ate at snazzy restaurants, I drank snazzy cocktails and I wrote a snazzy travel story about how snazzy LA is.

Unlike Posh Spice, my return to LA was not recognised with snap-happy paparazzi awaiting at the airport. Instead, I was welcomed with a bowl of warm blueberry bread-n-butter pudding in the home of Molly’s godmother, Susie. This time, I was seeing LA from the eyes of a local.

The one thing that stood out from my last trip to LA (other than it being home to the best vintage store in the world, Wasteland) was the sprawling cement and the paradox of palm trees that ruled over the city like sentinels. Not much has changed in the last two years. The city is still an expanse of concrete and housing, rolling over the hills and far away. There are new buildings, new stadiums, new studios and new developments. Everything seems to be on the move. Everything that is, but the traffic.

Molly’s godmother, Suzie and her husband, Rob live on the outskirts of downtown in a suburb called Glendale. Suzie is a cinematic stills photographer, Rob is a writer and their bohemia is embodied in their house. If this is LA LA Land, Susie and Rob’s house is another wonderland in itself – a place where art and agriculture are brought together in a mess of romance and whimsy. Solar-powered fairy lights and lanterns hung from the trees as herbs and succulents exploded out of every tin, pot and can. My private quarters was a day room entirely separate from the main house with its own patio which overlooked the night-time glow of the LA lights. And on my bedside table, a fresh bottle of San Pellegrino. It was like rehab for the weary traveller.

After the rainy weather we encountered in San Francisco, Molly and I were both ready to soak up some serious sunshine. Day One was spent in Santa Monica and Venice where the sun was served up with a side of sand-blasting wind. Wandering up both boulevards left us both a little tired and unimpressed. Even people-watching at Venice Beach – the crazies, the man-apes pumping iron, the men trying to sell green cards for medical marijuana – left me unsatisfied. The only redemption was picking up a pair of comfy cloth shorts from Wasteland which will get some serious wear at camp this year.

So with Day One leaving a bit of a bad taste in our mouths, we decided we better up the enthusiasm for Day Two. And what better way to ensure a good day out than by going to the place where dreams really do come true – Disneyland.

The 10-year old part of my 23-year old self was giddy with excitement at the concept of going to Disneyland – the original mega-park of the Walt Disney franchise. In retrospect, I can see why my parents never gave in to my 10-year old pleas to take us to the most magical place on earth. Disneyland quite literally bibbiti-bobbiti-boos the money out of the parental pocket.

But all economics aside, it’s still Disneyland and it’s as good for the young as it is for the young at heart. Molly and I went on every ride – from Indiana Jones to Splash Mountain – spoiled ourselves with amusement park snacks and got a photo with the royal rodent himself, Mickey Mouse. The sheer amount of strollers and screaming children demanding princess paraphernalia was all made worth it when we stopped to watch the Soundsations parade – a song-and-dance tribute to Disney’s music moments – and I felt my 10-year old self swell inside. Aladdin waved at me, personally. I swear.

Full of fairy dust and with my Disneyland magnet in tow, we headed home at 9pm, a journey which marked my first experience behind the wheel in LA. Not only did we not crash, but we didn’t get lost. I’m getting so good at this.

After two days in LA – the longest pit-stop we’d made so far and exactly the replenishment I needed – it was back on the road this morning. I think we both felt a little reluctant to be leaving our private wonderland. Susie and Rob had been incredibly generous as our hosts – giving us free-reign of their residential playground and taking us to breakfast each day at their favourite, long-standing local restaurant. But with the road beckoning, we gave Susie and Rob’s dogs - Tzegi, Hattie and the unstoppable Hugo – one last cuddle, before leaving their forlorn faces for the Grand Canyon and the formidable desert that is Arizona.

Ciao for now. xo