lola’s airline allstar

lola has a secret admirer. well…maybe it’s more like a sugar daddy in the department of frequent flier miles. either way, lola was the benefactor of some good will on her Hawaii trip.

oooo FIRST class

lola’s FF sugar daddy was going to lose a tres fantastique upgrade if not used by February 29. sooo, this generous fellow gave the awesome upgrade to lola for her flight from Hawaii to LA. talk about a knight in shining armor moment! this gentleman has yet to even meet lola in the flesh but still insisted on sharing his great frequent flier perks with moi. on top of that, he had little details on my flight information but somehow still managed to switch it all up for me. this act of sweetness and follow through (i didn’t have to lift so much as a finger) makes me swoon! can i be seduced by airline upgrades? possibly!

yes, that

even though i almost NEVER fly fancy class, let’s be serious, it totally suits me. i mean, c’mon, being waited on hand & foot and wined & dined is SO lola’s speed.

yep, jeremy piven was flying first with me back to LA

flying amongst the rich and famous…i’m a high-class gal. maybe it’s for the best that i rarely fly first class so that i can appreciate the finer things when they’re presented to me. i DID truly appreciate my special 6 hour flight in fancy first. lola is one lucky girl, i’ll be the first to admit it!!

merci beaucoup, you lovely secret admirer frequent flier sugar daddy. you made my day!

XO – lola

*jeremy piven photo from chicago theater beat

6 Comments

Filed under travel

hollywood or hollywon’t?!

welcome to Hollywood! what’s your dream?

the boa in the city of angels

i’m going Holly’would’ ALL the WAY, baby! 😉

lola quite enjoyed her time in Beverly Hills.  let me just say, if you have the choice, choose this! OMG, i don’t love LA but i could live in Beverly Hills quite happily. i’ll start with the Beverly Wilshire. it’s old school Hollywood glamorous! the building itself is gorgeous and a landmark worth visiting just to see it. the staff was amazing – waiting on me hand & foot – making sure i was satisfied. you know how lola loves the great customer service and attention!!

the beautiful Beverly Wilshire hotel

the whole “hood” of Beverly Hills is spectacular. who couldn’t be wooed by Rodeo Drive and all the beautiful boutique stores? or the expensive, fancy, fast cars parked along the palm-tree-lined streets? everything is perfectly groomed and very clean. it is sooo posh – i could have just died and gone to heaven!

super swanky Rodeo Drive

Beverly Hills Bugatti – the most pricey car in the world

i quite enjoyed my little LA tour complete with a visit to Grauman’s Chinese & Kodak theaters. it may be totally touristy but it was fun to find some of my favorite stars hand and foot prints in the cement as well as their stars on the side walk of Hollywood Boulevard. the whole area seemed to be buzzing about the Oscars happening just one week after my visit.

Grauman

Ms. Paltrow

my Hollywood crush – Johnny Depp

i got a kick out of getting close up to the Hollywood sign too. boy, driving up those winding roads was something else! it was interesting to learn the history of the sign (it was just an advertisement for land being sold to build homes) and how Hugh Hefner saved the sign by recently buying up all the land where the sign sits so that it cannot be developed. awww, that Hef is such a softie!

you can find every food imaginable at the farmers market

i also discovered some yummy foodie places and the 3rd & Fairfax Farmers Market – nom, nom, nom for eyes, nose, ears &  belly! in Bev Hills, i recommend Taberna for delicious Mexican (and that’s coming from a native Texan) 😉 AND The Farm of Beverly Hills was fantastic for breakfast (it didn’t hurt to have a star sighting of David Spade while eating my omelette)!

lola loves Beverly Hills!

to be honest with you, there really wasn’t anything that was hollywon’t. well…maybe the terrible LA traffic on the way to the airport but that’s it. looking forward to returning in May, Beverly Wilshire in the ritzy Beverly Hills, it’s the only way to stay! definitely ‘Lola Approved’!!

