Spotlight :: LA Shop & Stay

[trip style = urban + sun]

LA’s most famous example of shop & stay has got to be Pretty Woman. Shopping on Rodeo Drive and staying at the “Reg Bev Wil” has got to be every woman’s dream, except for, of course, the premise of the film… No but seriously, whether you’re budget conscious or prefer the finer things, LA’s got you covered. Continuing our LA Food & Fun coverage, here are just a few shop & stay suggestions.

Shop

Venice Abbot Kinney Blvd is one of my favourite streets in all of LA. This strip is all about the local boutiques. Grab a latte from Intelligentsia and don’t miss Firefly for books, stationary, knickknacks, accessories, clothing, etc.; Milkmade and Steven Alan Annex for men’s and women’s clothing; Madley for baubles and vintage frocks; and Surfing Cowboys for mid-century modern furniture and surf memorabilia.

Santa Monica Third Street Promenade This pedestrian-only street is like the top 40 to Abbot Kinney’s indie rock. Home to major chain stores, street performers, movie theatres and large crowds, the Promenade is basically an open-air mall. Shops include: Anthropologie, Banana Republic, Barnes & Noble, Forever 21, Gap, H&M, J.Crew, Quiksilver, Urban Outfitters and Zara. I find this street a little overwhelming, so be sure to head down to the pier and stroll along Ocean Avenue.

Near LAX I hate rushing to the airport. You have to worry about traffic, returning the rental car, finding food since they don’t feed you on flights anymore … these just add to the inherent stress of travel. If you have some room left in your suitcase – and on your credit card – and want to head out towards the airport a little early, pop into the Promenade at Howard Hughes Center for Nordstrom Rack or Westfield at Culver City for Target. And it doesn’t hurt that there’s a Trader Joe’s on Sepulveda, a couple blocks from LAX – peanut butter-filled pretzels anyone?!

West LA – Malls Two big malls dominate these areas – the Beverly Center and the Grove. I’m partial to the latter, which has a certain manufactured je-ne-sais-quoi in the form of a dancing fountain, a train, celebrity sightings and valet parking. This is LA after all. But if you choose to self park with the common folk, don’t forget to get your parking validated and pay close attention to where you parked to avoid a Seinfeld moment. Top shops include: Nordstrom, Anthropologie, Barnes & Noble, Forever 21, Crate & Barrel, Barneys Co-op and the adjacent Farmers Market.

West LA – Boutiques If your budget and tastes stretch a little beyond the Gap, check out TenOverSix for a well thought-out collection of accessories for women, men and home. Another great shop is Opening Ceremony, where by just walking through the doors you feel like you’ve enrolled in “how to be cool without trying – or at least look the part 101”. Look for labels like Band of Outsiders, Alexander Wang and OC’s eponymous brand. Other faves include: Tarina Tarantino and Marc by Marc Jacobs.

Bonus #1: try your luck at the Rose Bowl Flea Market or the Long Beach Flea Market. #2: the best LA-area Urban Outfitters is in Studio City. Don’t pretend you don’t shop there…

Stay

I usually book LA through Priceline or Hotwire and choose 3.5-4-star hotels. Since there are an overwhelming number of hotels in LA, there’s no point giving an exhaustive list, but…

A few of the more affordable options: Farmer’s Daughter Hotel, Hollywood Heights Hotel, Best Western Sunset Plaza, Inn at Venice Beach, The Standard Downtown

A few fancier options: Hyatt Century Plaza Beverly Hills, Hotel Viceroy Santa Monica, Chateau Marmont, Oceana Santa Monica

The best bet is to choose your area first. Besides, you can always stop by the iconic hotels for a $20 cocktail and a George Hamilton sighting – if you’re lucky. The most affordable hotels tend to be around LAX and downtown, and the most popular areas are Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Santa Monica. Besides the area, how much time are you going to spend in the hotel? Some are great for lounging at the pool and dining, while others are just a place to catch some sleep. Keep this in mind especially in LA and you’ll be set. I’m jealous already!

Post by heather (@heatherlovesit), pop-culture-ista and writer of heatherlovesit.blogspot.com

Secret Ski Season

[trip style = ski]

Imagine this: you get to the ski lift(s) and there are no line-ups; you have the mountain to yourself; you get a bronzed glow because it's sunny; you remove layers because it's hot. Fantasy? No. Reality? Yes.

Say NO to Spring Cleaning & YES to Spring Skiing April has arrived, which means the secret ski season is here. When most people are spring cleaning, working on the yard and dreaming about summer, there are a [smart] few who are skiing and boarding to their heart's content in some of the best conditions of the year.  At the larger ski resorts across North America, don't let the icy/slushy conditions at the base fool you, mountains are high, so it's likely the peaks are still getting dusted with powder! Locals living in these resort areas LOVE April because the crowds have gone home, yet the snow is still good.  Case in point, this past weekend at Whistler Blackcomb, there was over 50cm of fresh!

I like skiing in the regular season and do, but April and early May are my fave months to strap on my skis.  Two years ago on May 3rd, I remember skiing in the morning (in decent snow) then spending the afternoon at the pool sipping Tom Collins--in bathing suits--with friends.  Nothing epitomizes spring skiing better than that!

