Day 1 in L.A

Day 1 in L.A. started really early with a wake-up call from Cartier at 6.22a.m to let me know what it would cost me to get my pen repaired... Fell back asleep and woke up a couple of hours later to blue sky and sunny weather!
Being Friday 13th, this day did NOT start well: Cédric lost his wallet with his driver's licenses – for good!!! He emptied his suitcase and backpack, but it was nowhere to be found.. We called the hotel in San Diego, the reception downstairs and the restaurant from the night before... nothing!
I ventured out in a dress (although with a huge cashmere shawl) for today's mission: getting my wine-colored patent Bianca Louboutins!!! Couldn't get them in San Francisco, so I thought that it would be easier to get them here in La-La land... WRONG!!!

Just finding the Louboutin boutique proved to be quite a challenge. Silently ignoring the fact that I had forgotten a 0 in the address (but it said South and not North on the web site!!!), the street system on Robertson Bld sucks!!! North and south, numbers were all over the place hopping back and forth without any logic whatsoever!! After almost an hour driving up and down the boulevard, I gave up and went to Fred Segal where they only had a dozen or so styles, but at least they could direct me to the boutique!! We went back again, still couldn't find it, so we stopped to ask someone IN FRONT OF THE GODDAMN SHOP!!! I ran in, grabbed the sales guy, but they didn't even had the style, so I ran out again and was off to the next shop, but found out the we had to have lunch and stopped at Urth, which was really good!! I got carrot juice, curry chicken salad and pumpkin pie for the first time: it was HUGE and very good – gingerbread cookie flavor, but with orange pumpkin mush... I couldn't finish it, though...

Getting back to the car, we discovered a nice little fine waiting on the windshield: $45!! We had parked in a restricted area with no permission.... Ooops!! But how do we pay it? Apparently no web site... to be continued!!

The quest for Bianca continued: Barney's, did have them, but not my size, Saks' didn't carry that style, but next door's Neiman Marcus did! BUT: they didn't have the color I wanted, but they could send the to me in N.Y if they had them anywhere else in the country!!! The sales manager John made the poor secretary call every Neiman listing a pair to see if they physically had them and after 45min, they found a pair in St Louis, Missouri!! They cost me an arm and a leg and ¾ of my torso, but they're MINE!!!!!

So, my chauffeur Cédric picking me up at last, we went on another quest: the Hollywood sign!!! Bad choice. Drove around the whole f***ing town and only got bad glimpses... but we did see at least 25 Scientology centers and the chateau the have in Hollywood – really creepy... We discovered the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Bld, but it was very tacky, lots of shop for hookers and “exotic” dancers, though... Never seen mannequins with so huge boobs in my whole life!! We decided that L.A. Is too big and too ugly, even Beverly Hills wasn't what we Europeans would call pretty or charming – a complete disappointment!! So Friday 13th continued when we tried to get back to Venice Beach during rush hour!!! S-L-O-W!!
When we finally arrived in Venice, my friend Heidi had suggested Chaya Venice, a fusion place two blocks from the hotel where I had New York steak-wrapped scallops to die for!!! M-mmmm... But the service.... I just don't like this US fashion of rushing the meal!! I know the waiters are doing their job because all Americans eat in 30minutes, but we should at least be able to have our cocktail BEFORE the appetizer and wine and be able to ASK for the bill, not getting it served with the dessert!! Oh, well... “when in Rome” and all that....

While going to bed that night, Friday 13th having passed and everything, what does Cédric find IN THE SHEETS???!! The wallet with the driver's licenses!!!! The day ended well, after all...