One of Michaels and my favorite musical artists, Tyrone Wells would be performing in LA at the Roxy.  Tyrone holds a special place in our hearts, as it was at his concert in Seattle where Michael proposed to me.  We were also lucky enough to have Tyrone perform at our wedding.  While on his Where We Meet tour he stopped in Seattle several weeks ago, but Michael was out of town.  So we decided to fly to LA to see him for a very short stay of about 27 hours.  Also, the night of the LA concert (March 31) was the exact 2-year anniversary of Michael’s proposal.

Michael booked us into the beautiful London, West Hollywood hotel.  Service, as I’m beginning to understand is what separates the good hotels from the great ones and The London had amazing service.  The hotel decor was stylish and elegant without being stuffy.  Ornamental nods to the British theme were accented throughout.  We had a spaciously large room with an equally large all white bathroom.  Our room felt like a modern tribute to the Mad Men style of the 60s but in a very classy and yet hip way.  The sleek low and wide retro styled furniture had just the right amount of soft cool hues of light pink and grey to balance out the dark wood and contemporary silver metal detailing throughout the room.  One sidewall of the room was paneled entirely in caramel colored wood (or bamboo) tiles.  Our balcony overlooked the English style gardens with extended views of the city.

After checking in to the hotel, we both realized that neither of us had much breakfast before leaving and we were famished.  The two restaurants were both by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.  The Boxwood Cafe served breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea and we had arrived just in time for lunch.  I went with the recommended halibut fish and chips, and Michael had the Boxwood burger.  Both entrees were presented in a clean, almost minimalistic style.  My fish was served with chips that had been sautéed in foie gras and accompanied with a bright green bacon & pea puree.  As the server was still standing at the table, I hesitantly asked with a smile what the pea puree was for, trying not to look too much like a nitwit.  He smiled back and said that the flavors of the puree went nicely with both the fish and the fries.  Of course, I said.

Michael’s burger was pretty straight forward, as was my F&C.  I’m not sure about you, but I love good, freshly made tartar sauce with my F&C.  On my plate was a small clear plastic canister complete with sealable top filled with tartar sauce.  While this was a great way to display the condiment, I could have used two jars easily but didn’t choose to ask for more.

For dessert (of course) we both chose ice cream.  Michael went with vanilla and I selected the dulce de leche.  The ice cream was in four small scoops on a long and very narrow plate.  Both of us agreed that it was some of the best ice cream we had ever had.

Feeling quite full, we decided to take a walk.  The hotel is located just off of Sunset Boulevard quite close to the Roxy and legendary Viper Room.  I haven’t spent any time in LA, as I don’t consider changing planes or catching a cruise spending time.  I quickly figured out what makes LA tick (as if it’s hard to guess).  Fast, expensive cars (we saw two Lamborghinis in our 20 minute walk), high-end boutiques and restaurants and a style of eclectic snobbery one can only describe as LA.

Banking on the sunny California weather, I left my usual black Pacific Northwest attire in Seattle and went with playfully casual clothes in cream hues instead.  As we walked down the street and later when standing in line for the concert, I wished I had brought my rugged, yet classically cool black buckled riding boots, dark blue skinny jeans and my black edgy, don’t-screw-with-me jacket.  I felt like such a pansy in my cheery attire, not to mention a cold pansy, as it was windy and drizzling.

Tyrone’s concert was amazing, as always.  You should really look him up if you don’t know who he is (iTunes).  We started off 4 rows back and off to the left but by the time the two openers were done, we were front and center.  I felt a little like a stalker, because we kind of know him, a little.  It was pretty cool when he looked down during the concert, recognized us and gave us a knowing nod and smile.  Another cool moment was when we were waiting to say hi to Tyrone after the concert.  I was completely oblivious to the meet & greet line that had formed to see him and when he came out I walked up and he gave both Michael and I friendly hugs.  He was welcoming and happy to see us, flattered that we had flown out to see him.

Besides his music which we both love, Michael and I greatly appreciate the accessibility Tyrone’s fans have to him and how down to earth he is.  After every concert we’ve been to, there is a meet & greet.  He is always warm, inviting, and genuine.  He’s never in a rush, always happy to chat with you, sign your CD or take a photo with you.

It was such a pleasure having Tyrone perform at our wedding.  We were able to spend time with him and his wife as they sat at the wedding table and were almost like guests.  We also had breakfast with them the morning after and got to know them a little better.

All in all it was a busy 27 hours.  Not to mention I was coming down with a retched flu and had begun to loose my voice, cough and feel genuinely like crap.  (Which is another reason this post is long over due.)  The sun was shining as we drove to the airport on a beautiful and rare clear day in LA.  I looked at the weather on my iphone and saw that cold rain awaited us back in Seattle.  With the way I was feeling it could have been a typhoon, I didn’t care, I was coming home to my warm, soft and forgiving bed.