As my co-workers and I sat in the interminably long cab ride from the airport to our hotel, I was eerily reminded of Cape Town, South Africa.  Maybe because it’s warm in January, and the last time I was warm in January I was in Africa.  Maybe it was the palm trees, and the blue sky and the green vegetation.  A lot of it also has to do with the architecture of the buildings.  So many gates and bars and fencing — just like South Africa.

I got a little lost in my head — as one who is seated in the front seat of a cab who can hear none of the conversation behind her might be expected to do.

I’d love to really ruminate on it, because I found it very odd. But today is a little jam-packed and I have to figure out where the pool for this place is (not for fun reasons — it’s because we’re all meeting there).  On the plus side, my room is beautiful and has a little balcony, so that’s very nice.  On the down side, I am so hungry I could probably eat my left arm, and the snacks provided are a million dollars each (that is obviously an exaggeration — but not a huge exaggeration).  Even the water is $14.  Craziness.  Thankfully I brought my handy dandy hot spot, since they also charge you (in addition to the insane room rate) for access to WiFi.

So, that’s my first impression of West Hollywood.  Yup.