Day Five: LA!

Day Five kicked off with a delicious breakfast at Griddle, a famous place-to-be-seen eatery on Sunset Boulevard, kind of West Hollywood (again, crossing Hollywood can take well over half an hour!). It really is the most amazing place to eat - see here for proof!  There's always a wait for a table and the food is so good, they have their own Twitter and Facebook pages to announce when the best stuff is available!  This place serves such delights as Red Velvet Pancakes... sounds SO yum, but in the end (with the limited time we had before we had to race back to the studio) we all opted for simpler dishes - for me, a couple of eggs and a massive "bowl" of coffee sufficed.

Leigh-Ann and I

Waffles or Waffles (or, The Meaning of the Word Big)?!

Back at the studio, we danced our way through an hour and a half of choreography.  I'm loving the opportunity to dance with so many girls with all their individual styles!  We finished our routine with some freestyling - go girls!   I was thrilled to see Alethea Austin at the studio... I had been hoping our paths would cross for some time, all the way back from the IPDFA event in Tokyo at the end of last year.  Unfortunately I had had to cancel from that event, several weeks out (not several days before as I've heard the story was told), missing my chance to connect with everyone there.  

As for the standard at BeSpun - I was amazed not only by the girls taking my classes, but by the other students I caught sight of in their classes - including You Tube's well known male pole dancer, Bad A$$, who ran over to say hi - WOW!  The level here is quite high, with a studio that's been running for some years and instructors at national championship level... and dedicated students who train several times a week.  Altogether a great studio to visit for challenge and inspiration!

The view along Vermont towards North Hollywood from my hotel...

The afternoon flew by as I had a STACK of laundry to do and was dying to wash my hair (the logistics of traveling... having the time to wash AND to finish the job with hotel dryers!).  We had just enough time to squeeze in a drive across town to Kings Road Cafe for the best coffee in town...

This image is borrowed from Morgstar!

... and then back to the hotel, and on to the studio for a private class that evening.   

One thing I have to add here; Leigh-Ann and her husband Chris are now in a great new venue (since last September) - three levels of pole fitness, martial arts and therapies - how they manage this, I don't know - what a huge job this must be - my hat goes off to them!

Straight after that was dinner with Leigh-Ann and friends from X-Pole US at The Geisha House on Hollywood Boulevard.  Plate after plate of Japanese scrumptiousness came out and finally I had the chance to meet some of the X-Pole US team!  

Heydi, Kamara and me

The (Double Jetlagged) Art of Pole in LA!

But the hours flew by and suddenly it was midnight... and I had to be up at just about dawn the next day for the next stage of my journey!  Next stop: Orange County!


En route to The Geisha House: anyone recognise this pose?!  Easter Special, anyone?!

Late night window shopping at the Bettie Page store, LA!