Quick Trip to Beverly Hills

Towards the end of January, I went to Beverly Hills. My stay was short: I arrived on Tuesday and left at 5 am on Thursday. The reason for visiting Beverly Hills was solely for a consultation appointment for cosmetic surgery.

This was my first time on the West Coast. 🌊 I was looking forward to the weather since we, in Quebec, were going through the cold and grey days of winter.

Day 1 – Tuesday

I landed at LAX a little before noon. The weather was warm and sunny, but not humid. As I tried to describe it to someone back home, it felt like a perfect summer day in Montreal.

I stayed at the Mosaic Hotel for its proximity to the medical clinic. The hotel only allowed check-in from 3 pm, but they still let me access my room at around 12 pm (they found a room already available). That was very nice of them.

I won't go in-depth into my hotel room (and neither into this trip since there are so few things you can do in one day and a half), but I want to touch upon the cleanliness of the room.

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Everything looks clean from afar (i.e. in the picture), but, alas, it is an illusion.

There were lots of stains on the carpeted floor. The little couch and the tweed-like armless chair were also stained. I suspect some previous guests had sat on these with their dirty shoes on. The bathroom sink had a beard hair stuck, thanks to some yellow matter (bodily fluid?) that acted as glue. The shampoo, conditioner and body wash were in the shower in medium-sized pump bottles. These seemed not to be replaced but only recharged as the side of my bottle of conditioner was very sticky the first time I used it. 

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Would you sit on this couch 👀

The stains are much more apparent in reality;

the tweed conceals them well in the picture, grr.

Some people reviewing the hotel complained of a mouldy smell in their room. Mine had a stuffy or stale odour mixed with cleaning products. While not unbearable, it was not a delightful smell.

Some positives worth mentioning: I encountered no bugs and the bed sheets were really soft and looked clean.

You may wonder why I chose this hotel. Well, it was the "cheapest" one closest to the medical clinic. The hotel's proximity to the clinic was thus another positive.

After checking in, I roamed a bit in the neighbourhood while looking for food.

What a beautiful day, and in January! 🤩

Shortly after, I came across a place called Judi's Deli. Despite the mixed reviews on Google, I was too lazy to continue my search and decided to try it.

I had a turkey & avocado wrap with honey mustard. It was sooo good. 🤤

Quite expensive but worth it IMO since it was huge and gave me two meals.

The place was buzzing and I was glad to have a table.

I felt well-fed and satisfied. I walked back to my hotel room and rested for the next day.

Day 2 – Wednesday

I woke up early, partly because my room felt so depressing, but also because I had planned to visit Rodeo Drive. I am so happy I decided to go at such an early hour. There were barely any people and I was able to capture beautiful morning pictures.

I get it is Rodeo Drive, but I did not expect the street to be this clean. That morning, I saw a lot of workers cleaning every corner of the street.

I also noticed numerous shop staff dusting the shelves and cleaning the walls.

There was a charming enclave on Rodeo Drive, with its exterior floor being mopped. I was curious, so I peeked inside and found it to be an interesting place. Given its fanciness and cleanliness, I was not sure if it was open to the public, but I decided to walk in anyway. I later learned it is called the Rodeo Collection.

When I visited, most places seemed closed (not yet opened). It was nice to walk around peacefully.

The floor is splendid (as well as the architecture).

It was a total surprise for me to see Dr. Cat's office!

Definitely gorgeous (it is at the penthouse level).

Given that we were the middle of the week (a Tuesday), I was surprised to see so few people walking on the streets, going to work, catching a bus, etc.

After walking around Rodeo Drive, I went to see the lily pond.

That duck was alone in this small greenish pond, which made me sad. Not sure how it ended up there. It kept dipping its head in the water, looking for food. 🥺

I walked a bit more, then took an Uber to the Farmers Market where I discovered The Grove.

The picture does not do this restaurant justice...

It was so perfectly situated.

Beautiful storefronts photo dump ↓

There were some food carts at The Grove. I was tempted to buy something to nibble on tranquilly under the warm sun (there were tables and chairs to sit on). However, I really wanted to eat at the Farmers Market, so I did not buy anything.

This place is the closest I have ever been to experience

a town like Rapunzel’s. So fairytale-like 🧚

Then I visited the Farmers Market.

There was a small supermarket on the right.

I assume it is very practical for the locals!

I ordered a pizza slice at Friends & Family. I remember deadpan asking the employee, "Do I eat it with my hands?". He promptly handed me utensils and looked uncomfortable. In hindsight, my question sounded so snobby. I did want utensils, but for some reason, I thought asking "Do you have utensils?" was too direct, so I tried to ask in a "milder" way, but it was a fail. 🫠

Anyway, karma got me quickly when I realized how impractical it was to cut the pizza (especially the crust) with a plastic knife. I was determined not to hurt my ego, so I continued eating with the utensils as elegantly as possible. I'm not exaggerating, it took me like 45 minutes to an hour to finish. It was awful! And the pizza was so good and savoury; I just wanted to shove it in my mouth.

While walking to my Uber pickup spot, I snapped the picture below. I was curious if these were celebrities' homes in the distance. The sight IRL was impressive to commoner me.

In the afternoon, I had my medical appointment which left me so depressed and hopeless that I returned to my hotel room and stayed there until the next day. 😃

I left Beverly Hills the following morning at 4:40 AM to head to the airport. It was pouring rain.