Greystone Mansion 90210

Looking for a reason to head into the hills above Sunset Blvd. for more than just drive-by gawking at the palatial homes? Wouldn’t it be nice to get out, stretch your legs, and get an up-close-and-personal look at one of these Beverly Hills estates?



Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting illegal trespassing or star stalking. I’m talking about a visit to a public park. Among the handful of publicly accessible green spaces in this SoCal hub of exclusivity is the Greystone Mansion and Park.



Meandering through the mansion’s gardens is a relaxing, even zen-like experience. Nevertheless, my visit ended with a heart pounding, hand trembling adrenaline surge, but I’ll get to that later.



Like most good LA attractions, this place has star quality. Amongst the many films shot here are The Witches of Eastwick , Indecent Proposal, and that Whitney Houston classic Bodyguard. You can admire the mansion’s exterior to your heart’s content. Or, catch a peek of the mansion’s interior through the dusty windows, but the inside is off-limits to the masses. (Remember, this is still Beverly Hills after all!)



Fountains and a manicured gardens stretch down the slope between the parking lot and the mansion. What’s great about the gardens is there’s something to suit everyone’s taste. Permanent gardens include the tiny Apothecary Garden, home to plants with culinary and medicinal uses, and the Eclectic Grass Eden, which offers views of the mansion’s backside from beneath a canopy of acacias.



My personal favorite is the temporary Firesafe,Watersafe Garden (not a typo!) because of its bizarre, postmodern feel. Basically, this ‘garden’ was created using crushed, blue-tinted recycled glass. While ‘sustainable,’ a goal of the garden’s designer, recycled glass is unfortunately not a photosynthesizer. So I’m kind of hoping this doesn’t catch on in the mainstream since that whole oxygen creation thing is a nice side effect of having a garden. But what do I know? I’m not a scientist.



Bring your camera because there are great views of LA’s downtown skyline from the top of the parking lot. Keep in mind, though, that the park is only open until 5p. The hours makes sense considering the park has all the ingredients for a prime midnight makeout spot – something the swanky neighbors would probably prefer not to have in their backyard.

As for my hand-trembling experience, all I can say is remember to put that parking brake on if you happen to park in front of the mansion for a quick photo op. I didn’t take such advice and ended up sprinting after my moving car down Doheny Drive (and yes, I did eventually catch it). Did I mention this happened a mere 6 weeks after back surgery?

Vidal Sassoon Academy: A Cautionary Tale

I thought I had stumbled across a great bargain – the Vidal Sassoon Academy in Santa Monica. At $21 for a cut & dry, I happily imagined myself strutting around with a trendy, stylish haircut and money left in my pocket. The problem is, more often than not, you get what you pay for.

The academy, located just off the 3rd Street Promenade on Santa Monica Blvd, is upstairs from Hooters. Good to know if you have a penchant for big boobs or buffalo wings post-cut.

As I got in line to check in for my appointment, it never crossed my mind as strange that, unlike other salons, you pay beforehand. I was too busy checking out the inventive (‘wowser’) haircuts of the students sauntering by. “Wow, that’s not a red found in nature” was one thought; another was “Wow, I’m surprised she let her hair be cut so short…is that tail-like strand a memento of her former hair length?”

Despite these observations, I never once considered backing out. These were the students’ edgy haircuts, mine would be different somehow. Yeah right!

In all fairness, my student stylist – let’s call him Keith – was polite and seemed to want to make me happy. He nodded his head when I told him I wanted my split ends taken care of with no more than 2 inches off the length. Unwittingly, however, I did agree to some ‘soft’ layers. What a no-no!

As these are students, their teacher stopped by and approved Keith’s haircut plan. I saw large tufts of hair being cut off, but there was no turning back so I hoped I was imagining things. The teacher would come by and coo at how well it was turning out so I just sat there for the 2-hour cut with a smile.

It wasn’t until my hair was dried and flat-ironed that I realized I essentially had a mullet. Yes, Keith kept his word and kept the length below my shoulders, well at least on half my hair. Problem was the other half was ‘layered’ to a length just above my ears. Yikes!

As I couldn’t ask them to grow my hair back, I went along my way, vowing to deluge myself with hair growth-promoting vitamins.

Remember that Vidal Sassoon commercial: “If you don’t look good, we don’t look good.” Well, all I can say is that it rings true. Their haircuts didn’t look so hot, and I now have a mullet. Think twice before heading to the Vidal Sassoon Academy – unless, that is, you’re into edgy mullet cuts.