Reasons to Indulge in April Skiing - snow is still falling - lift tickets get cheaper as the season draws to an end - accommodation rates are usually 50-70% off winter highs - restaurants offer promotions to get 'bums in seats' for low season ---------------------- - no icy wind blasting your face at 50km/hour - enjoying apres outside in the sun - zinc and 80's skiwear...

So, get your skis shined up, grab a stick of juicy fruit, and get yourself to the closest ski resort for some April powder. What do have to lose?

Go the Distance with your Air Miles

Air Miles = Happiness Using air miles is a wonderful thing.  Most people try to accumulate points with one or two major airline consortiums and then fly for free (other than taxes) once they've accumulated enough mileage.  But here's a little-known fact: cash in on your air miles by going the distance, in other words, go as far as you can within your points allowance and opt for a (free) stop-over.

2 Examples Recently I booked a cross-Canada trip with my Air Canada (Star Alliance) Aeroplan points. I figured if I'm so keen to see the rest of the world, I should probably explore more of my own country first. Instead of using my miles to take short trip, I opted to maximize them and go from Vancouver, BC (YVR) to Moncton, NB (YQM) with a week-long stopover in Ottawa (YYY).  This way, I get to spend a week exploring Canada's Capital over Canada Day, and a week touring around the Maritimes!  Done and Done.

I also have some points with American Airlines (One World). Looking into the options, I discovered that AA includes the Caribbean within the lowest tier of its Continental US points allowance. Excellent. To put this in perspective, you could fly from NYC to Boston, or Seattle to Aruba for the same amount of points. Tough choice...  The mileage difference is huge; herein lies the beauty of maximizing airline points.  Reading the fine print, within the lowest points allowance, the Caribbean portion of travel is only applicable for a 2-month period from September - November (tail-end of hurricane and low season), which is why I would fly to one of the ABC (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) islands outside the hurricane belt AND to the Caribbean's furthest point.

How to Book Travel with Air Miles and Maximize your Distance

• Travel the farthest you can within your available points.
• Do your homework. Once you know how far you can go check to see if there are blackout dates, etc...
• Find out your airline's air miles stop-over policy.  If you want to further maximize your trip, using the second example above, you could conceivably Fly to Curacao with an extended layover in Miami--all with the same amount of points.
• Book in advance.  Airlines only reserve a small amount of seats for airmiles passengers, so book early to make sure you get the dates and destinations you want.
• Embrace the web.  Most airlines now charge an extra fee for air miles bookings made over the phone vs on the web.

Travel iPhone Apps :: Packing Pro

Don't forget your sunglasses or sox ever again!  Organized, plan-ahead types will LOVE this packing app.  Stop agonizing about what to bring by creating lists of necessary items for each different trip type, and check-off each item as you go! Packing Pro App Details

• $2.99
• create a customized packing list or refer to one of the many packing list templates
• edit + sort your lists
• show packed, unpacked or 'all' items
• email your packing lists to family & friends
• access a pre-departure to do list with over 100 actions

Other Travel iPhone Apps we've Reviewed

• Skype
• World Fact Book
• AAA/CAA Savings
• Royal Caribbean
• Tourism British Columbia :: Near Me BC
• Postman Postcard
• 2010 Guide
• Nat'l Geo World Atlas
• hostelworld.com
• kayak first class
• flight control (game)

Travel Like its 1999 in 2010

You've gotta love the instant convenience of the web. And I can't say enough about the iPhone app revolution. I can't imagine a life without these conveniences-turned 'necessities.'  Unless I'm camping or adventuring in the wild (both of which only happen about once a year), when traveling I always look for accommodation with wireless. Wifi makes me happy. It's in my comfort zone. I'm not anti-social, but sometimes I'd rather consult my urban spoon app than a hotel concierge for dinner suggestions. There's a flaw in this thinking though. I'm aware. The web's seemingly infinite info, can and sometimes does transform us into social hermits. But isn't travel about experiencing and connecting?

Maybe learning how to reconnect involves looking to the past? In the name of bringing some of the mystery and allure of the unknown back into the travel realm, here are a few ways to escape like its 1999 in 2010:

1. Gain local insight. Talk to your cab driver, server or bartender to get more insight into the place you're visiting, the culture and lay of the land. Sure, you can read World Fact Book before you go, but getting a local's insight is always more interesting, tip-worthy and dare I say: personal!
2. Ask for directions vs only consulting a map.  Sure, load google maps and get directions, but maybe there's value in asking someone at your hotel or a person for directions too.  Sometimes a local will know a faster or more interesting route to your destination taking you off the beaten path.
3. Talk...to people at your hotel or resort about what they've done or where they've eaten.  A) you might get to know someone cool and B) you might learn what to do or not to do while there!
4. Bye Bye comfort zone. Do something that takes you out of your comfort zone.  These days, we rarely venture into new territory because there's always reviews or write-ups to tell us what to expect, but sometimes this ruins the experience.  Go old-school and let your gut decide what to do and where to go!
5. Disconnect.  This is more 1999'ish' than 2010'ish', but disconnecting from cell phones and all things web-related, might encourage you to focus more on your destination vs the happenings of home life.  Case in point: every time I'm sitting at a hotel pool there's undoubtedly a loud-talking moron who a)likes to share their convo with the rest of the pool and b)won't get off their phone...don't be one of these people!  And if you do need to get on the phone, do so in your room or an inconspicuous corner of your hotel.  Enjoy your surroundings and embrace your destination!