Alright here it is! I'll try to keep this shorter than last year if possible. Ready?! Ok!
Friday:
I had to wake up at about 2:30 in the morning due to booking a flight that left before 6 AM (I did it because I was able to upgrade a class on one of the flights) so I was running on about 2 hrs sleep for the entire day. Getting to the airport, flying, arriving, and finding our transportation to the hotel all went really smoothly for the most part. Of course we arrived at the hotel wayyyyy before check-in but the staff was nice and we were able to leave our luggage and go explore the area and eat breakfast. The location we had chosen to stay was an area we were already familiar with from the year before, and not far from the Hollywood bowl so we were pretty happy with it.
We returned to the hotel (still much too early for check-in) and the same women we had spoken with earlier came to us to tell us our room was ready. I was extremely happy since I was hoping to get some sleep before we began embarking on a journey to meet my cousin at Union Station. The sleeping part didn't happen, but YAY we were given an upgraded room. I don't know what it is with my luck at hotels but I've been getting rooms far better than the ones I've actually booked everytime for the past couple of years! Maybe it's just good karma!... or not... *ahem*
We relaxed a bit and headed off to meet my cousin! After meeting, we went to a store she knew we'd like (Wacko's) and then to Little Tokyo! Where we ate huge bowls of ramen and then went shopping. I wanted to take photos at LT but seriously, everytime I lifted the camera I ended up putting it back down and then looking at something else and shopping. I only managed this shot of the Sanrio store front~
Hello Kitty (squeeeee!)
Then we went on our way to Pasadena (where my cousin lives) to see the area and her house, which was really nice. We spent some time visiting in her living room, then headed to a yogurt place that was a nightmarish explosion of screaming kids and semi-annoying adults, and continued on back to the hotel. Slept.
Saturday:
Concert day... of doom. Saturday started out as usual. Coffee, snacks, and out to shop! We had made arrangements to meet with my cousin before the concert to eat at Shakey's since none of us had been to one in like 10 or more years and we stumbled across one a couple miles down the street from our hotel. It was really good too! :O
That was followed by a stop at the room to get ready for the concert. I'll warn you now that I think this year's concert was one of my least favorite parts of our trip. So this will be nothing like my exciting recounts of celebrity interactions and the furious waving of glow sticks! Here's what happened~
We started out walking as we weren't that far from the bowl. My mistake at this point was my long jacket and hat I was wearing... in the sun... walking up a hill! I was trying to keep up with my cousin 'cause she was walking all swiftly up the hill but I ended up dropping back while trying my best to resist sweating. It didn't work, by the time we were there I felt the sweat dripping down my back... ewww...
Then, fast forward to the actual concert itself, B2ST went first... FIRST! Why is that an issue you ask? Because you can't even see the stupid screens until the sun goes down! And from our seats the performers are almost invisible! It was truly irritating because B2ST was one of the groups I had wanted to see! Gawd! After a while of not be able to see anything, my cousin and I went to go get some hot chocolate and we returned to find my mom in our seats all curled up in a ball clutching our bags!
Us: What's wrong?
Her: Someone tried to take our seats!
Us: Whawha?!
Her: Yeah, and when I told them these are our seats they kept asking if they really were. Then they were asking if ya'll were coming back and then they tried to sit there anyway! ;.;
That was strike number 2 for the concert this year. Apparently our pool circle seats last year were more organized than these seats were. Give me a break! Like if they stole our seats they'd be able to see anything still?! Pfffft! Moving on!
The last thing that made the concert less fun this year was the lack of energy. It's like in pool circle you're surrounded by people freaking out and jumping up and down. In these seats we sat next to a guy slowly preparing dinner for his group and the women next to him was like knitting a blanket to use later when I got colder or something. Then they'd announce someone super exciting and there'd be one person in the section with an unenthusiastic "yayyy". About halfway into the concert my cousin said she thought it'd be a good idea for her to go home and get some sleep which I can totally understand since she had to drive all the way home and then come back again to see us the next day. Sadly, I also couldn't find any reason to justify any of us staying since it was just so... not what is was last year. The fact that most of the artists performing weren't people I was ecstatic to see contributed as well.
I don't mean to sound all whiny about this, it was just really cold, we couldn't see anything, and I have to say the people insisting to my mom that we had taken their seats kinda ruined it. She told me they were being rude about it too and that of course makes me furious!
We went back to the room and discussed how we'd probably be planning a trip for a different concert next year. We all wanna see Sting! As for KMF... I don't think I'll ever buy KMF tickets before the artists are released and there has to be a certain someone on the list or the deal is off! I know it greatly decreases my chances of getting good seats but whatever, it's better than being stuck with tickets you don't want and can't sell for anything close to what you paid for them right?! o.o
Sunday:
I think Sunday was my favorite day. We went to The Grove and shopped, had lunch, and ate ice cream cones at the same place SS501 had ice cream back in 2006. It was their first time performing at the Hollywood Bowl! I dunno which places they went in '09 because I didn't see the documentary, if they made one... who knows. Then we ditched The Grove and went shopping at some other spots, eventually ended up on Rodeo Drive. And guess what?! I managed to get some photos taken! Shiiiing!
Rodeo!
^Random building I though was pretty.
^ Ornate~
^The Versace sign gleaming in the sunlight!
^Beverly Wilshire (hotel from Pretty Woman).
^My mom and I at Tiffany!.. Really not my best picture but I like the way my mom looks in it. (I sorta look miserable haha)
^@ LV
Oh and shopping at this Louis Vuitton was the funnest ever! The sales associates were super nice, helpful and pretty much every SA we passed asked us if we'd like to look at items or try them on. I was surprised since before leaving for LA someone told me that they thought the SAs at the Rodeo LV were rude and unhelpful. I'd have to say they were quite the opposite and even treated Willoughby (my cousin's dog) well. ^-^ My mom was also impressed with our shopping experience and was saying that when she buys a new LV purse she'd like to come back to the Beverly Hills location and buy it there being that they are so great.
She loved the Sepia Idylle bags and I was looking at the Fusain. I'm thinking of getting the Sepia speedy and we can take turns using it (yeah, we share our stuff). Well see, I wanna wait and see how well the Idylle line canvas holds up first. For $1200 it better be pretty darn durable and last awhile! :O
After fulfilling our Pretty Woman experience on Rodeo, we headed to Pasadena to relax for a bit and to drop off Willoughby, who must have been tired from his day of endless shopping. We watched some TV, and took a couple photos:
^Taken from side yard at my cousin's place.
^flowers and trees. You know how I love pleasant nature scenery!
^Taken from edge of the hill side
^ Looking down on some neighbors~
^ more trees and flowers.
^me and Willoughby. We used him as a stand in for my cousin since she didn't want any part in being photographed that day lol.
^Him again. I tried to get a photo of him barking ferociously but this is what I ended up with.
Then we headed back to Hollywood to eat. We had dinner at Mel's Diner which was ok but the service wasn't the best. The end~
Alright then, that's where the vacation part of the trip ends so that's where I'm gonna stop. I'm going to Nevada next week so I'll be doing another trip post then... it'll be shorter than this one!
Oh and one last thing, can ya'll believe that BEG wasn't at KMF but will be performing in San Francisco this month?! That's super close yet I don't think I can make it! *flips over a table* Nooooo! ;.;
(cr: MYXTV @youtube)
.
No comments:
Post a Comment