L. A. Diary: The Best Deal in L. A. ... Maybe the Best TWO Deals in L. A.

Part 1: We Begin

Part 2: On the Road

Part 3: We Arrive

Part 4: The Strange Encounter

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Once we didn't have to worry about accommodating a dog, hotel selection became somewhat easier.

Or did it?

Once Tom began scouting hotels near Los Feliz it became clear that there weren't many national chains nearby. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it forced us to go local.

Normally, we'd have jumped at the "local" option, but we'd experienced enough inconveniences on this trip to make predictable comfort a very desirable thing.

However, we chose wisely.

BrandWood Hotel, a boutique hotel "in the historic and upscale downtown district in city of Glendale" had more good reviews than bad. We figured it couldn't be worse than many of the European hotels we'd stayed at and booked the room. We could always relocate after one night.

For one thing, could any hotel room really be great if it was only $105 per night?

Yes.

Definitely.

We can't praise it highly enough.

Charming decor, comfortable rooms, adequate bathrooms (not luxurious but the hot water never ran out), solicitous and friendly staff ... it was fantastic.

For breakfast it was a hop, skip, and a jump to Portos Bakery down the street, where we quickly became addicted to their rich coffee which was also surprisingly inexpensive ... a large was $1.79. Unheard of!

Likewise, the many fine bakery offerings, which had locals lined up every day, were also quite inexpensive. And delicious. Quite delicious.

Altogether, Glendale turned out to be a felicitous choice!

We were always ready for days of setting up Rose's new digs and dealing with the challenges of setting up Rose's new digs.

Luckily Zoe only needed one night of sleeping in the new place with Rose to decide this was home ... and pick a spot in the nearby park for her very own "safe place." That was the biggest problem off of our minds ... finally!

We were free for other encounters ... of the personal kind. As well as some delightful discoveries. Which we will talk about next week!