Katja and Sam

Katja is something of a party girl, always ready for a good night out. She never needs a particular excuse to hit the town, yet finds that having one can add to the merriment, and what better excuse for a celebration than a good friend’s birthday?

It was for this very reason that, one recent Saturday, she rounded up Sam to accompany her to Long Branch. Had she been more motivated she would have taken advantage of what would likely be among the last warm weekends of the year, and spent the day at the beach. But, like most girls who enjoy a good party, she’s just not a morning person, so it wasn’t until early afternoon that they set off to Penn Station to catch their train. While Katja finds travel on the New Jersey Transit to be far from glamorous, as its trains leave rather a lot to be desired, they do, at least, generally arrive on time, which is more than she can say for Amtrak’s.

As soon as they got to Long Branch Katja and Sam made their way over to the birthday boy’s house, and helped make the place festive before he got back from work (it wouldn’t be a party without hats and balloons). That was, however, the extent of their contribution to the evening (besides their sparkling personalities, of course). The birthday boy is a fabulous cook and wanted to be in charge of the evening’s meal, so as soon as he got home he went straight to work whipping up a fabulous vegetarian feast. Not being a high maintenance type of girl, Katja never expects people to cater to her non-meat eating self. That said, she certainly never complains when they do, as it’s a rare treat to be able to try everything that’s served, which in this instance included a tasty fig dish, grilled portobellos, rice salad and grilled romaine with blue cheese.

There were also two cakes, which made her very happy, especially since one was her favorite, tres leches (she happily had some of the Black Forest cake too, it would have been rude not to try everything). And of course no meal would be complete without lots (and lots) of wine, and since it was a birthday dinner, a champagne toast.

After dinner Katja, Sam and their friends wandered over to the bar at the Bungalow Hotel for some fancy cocktails, and then to The Tiki Bar at Ocean Place for some frozen mango margaritas. Not that she needed more sugar after her dessert consumption, but how can one resist a frozen drink at the beach? They then made their way over to Indulge Wine Bar for some dancing, because of course no celebration is complete without dancing, and the birthday boy is one of her favorite dance partners. Luckily Sam was happy to busy himself by drinking more cocktails, so he didn’t get bored or jealous while they strutted their stuff (Katja is not a fan of scenes…she likes to keep her drama behind closed doors).

Although lots of cocktails were had and the dancing continued until the early hours, Katja was able to drag herself (and Sam) out of bed the next morning in time to make it back into the city for class at Ballet Arts. She is, after all, as dedicated to ballet as she is to her late nights.

Katja and Alex

Katja is not particularly the most organized when it comes to planning her travel, so less that a week after her trip to Vegas she found herself back at Newark, traveling out west once again. This time the destination was Los Angeles, where she frequently goes to visit her fabulous friends who call the city home. Although disliking LA seems to be fashionable, Katja has always been a fan of the city, and thinks that those who criticize have never bothered to really explore the place.

Katja generally stays in Pasadena when she’s in town, but this time opted for a change of scenery, and stayed with her friend Alex in the Hollywood Hills. Being the fitness conscious girl that she is (not to mention how grumpy she gets if she doesn’t get her daily exercise), Katya’s first order of business was finding a place to work out, as the Dance Conservatory of Pasadena, where she usually takes class when in town, was too far away. Luckily LA is a city with no shortage of classes, studios and gyms, and Alex is equally concerned with getting in his daily workout, so was happy to help her in her endeavor. Katja was hoping for ballet, but as there was no studio nearby Alex took her to her first ever Pilates class, at Circuit Pilates Hollywood. Although initially she was daunted by the reformer, which she thought resembled a medieval torture device (Katja’s sure she saw something similar as a child in Rothenburg’s Kriminalmuseum), she avoided humiliating herself and actually rather enjoyed the class. That said, she won’t be giving up any of her ballet classes in New York for Pilates.

On the subject of ballet, no trip to the area would be complete without a stop at her favorite dance shop, The Red Shoes, where she always finds great skirts and legwarmers (being a ballet class fashionista requires dedication and constant upkeep).

Lest you start thinking that Katja has become shallow and dull, and that it’s no wonder she loves fitness obsessed LA given how she goes on and on about her exercise routine (and wardrobe), she assures you this is not the case. In fact most of her trip was spent lounging by the pool with friends, catching up over copious amounts of wine, and eating lots of treats (including yummy - and gelatin free! - Swedish candies from Sockerbit that a friend brought over).

And of course there always needs to be some art thrown into the mix, she’s a highbrow girl, after all. Usually Katja checks out the latest exhibition at LACMA, but Alex thought it would be more fun to go somewhere new, and instead took her to Materials & Applications, a small gallery in Silver Lake. They had been lured there by a sound installation, but ended up being much more entranced by Warren Techetin’s La Cage aux Folles – nothing better than art one can climb on and explore.

