The Real La La Land - Day 5
I awoke at Connie's house to the sloppy kisses of Puppers who had made his way up onto my bed - seriously, this dog almost got packed in my suitcase!
We headed out into suburbia as Connie knew a great place that she wanted me to see, a lovely market and restaurant called Follow Your Heart. This place describes itself as lacto-vegetarian, meaning that although there may be dairy (although you can choose to have an alternative), there is no meat, fish, poultry or eggs. This makes it a favourite with vegans, of which Connie is one. So once again I decided to embrace the Vegan food full on and ordered a healthy Caeser and Artichoke Salad which was completely delicious. The market part of Follow Your Heart was just an enticing with a huge choice of vegan or vegetarian food and the biggest shards of Aloe Vera I've ever seen!
We then headed back to Connie's to meet Josh as we were going to go on our traditional run
of hanging out at 'Twin Peaks' filming locations. All original locations mind, not the new season, no spoilers happening here! In my last few visits to LA, Josh has generously given his time and showed me quite a lot of Lynch locations, but today we were going to one I've not been to before - the famous rock path. The rock path and it's surrounding areas were used in several shots in 'Twin Peaks' including Bobby, Mike and the football, Major Briggs on the path and one of Twin Peaks most famous scenes; The Tibetan Rock Throwing.
We drove just under an hour south west until we reached Las Virgenes Road. The rock path is actually concealed behind a gate which is usually unlocked during the week, but today was not. So Josh and I hop-footed it around the edge of the fence like two troublesome teenagers, smashing our way through the muddy, grassy verge. And it was exactly at this point that LA decided to bring on the rain again! Standing in the rain, walking along the rock path, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were actually in the Pacific NorthWest where 'Twin Peaks' is set, rather than in Los Angeles known for it's beautiful weather. But somehow, it just felt right...and refreshing! And you know what? It was actually beautiful.
Sadly I was only spending one night with Connie, so, after a quick trip to clear out Target, I was on the road again with Josh who was kindly taking me back into West Hollywood ready to spend my last three nights of my trip with my wonderful friend Ian Buchanan. If you look in the dictionary and search the word 'gentleman' Ian's face would be right there. He's a legend in my eyes. Kind, funny, talented and with a wonderfully wicked sense of humour that is belonging of his Scottish roots. Ian is also the epitome of a working actor. From playing the hilarious Dick Tremayne in 'Twin Peaks' to starring in shows such as 'General Hospital', 'All My Children', 'The Bold and the Beautiful' and even popping up in 'Stargate SG-1', 'Charmed' and the film 'Panic Room', he really has been there, seen it all, bought the T-Shirt and opened a franchise!
By this point in my trip I had come down with a pretty nasty cold (that'll teach me to go running around on rock paths in the rain) and as I reached Ian on Friday night, he suggested ordering some food and having a relaxing evening - perfect. Ian shares his beautiful home with the equally beautifully Antonio who was away until Sunday as he was on tour. One thing that struck me about their home was how everything was very personal to them and told a story of their lives which warmed my cold, flu-ridden heart.
I was grateful to get to bed that night and catch up on some sleep to try and fight being ill. And as I drifted off, I could hear the sounds of thousands of Angelenos enjoying the bars on Santa Monica Boulevard...beautiful.
Lins x
