MY FIRST TRAVEL WRITING - THE HOTEL FIGUEROA, LOS ANGELES

This past weekend I was busy flying into Los Angeles Friday and leaving Saturday night. I took a workshop to learn about travel photography. It was well attended, maybe 75 people. We were taught by the director and two accomplished photographers - great information and I took lots of notes, though my emphasis is travel writing. The key with anything new is to "Just Do It" as Nike quotes. Here goes - my first travel writing.

The Hotel Figueroa is located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The front of the hotel is very unassuming. Upon entering you are pleasantly surprised with a Moroccan theme. Beautiful Turkish rugs, tile floors, large, lush green plants, and a friendly staff. My room was small, but had a king size bed, wonderful linens and 4 lush pillows - the bed and linens is most important for me and they rated a 10! The cable tv was good. By the way, I got a stellar deal for a Friday night, $168.00.

After settling in, you will want to visit the pool and restaurant-bar, the Veranda. At 5:30 in the evening it was filled with people enjoying a drink with friends, or sitting by the pool. It was a lovely oasis far from the downtown traffic just outside the doors. The menu is not very large and they have something for everyone's taste: pizza, steak, pasta, chicken, and salads. I decided on penne pasta with shrimp with a glass of red wine, and I was not disappointed. The pasta was delicious, al dente, not smothered in sauce, and served with several medium sized shrimp. The choice for desserts looked good but knew I didn't want to get too full. The bartender was polite and helpful, offering me chips while I waited the 20 minutes.

In all fairness, I have to mention some negatives. The toilet had a little puddle behind it, perhaps a slow leak. And flushing took 3 times to work. It is an old building, part of its charm, and I chuckled when handed a key. How many years has it been since hotels used keys? Unable to turn on the cold water, I had to get in and out quickly. Lastly, I had to call and ask for a hair dryer, and then it kept turning off after 3 minutes. A woman is undeterred when she is getting ready in the morning - a working hair dryer is a must.  Eventually my hair was dried and I was ready to greet the world.

Would I stay at the Hotel Figueroa again? I would have to say probably yes. The young woman who checked me out and gave me my bill deducted $26.00 for my problems, and she was quite empathetic. Everyone I dealt with was fabulous, the bed and linens were wonderful, the dinner was delicious, I loved the ambiance, and all the other hotels were $300-$400 a night. I was fortunate finding the good rate, persistence and simply asking always helps.

Thank you, good night and God Bless!    Aleta

"If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness,   selfishness and fears."  Cesare Pavese  -  Italian poet and novelist