Bonjour [EMAIL],

Los Angeles, All Photos by Erica Simone

Living It Up in La La Land

Parler Paris Nouvellettre^®
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Wednesday, September 29, 2010 • Paris, France

Marketing Director, Lynda Sydney, and I arrived in Los Angeles Monday on the hottest day in record with a temperature of 113 Fahrenheit at 12:15 p.m., the moment we touched down in "La La Land." We weren't prepared, having come from cool Portland in our long sleeves and leather jackets, but the swaying palm trees and the blue ocean was a welcome sight.

Arriving from New York was my daughter who met us at the airport. We rented a car and headed to Santa Monica where we would be staying with a long time friend and colleague, Marcia Mazria. Her garden apartment is unairconditioned, like lots of Santa Monica abodes, since being at the waterfront it stays more cool than not, except on days like this, so out came the fans and open windows.

I am writing you one day early (Tuesday, September 28), so as to overcome the nine-hour difference from the West Coast to Paris. Tonight will be my final speaking engagement at "Fraiche," a restaurant in Santa Monica that is hosting the event, to a full house that reserved quite early.

Wednesday and Thursday I am meeting personally with a few clients for one-on-one consultations and then Wednesday evening will attend an 'unofficial' meeting of the home owners association of the fractional ownership property, "Le Palace des Vosges." As it turns out, all of the owners live in Southern California and so it makes it very convenient to meet up.

Los Angeles still feels very much like home to me, even after all these years in Paris. There is no way to compare L.A. to Paris -- the two cities are as different as night and day. I used to dream of having both, living part-time in both cities, but of course, in reality it's tough to do that unless your work enables such an arrangement, or you're retired and can go wherever you want whenever you want.

With old close friends last night over a candlelight dinner (the power in the Brentwood neighborhood was out), it was if we had never left L.A., just aged a bit and doing different things than we were so many years ago. It was a strange sensation to realize that the 16 years I had spent in Paris meant nothing to them, really, and so our lives just picked up where they had left off. It makes it tempting to 'just stay.'

Los Angeles is still Los Angeles -- that free-spirited warm-weathered spot on the ocean that will remain in my heart forever for its irreverence and open-mindedness that I have always loved about it. It is comforting to know that it is always there for me, but Paris still sticks in my blood like heroine is to an addict. I miss the lovely lady immensely, having talked about her so often over the course of the past couple of weeks.

I will spend the next few days in Los Angeles and then in on Friday evening my daughter and I return to New York where I will be winding down the six-city tour of the United States and reflecting on where home really is...or should be.

A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
With Lynda Sydney in Los Angeles

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P.P.S. I just got word that my article appeared in the New Southerner about "High standard of living versus high quality of life..." Click here to read it: www.newsoutherner.com

Be a FREE Guest at "Le Palace des Vosges"

The luxurious two bedroom fractional ownership apartment in the Place des Vosges, known as "Le Palace des Vosges," is available for immediate rental when the owners aren't occupying it!

And even better than that...should you decide to purchase a share, your rental fees (up to one week's worth) will be deducted from your share price! That makes your week at Le Palace des Vosges absolutely FREE!

Book your stay now before the shares get sold out!...and then get it FREE when you become an owner yourself!

For complete information including rates, visit Le Palace des Vosges and to book your stay, use the online Request Form or contact apartments@adrianleeds.com