Celebrities, shopping and sunshine, just a few of the many things that LA is known for. For me, it was more about missed celebrity sightings, window shopping and turning down a party at the Playboy Mansion. But even more unexpected than all of these things was what I now refer to as the best suprise ever. Bearing in mind that all of my preconceived ideas about LA lifestyle had been instilled in me from the very first time I watched Clueless, I jetted of to LA with the promise of Alaih’s, over the knee socks and shopping malls. I expected artifical, shallow monets but my LA experience back in 2008 was very much the opposite.
I arrived in LA after a traumatic night in Orlando. My best friend and I were on the third leg of our America trip and had hot footed it out of a god awful hotel after being chased out of our room by cockroaches. We called a taxi in the middle of the night, stopped at a waffle house for a midnight feast and checked into the nearest Hilton. Emptying my suitcase and shaking my underwear to check for cockroaches outside the hotel was not my finest hour. The next afternoon we jumped on a plane to LA a week earlier than expected and pulled up outside the W hotel in West Hollywood looking dishevelled with two broken suitcases and maxed out credit cards. We were shown to our room by the poshest bell boy alive while being told that there was a few celebrity guests staying in the hotel and that all of the rooms had been designed by no other than Gok Wan. Tired and jet lagged this information passed over our heads and we feigned interest out of politeness. If we’d have known that the celebrities in question were no other than David Beckham, Gordon Ramsey and Ashton Kutcher, we would have happily forgone sleep for the rest of time to get of glimpse of such beauty. After recovering from the embarrassment of our mini bar being removed from the room as we had failed to supply anyone with a credit card that had funds, we jumped around our wonderful suite celebrating our cockroach free room.
The following night, I received a phone call saying there was a parcel waiting for me in the reception. With most of my friends and family back in England, I hadn’t expected gifts but ran down anyway to receive my birthday surprise. Expecting cake and a candle, I did a double take as I saw a small blonde lady at the front desk. My mom had flown out from the UK to spend my birthday week with me. After almost three months without her, I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday gift. She had flown via Paris and had to spend eight hours alone waiting for a connecting flight. Like me she’s not a great flyer so I know it must have taken a lot of courage to embark on a long haul flight alone. We headed to the bar to celebrate with champagne and commemorate what would be the most memorable birthday so far.
My mom is not just a mum, she’s my biggest cheerleader, my housekeeper, my shopping partner, my mid week dinner date, my life coach, my financial advisor, my partner in crime, my inspiration and my very best friend. She’s the person that I call just to say ‘I’ve bought this’ or ‘how do I cook this?’ and she is the person who listens to my long and boring blogging stories.
Our week in LA was spent soaking up the rays, my mom ever the sun worshipper was nicknamed Lobster Pat as she never left her sunbed no matter how much we tried to coax her out of the hotel with stories of Rodeo Drive. This week turned out to be the best one of our America trip and it’s something that I’ll never forget.
Winning the Travel Supermarket Holiday Postcard competition would give me the opportunity to create more wonderful memories with my favorite people. As you may know, I have just bought a house which means my holiday funds are practically nonexistent.
Have you ever surprised a loved one in this way? x