My recent trip to Los Angeles brought to life all my wildest junk food dreams. I have the world’s sweetest tooth, and it was given a good workout over the 12 days I was in the U.S.A.
Pinkberry is a cult in L.A, so the first sighting of it in the Beverly Centre couldn’t be [...]

It goes without saying that San Francisco is one of the more liberal US cities, and you come to feel it as you walk the streets. Bicycles and skateboards are common forms of transport, and if you have to drive, it’s quite likely you’ll be in a hybrid Toyota Prius.
Upon my first visit to the [...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hdOR3vMlGg

On our second day in Los Angeles we had some serious car trouble. After filling up the car with tons of gas for a day of sightseeing we got onto the freeway, we were still on the onramp when we heard a pop and some serious wurring. The people in the car behind [...]

Words Adam Blakey
Photo Chris Searl
The Red Carpet? Movie Premieres? The Playboy Mansion? No, no, no. The only place to truly fly your too-cool-for-celebrities flag while in L.A. is right here – Canter’s Jewish Deli on Fairfax. Ok, so Mel Gibson won’t be there, but check out the honour roll of frequent diners since it opened [...]

If you find yourself at a loose end in L.A., take the drive up the Pacific Coast Highway with the Pacific glittering on your left all the way until, an hour or so north, you see a small sign for Paradise Cove. I found myself there on a winter’s day and settled into [...]

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the O.C. is the television show. It’s no surprise that we have been exposed to so many images of Southern California in music and films. From The Beach Boys to fake tan to bleached hair, my perception has been almost demented by what California [...]

MADONNA INN, CALIFORNIA
Courtesy Paperplane Magazine
Words Wilfred Brandt.
Warning: After a stay at the Madonna Inn, the real world might seem very, very dull.
Some people think hotels are overrated. The point of a holiday isn’t where you stay, it’s where you go, right? Isn’t a hotel just somewhere to stash your bags and crash at [...]

The Mondrian has really taken a beating in the press lately, and it’s not because of its service, but rather the behaviour of some of its guests, in particular the celebrity kind.
Most notable of these have been Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears. The former, nick-named Blowhan for her love of a certain substance, threw [...]

Janis Joplin’s life was ended at the Hollywood Landmark Hotel in 1970 during the recording sessions of her album ‘Pearl’.
After injecting herself with heroin and walking to the hotel lobby to buy a pack of cigarettes, Joplin returned to her room and fell to the ground, breaking her nose in the fall, after [...]

“If you are going to get into trouble, do it at the Chateau Marmont”. A fitting introduction from the lips of Harry Cohn, founder of Columbia Pictures.
But we think the quote should be changed to “If you’re going to die, do it at the Chateau Marmont”.
In 1982, celebrity guest and actor John [...]