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...