Letters From Hollywood

Whenever you have out of town guests, it’s inevitable that they’ll want to see all the local attractions. Usually this means grueling hours spent playing tour guide visiting places you’ve seen a million times and take for granted.

As it happens, Los Angeles is so large and vast that I can honestly say after living here nearly three years; I have hardly seen any of it. This became perfectly clear this past week when my mom and sister made their way across the country to hang out with yours truly. It was great because it allowed me to see so many things that I’ve overlooked since I moved out here. Even those simple things everyone’s heard of at some point.

One of the surprisingly interesting things was Rodeo Drive (for those so unaccustomed to coolness, that’s pronounced Row-Day-O around here). Sure I had seen it before… but only in a quick drive-through-oh-this-is-what-they’re-talking-about moment. I never stopped to look around and really see what was going on.

Rodeo Drive got its name in the 1950’s when it was originally a popular horse path. Now it transformed into a three-block string of boutique shops. Talk about progress, huh? Rodeo is not only the most expensive shopping district in Los Angeles, it’s one of the most expensive in the entire world.

Tourists flock in hopes of spotting movie stars. It’s more popular to carry a camera around your neck on Rodeo, than it is to walk around with a Louis Vuitton purse. While sightings do happen, they’re rare. Few consider that if you can afford to shop on this street, you can probably afford to arrange a private shopping tour after hours, paparazzi free. Word is they even come with a complimentary martini bar inside your dressing room. I’m still waiting to confirm that first hand.

Three street itself is beautiful to say the least. It’s by far the best-maintained area in all of Los Angeles. Humble in appearance, trees line both sides of the avenue as well as the center divider. The storefronts are faced with brick, stone, and marble and all feature a minimalist design. It’s the street you imagine when you picture that typical California moment on a palm tree lined street with the sun shining on the opportunity ahead of you.

Out front you’ll find some of the most extravagant cars you can imagine. This blew me away more than anything else. It’s obvious the owners want to be seen when they park them at meters on the street in plain view. We were there in the middle of the day midweek and still saw an abundance of high end Porches, Ferrari’s, Bentley’s, Rolls Royce’s, Lamborghini’s, Maserati’s and even an Aston Martin. For a moment I could have sworn I was at a car show. It was amazing.

It was awesome to visit and sightsee. I can’t say I’d want that kind of lifestyle, but I was fun to look in from the outside. My mom and sister were completely shocked by the whole experience. I tried to explain to them that it’s only a select few who live their lives like that, and that it wasn’t the norm… but they were still in complete and total amazement. Only in California I guess.

If I haven’t convinced you to buy a plane ticket just to take a stroll with the lifestyles of the rich and famous, you could still check out the Official Rodeo Drive website at www.rodeodrive-bh.com. Hey, why not?

Until next time, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.

Kemer