QB8 Weekend Escapes-Hollywood
This was such a fun weekend getaway! Earlier in the year I had purchased tickets for the AC2 show in December and kind of forgot about it. For those that don’t know what AC2 is…it is a live show with Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper held in different venues across the country. I am a big fan of both and have been wanting to see them live for a long time. When I saw they were coming to LA, on a Saturday night, I knew this was my chance!
They were playing at the Dolby theater which is directly in downtown Hollywood a few doors down from the famous Manns Chinese Theater where they do all the red carpet Hollywood premiers etc. I had never stayed in Hollywood, I tend to gravitate towards the coast but thought it would be fun to stay right in the heart of it all! After a lot of research, I ended up booking at the Roosevelt Hotel (www.thehollywoodroosevelt.com). Man, I am ever glad I did! First of all, it is literally directly across the street from where we needed to be. I was nervous at first because that strip is full of energy and noise. What is cool though is once you are in the hotel it is much quieter and relaxed and when you are in your rooms you can’t hear anything outside. The property was clean and with a hip, LA, funky vibe. The rooms were surprisingly very manhattan loft like. Our favorite place to hang out was by the pool. You can grab a glass of wine or cocktail and chat amongst actors and writers and bloggers like me-lol!
We got there early in the day and we’re hungry so we started with some amazing burgers at 25 Degrees which is located right on the strip but still inside the hotel. The burgers are pricey but you can make your own and definitely worth it! After that, we decided to walk our meal off by walking the Sunset strip. The people watching is just amazing. We saw all the expected Marilyn Monroes and Wolverines you can take your pictures with, to the hundreds of people selling chachki’s, to families and tourists from all walks of life…I loved it! For dinner, we took a Lyft to an awesome restaurant called Perch LA (www.opentable.com/perch-la) . This was a recommendation from a friend and it was AMAZEBALLS! Make sure when you make a reservation you ask for outside dining. This is located on the rooftop of a building. The inside was lively and cool but honestly the best views are from outside and they have glass all around so it is safe and heat lamps to keep you warm. The service was great and the food was delicious!
After dinner we jetted back to the Sunset strip to see the show at the Dolby Theater. AC2 did not disappoint! I had to admit I was a little bit nervous because I caught them on one of the NY eve specials and I could barely make it through the show because I was so bored and thought it was horrible. This, however, blew me away! They are so dynamic and have such great energy together and share incredible, funny, and many touching stories. What really shocked me was how hilarious Anderson Cooper was! I am purposely not saying too much about the show because it is truly something you need to see for yourself. If they come to your town, don’t question it, just buy the tickets and you can thank me later!
We ended the night with a nightcap at the pool listening to some great music and then called it a night. The next morning, before heading back to reality, we decided to venture into Century City to go to my favorite food mecca, EATALY LA (https://www.eataly.com/us_en/stores/los-angeles/). If you have not been to an Eataly store yet, drop everything and head to one now! It is so incredible!!! I literally walk in through the front doors and just throw all my money in and say take it all now!!! Our routine is to hit the espresso bar first to grab a strong java with a delicious pastry to fuel up for the shopping adventure. I made sure to proudly wear my Mazel tshirt from the AC2 show too. Got to spread the mazel wherever you go! This place has it all…aisles and aisles of homemade breads, pastas, rows and rows of all sorts of cheeses and salumi, literally aisles of wine broken out by the different regions, it is all just too much and yet I cant get enough at the same time (did someone say Quanto Basta?)!!! After I stalked up for the end of the world, we packed up our car with our bags and incredible weekend memories and headed home! What a blast being a Hollywood hipster for the weekend!