4 Comments

Filed under california, los angeles, swanky luxe stays, travel

flirty fun in France & Monaco

lolafication

if you follow my blog you know that lola has a certain je ne sais quoi. let me be clear, my time in France and Monaco proved they too were willing to be influenced by the lola factor. those along the Riviera were quite eager to be lolafied. i guess it was really the low-season 😉

lola served up on a silver platter

lola requested that difficult pink beret – a request more than sufficiently met! then i proceeded to wear the beret everywhere, which the French folk seemed to enjoy.

look at petit lola being a little saucy tart

one evening, lola brought out petit lola (aka my little mascot Barbie) to dinner and after dinner drinks only to be flirted with by many a cute man.

birthday buddies - max & lola

AND real-life lola wore out my boa on my birthday. by that evening’s end, i had many, oh so many, a man donning a boa feather here and there (ears, lapels, pocket feathers.) it was really quite a surprise, to be honest, how much those men adored the boa!

oh yeah...he WAS lolafied!

either France and Monaco have a spirit about them that totally identifies with lola or people really just needed to get outside of their usual routines. whatever it was, the embracing of lola and her silly sassiness made this trip and birthday extra EXTRA special.

i love the idea of lolafying a place – wouldn’t you?! my feathers floated all around Monaco for a good 24 hours at least. AND it’s been reported that i was missed once i was gone. locals lola met have confessed they are missing lola’s je ne sais quoi!

my lovely bartender crush in provence

3 Comments

Filed under france, monaco, travel

Monaco DO & Monaco DON’T

when i think of Monaco, i think glitz, glam, royalty and James Bond

gentlemen, start your engines!

while i found the little city-state clean & pretty, i also found it feeling quite manufactured & fake. february is low-season and i am sure Monaco is more exciting when it’s high-season BUT, even still, Monaco was a disappointment. don’t get me wrong, lola had fun…i have fun wherever i go. AND i feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to discover first-hand that Monaco isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

casino NOT royale!

let’s start with the vision of James Bond and the casino. of course, the building is beautiful and who couldn’t appreciate that?! BUT when you imagine a casino in Monaco, you think of something grand. it was tiny and most games were electronic – bleck. it was practically deserted and like walking into a nursing home. i was the only one wearing sequins – all else had on hoodies and sneakers. sorry Monaco…Vegas has you beat by a long-shot, a thousand times over!

built into the mountainside - Monaco has slowly 'reclaimed' land from the sea to increase its territory

i did take a little bus tour to see the tiny principality. Monaco is the second smallest independent state in the world next to the Vatican.

beautiful little orange trees line the streets

Monaco's castle

i’m glad i had the chance to see Monaco but don’t feel the need to ever go back UNLESS it’s for the Monaco Grand Prix! OMG the cars & that race would be worth the trip. this is the glitz and glam that does exist in Monaco!

ooo lala - fast cars

yummy ferrari

this is how i "rolls-royce"

bottom-line, Monaco is at least double the cost of France. my advice: go visit for the day but cross the country line back to France for dinner, drinks & dessert. unless, of course, you have a sugar daddy (or mama) 😉

7 Comments

Filed under monaco, travel

bon anniversaire ala France et Monaco

birthday fun – vive la lola!

happy birthday

lola got birthday treats all trip long. from a macaroon cake & wine at the Four Seasons Provence to champagne at Villa Gallici! i was treated like quite the b-day gal.

yummy cake!

sante - birthday girl!

on my actual birthday in Monaco i was brought a cake with a sparkler type of candle at dinner and yet another at the bar where i was having after dinner drinks. apparently they DO like flashy things in Monaco! AND of course i had some of both…it would have been rude not to.

lola loves sparkly things!

and cake number deux

sometimes turning a year older can be a drag but i truly had the best birthday this year. i mean, who couldn’t love 2 cakes? i was made to feel magnifique everywhere i went & why not?! i am kinda special because i’m lola after all!

ps – i highly recommend spending your birthday in France/Monaco but no matter where you are, do it up BIG. it is YOUR DAY!!

1 Comment

Filed under france, monaco, travel