Good Morning & Hello Friday!

• TRAVEL IS BACK BIG TIME. And logistics are key (as I discovered after my abysmal experience at AUS). Since then, I signed up for CLEAR (#1), I always Uber (#2), and I NEVER EVER check luggage!
• Let’s get right to it. LA has always been one of my favorite cities. It’s where I’d routinely spend several months a year doing trend work while staying at The Standard WeHo (my second home, Room 135). This time around, my first visit in 4 years, I found many bright spots (# 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 below) but I’ve struggled to stay positive about the overall direction of the city.
• The most daunting issue is homelessness and the now common sight of encampments and utterly scary street people (#10). On my last day in LA, I had to go to Brentview Urgent Care (#5, long story). At 9 am, everyone in the waiting room was jolted from their seats by loud, animalistic howling noises coming from the street. Eventually, we saw a young woman, still howling, but now bashing her head furiously against the metal garbage container. I asked if we could lock the door. The receptionist said they are not allowed to do that…..
• Downtown, which I had previously had such high hopes for, is a lost cause. Why companies are still bothering to build out these gorgeous stores and hotels is beyond me. They must know their customers will flee the moment they have their first encounter with a sidewalk defecator (pants-down-around-their-ankles doing their business outside of the new Apple Store or the Proper Hotel).
• And finally, I’m so done with driving and all this crazy traffic. I like walkable cities and LA is anything but, e.g., I love gallery hopping, but only got to visit one gallery in LA (Jeffrey Deitch) because it would have taken me 30 minutes to drive from one gallery to the next and that puts an entirely new spin on “gallery crawl.”

But all that said, my hotel experience in LA (# 4) was amazing. I spent the entire last day ensconced at “my” table with friends joining me for lunch and dinner. I met other guests, chitchatted with the staff, and just had an awesome time.

I apologize to all my LA friends for speaking negatively about your city – I’m sure people have similar things to say about NYC. It might just be a case of the “devil you know vs. the devil you don’t.” But seeing one of my once favorite cities deteriorate like this makes me sad.

And on that note, if you have any appetite left for travel tips and recommendations, please scroll down. I promise it’s not all doom and gloom.

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Good Morning & Hello Friday!

My April travels are winding down and I am thrilled to have finally gotten my travel mojo back.

Also thrilled to have discovered a new “Happy Place” in this town. It used to be the Cosmopolitan, but now it is Fergusons in DTLV, most especially the Mothership. This coffee shop hangout is where I spent all day yesterday writing, while observing what a mecca the Mothership has turned out to be – especially for creative, cool locals.

I also want to do a shout-out to Nicole at Primrose (Park MGM). She turned me on to both the Arts District and Downtown Summerlin.

Also big thanks to Cherie for the recommendation to see the Neon Museum at sunset and to Jo Russ for arranging the tickets. And, finally, to Charlotte Dutoit for the tip on The Mothership. Super grateful to all of you!

If Vegas is of interest and you are planning a trip this year, scroll down for tips and recommendations based on my adventures this week.

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