Katja and Alex also went on numerous frozen yogurt dates (she thinks frozen yogurt should be a food group all on its own), and enjoyed long hikes around the neighborhood, taking in the beautiful views of the city. Sadly the latter resulted in an unfortunate farmer’s tan for Katja, as she was foolish enough to go out without sunscreen (her dermatologist would not be impressed…).

As always, the trip went by much too quickly. Katja was sad to leave Alex and her other friends, but as a small consolation she got upgraded on the flight back. She’d like to say she was able to return home in style, but she’s not sure there is such a thing in domestic air travel. But at least the wine is free, and, more importantly, drinkable, in First Class...

Katja and Francois

Katja is a gypsy at heart (albeit one with an unfortunate fear of flying), always looking for an excuse to pack her bags and set off somewhere. It thus didn’t take much convincing when Francois, her number one partner in crime, asked her to join him on his work trip to Las Vegas. While it wasn’t a place Katja had ever considered visiting, she’s not the type of girl to turn down the opportunity to discover somewhere new. And, while she prefers travel that requires the use of her passport, she figured that even though she wasn’t leaving the country, she was certainly headed to an alternate universe.

Not surprisingly, Katja found Vegas rather disturbing, and the slow moving masses stressed out her quick-paced New York self. Still, she had a fabulous time discovering the city in all its tacky glory. Unfortunately for Francois it was his fourth time in Vegas, so the novelty had long worn off. But then again, he hadn’t had the pleasure of Katja’s company (i.e. a drinking partner) on prior visits, so this trip was certainly an improvement.

Neither Katja nor Francois had any interest in gambling, so instead they wandered the strip, people watching and checking out the over the top décor at the many massive hotels. The Flamingo hotel’s flamingos (among the few real things in the city) were the highlight for Katja,

although she did find the numerous faux sculptures at Caesar’s Palace

and the over the top everything at The Venetian to be most amusing. She had hoped Francois would take her for a romantic gondola ride at the latter, but no such luck. Apparently he didn’t want to give her the wrong idea with so many wedding chapels around.

He did, at least, whisk her away from the madness and riffraff (they’re a bit snobby about the company they keep), by taking her to the Mandarin Oriental’s bar for some rather tasty cocktails and a great view of the city. It wasn’t all sophistication, however, and Katja and Francois admit to having spent the previous evening wandering the strip, jumbo frozen margaritas (with an extra shot – how could they refuse?) in hand. Thankfully the Bellagio has a nice gym, so they were able to work off some of those cocktail calories, as they certainly had no desire to come back to New York Vegas-sized.

The two continued the festivities and cocktail drinking upon their return, with Francois throwing a fabulous tropical themed fete to celebrate his birthday. As usual, there was dancing, drinking and merriment until the early hours. Kata would like to say that one day she’ll realize that late nights and liquid dinners aren’t the wisest of decisions, but at this point she’s come to terms with the fact that she probably never will.

Katja

Katja is a passionate creature, known for throwing herself 110% into things. Some might call her obsessive, maybe even crazy. She prefers to think of herself as dedicated. That said, she readily admits to being a little crazy, which makes her new(ish) city of residence, New York, a perfect fit for her.

It’s Katja’s latest obsession, ballet, that is largely to blame for her recent silence. Although Katja has always been a fan of dance and a regular performance-goer, it was during her last few years in DC that she found her free time largely taken over by all things dance (well, mostly late nights out with her Washington Ballet friends). So, upon moving to New York, Katja decided to check out New York’s substantial adult ballet scene. She had grown rather bored of her seemingly endless daily cardio sessions, and figured that if she enjoyed the company of dancers maybe she should give ballet a try herself.

Katja thus found her way to the Joffrey Ballet School and braved her first ballet class. She was relieved to find that she was far from the oldest (or most awkward) student. And despite the fact that she had no idea what she was doing, she loved it, and made her way back to the studio the following week. It wasn’t long before she was hooked, and soon she was spending much of her time at Ballet Arts, BAE and the Joffrey, trying to figure out how to squeeze in a few hours of work between classes (it’s all about priorities…).

Of course Katja should have known that any activity where she gets to sweat while wearing skirts and tights, her two wardrobe staples, would be ideal for her. That said, it’s legwarmers with which she’s developed an obsession, and she’s amassed quite a collection…she likes to think of herself as the reigning adult beginner ballet fashionista. Katja knows she may never be the most graceful of dancers, but she loves her classes and looks forward to them each day (always hoping there'll be more jumping than turning). She’s also met a lot of great people, along with some rather crazy and bizarre characters, even by New York standards. But then those do make for the best stories…

P. S. Lest you think she’s become too focused on ballet and turned rather dull, Katja assures you she’s still her old party-girl self. Although she works consistently to improve her technique, and certainly has no desire to bulge out of her leotard, she knows a life without treats is not a life well lived. So when she’s not working hard, hoping one day she’ll actually manage a decent pirouette (or proper chaine turns for that matter), she can be found sharing treats and/or drinks (usually too many) with her friends.