Author - Grant
From - Santa Ana, California
To - Los Angeles, California (just outside LAX)
Miles Driven - 40ish
hore into an adventure. It might sound extraordinarily dull to you but I needed a new debit card from HSBC and so I got it sent to the Beverly Hills branch which gave me a legitimate business excuse to visit the home of glamour, 10 inch waists and fake tits. I admit that I was far too excited as the telephone banking lady in the suburbs of Dhaka read out the zip code 90210 with clearly no understanding of its hidden connotations of heavily made up thirty year olds trying to portray 18 year olds but making her repeat it was probably out of order. Still, nothing prepared me for what awaited us as we drove amidst the mansions of Rodeo Drive which then gave way to the 3 block shopping district containing everything a girl would ever need to be the next 'it' girl. It was truly impressive and som
ehow the calibre of designers on display made the huge Ralph Lauren store look cheap and almost common in comparison. Rather than forking out $2 per 15 minutes for parking in one of Beverly Hills' multi-stories, we had managed to snag a roadside spot that entitled us to one hour parking for a miserly dollar and I'd like to say that beautiful Bridget held her own against the numerous glassy, vintage autos that seem to be more en vogue than the extravagant sports cars I was expecting but the truth is that she looked like a bus in comparison. Kate didn't fare much better as she is currently sporting a coldsore and a giant boil on her neck but I would
never say that out loud so just forget this sentence and everything will be OK. Anyway, I got my card but they warned me that it would not be activated until after about an hour meaning that I couldn't go wild and spend, spend, spend on Rodeo Drive. That and the fact that I am a tight-arse.A quick word on loyalty programs. In general, my 32 years on this planet have tought me that they are naff. I have more stamps in my passport than Phileas Fogg and more frequent flyer miles than Laika but they seem to be about as valuable as the Botswanan Pula and buy me nothing. Hotel loyalty schemes seem almost as worthless but recently we have reached 'Elite' status with our favoured dog-friendly hotel/motel brand La Quinta. Wh
ilst this $50 to $100 a night chain isn't going to host the world's leaders at next year's G-20 Summit, we have always found them to be modern, clean and consistently livable. Now we have reached various stages of membership level with several chains but all that seems to get us is a differently coloured card...but elite membership with La Quinta guarantees us availability at any of their 600 hotels even if they are full (that's right, we can mimic Madonna and chuck other people out of a hotel if we need a room) and if there's a suite available then we're automatically upgraded for free. And hence it is with a rather broad grin that I am typing this blog in a different room from which my wife is gently snoring. I realise that this doesn't make us royalty (in fact it's more like having the nicest trailer in the trailer park) but it's nice to finally come across a loyalty scheme that means something.
Tomorrow is a full blown assault of everything touristy that LA has to offer - a tour of the homes of the stars, a trip to Hollywood Hill and we'll probably finish it off in a club drinking bottles of Crystal with Kanye and Paris...assuming that's covered by our La Quinta Elite membership...
No comments:
Post a Comment