One Summer Ago in the City of Angels

Since traveling this summer is an unsafe option, let me take you back to a simpler and more carefree time when I joined two of my high school friends on a trip to Los Angeles, California for a week. It was the farthest west I had ever travelled in the United States up until then, and I was excited to experience the West Coast! My friends had already booked their Airbnb, and I decided to opt for a hostel since I was joining in fairly last minute. I found one aptly named "Walk of Fame" right on Hollywood Boulevard in the middle of all the action. Hostels are great if you want something affordable and you don't plan to spend too much time in the room. It definitely caters more towards a young professionals and college student crowd. Most of the rooms contain bunk beds and each person is generally expected to put their own sheets on the bed as well as remove them at the end of the trip rather than getting regular room service the way you would in a hotel. This particular one also had a few separate rooms with regular beds available for families for a slightly higher price. 

After getting acquainted with the space and rules pertaining to it, I entered my room of 6 bunk beds to find that some of the women there already knew each other. I wasn't expecting to get to know any of them over the course of a single week in this city. However, one of the young ladies who had been staying there for some time already said hello and made an effort to get to know me. Rianne had been travelling from her home country of England around the US for a couple weeks already learning the lay of the land and meeting new people regularly. She eagerly shared stories of her travels with me both in and outside of LA. Knowing that this city was the hotspot for meeting celebrities and seeing where they lived, Rianne had done her research on where she should go to meet her favorite stars. After visiting one of the many film studios in the LA area for a tour, she shared that she had the chance to briefly meet Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia who are cast members of one of her favorite shows, This Is Us. She was just gushing about them! I was also impressed with how detailed and thorough her plans were. She did not want to waste a minute of her time, and I admired that about her. 

The Walk of Fame Hostel offered free or low cost tourist trips around the city for those who were staying in the hostel, and the guide let my friends staying at another place join as well. The Griffith Observatory is a beautiful lookout point in Griffith Park in LA that also has a science museum inside the main building and a couple of old telescopes you can peek at. On the way there, we took a train and a bus, which gave us plenty of time to connect with others in the group. We started chatting with Carolina, who works in Hyatt Hotels in Argentina. My friend, Yaniza, is a native Spanish speaker, so they quickly bonded over their common language background. My friend, Kevin, had studied abroad for a month in Bueno Aires, so he was able to share his stories with her, too. My knowledge of Argentinian culture was limited to the language and dance of Argentinian Tango, which for those who are familiar with ballroom lingo, is distinctly different from International or American Tango. Over the course of that excursion, we established ourselves as acquaintances with Carolina and hoped to see her again. 

Santa Monica Pier
(Left to Right: Carolina, Rianne, Kevin, Yaniza, me)

Rianne and Carolina both joined me for breakfast (independently of each other) in the hostel the day following the Griffith Observatory trip. Yaniza, Kevin, and I had planned a beach day seeing as this is California and the summertime. I invited them both to accompany us, and they were happy to do so! We started out our walk down Hollywood Blvd. taking pictures of us next to some of our favorite stars, and after some time realized that the restaurant where we agreed to meet my friends was a short distance by car, but not on foot. We quickly hopped in a Lyft and made our way to an early lunch/brunch at a place called "Egg Sl*t." Yes, that really was the name of the place. Then we ordered another car that got us to the Santa Monica beach where the driver shared that he is from the middle east leading us to all reveal the various countries we each come from - we were an international car! At the beach, I learned from Carolina the tradition of drinking maté, a strongly caffeinated drink that is the national beverage of Argentina. We talked about our lives, our beliefs, politics, and so much more. There is something so freeing about sharing deep and meaningful conversations with acquaintances that you meet in a new place. 

Celebrating after Yaniza's show

Later that day, I let the ladies know about the main reason we came to LA in the first place. Yaniza is a singer-songwriter who was on tour, and she had a performance scheduled for that same day in a restaurant. After getting back to the hostel and changing, Rianne and Carolina accompanied me to the restaurant before the show for dinner. We then watched Yaniza's spectacular performance and Rianne was so moved that she bought Yaniza's CD that she had for sale. 

After that day, one by one we said goodbye to one another as each departed for different destinations: Yaniza and Kevin went to the next tour destination in Nashville, Tennessee; Rianne and Carolina were off to other parts of the country. Meanwhile, I flew back home to Boston. We vowed to stay in touch after the trip through WhatsApp. Here we are one year later continuing to share insights about our lives especially in the era of COVID-19, politics, language, and more. I look forward to the day where we can travel and be in each others' company again.  

Note: Real names were used with permission.