After five wonderful days in New York, I’m now in Los Angeles, where I’ll be spending the next few days with Trine.
My flight landed just after Trine’s flight from Copenhagen, so the timing was almost perfect. We met at the airport and went straight to pick up our rental car from Alamo. They have self-service kiosks where you can pull up your reservation without waiting in line at the counter, which sounded both easy and quick.
Except it wasn’t quite that easy in my case.
The kiosk couldn’t make sense of the different versions of my last name. The ø appeared one way on my driver’s license, another way on my credit card, and a third way on the reservation, so “ø,” “o,” and “oe” were simply too much for the system. We ended up having to get in line and ask for help at the counter after all.
By the time we finally had the car and were ready to leave the airport, we had landed right in the middle of rush hour. Getting to West Hollywood, where we’ve rented an Airbnb, therefore took quite a bit longer than planned.
The location, however, is fantastic. We’re staying in one of the best parts of West Hollywood, with plenty of cafés, restaurants, and bars within walking distance. That feels like quite a luxury in Los Angeles, where you can otherwise end up spending a lot of time in the car.
Our Airbnb also comes with a small garage. And when I say small, I mean really small. Getting the car in takes a bit of concentration, but I’m so happy we have it. Parking can be both expensive and a hassle in this part of LA, so it’s really nice to be able to leave the car in the garage and walk around the neighborhood instead.
There was one slightly awkward moment when we arrived. Our host had told us he would be away while we were staying there, but shortly after we arrived, he stopped by to say hello. It then turned out that he lives in the apartment right upstairs. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but when you’ve been under the impression that you’ll have the place completely to yourself, it still feels a little strange.
Anyway, we’re settled in now, and Trine has been sent out to get coffee. Pumpkin Spice Latte season has started, so obviously we have to take advantage of that. While she’s gone, I’ll write about our dinner at Katana last night.
