The Westin is the Bestin!

I'm back. Rather than sending individual emails to various friends and family members making them drool with envy about my 36-hour vacation, I'll spill the major details here. My friend The Rose and I managed to snag a very good deal at the Westin and scored a SUITE which included all sorts of perks, like two baths, two TVs, a HUGE bedroom for me, a folding cot in the living room for him which was bigger than a single bed and as effing comfortable as the California King in my room, free espresso made in our room by the espresso machine, a heated toilet seat with guidelights for night time landings, a bathtub big enough for four which had a view of the city...I could go on and one but won't. Suffice to say the suite was cheaper than two single rooms and we ate every meal for free--a huge brunch with luxuries like freshly squeezed watermelon, cucumber, orange, and mango juice, an omelet bar, Western, Chinese, and Japanese food, smoked salmon--I could on and on but won't, as I want room to discuss the pleasure of going to the executive lounge for people smart enough to drop their dough on the suites, which was essentially a Happy Hour excess of cocktails and what's called in the South a "cocktail supper" which means tons of canapes, hot and cold, fruit, tiny desserts, pizza, dim sum, shrip the size of tennis balls. Plus free use of the gym (24 hours) and swimming pool, plus a spa, where I had a killer massage and facial at half price.  The bill was not staggering: in fact, I've paid more for one night at not-so-good hotes in downtown Portland than I did for two nights in the suite. The Rose footed his half, I footed mine, we met occasionally for a drink or a viewing of Red Dwarf but for the most part left each other alone to do our own things. The suite was almost double the size of my apartment, by the way.

Upon coming home I discovered that Ayi had taken the dogs for a beauty treatment and now both are sporting a  poodle cut: shaved bodies, huge heads, tiny ruffs around their skinny ankles. I think I've mentioned that neither are poodles--the terrier doesn't look too bad, having a dash of Bichon in her, but the poodle cut on the Peke's stumpy little body looks like a fat girl in ankle boots and leggings: you have to see it to understand why it's so very very wrong.

I'm all clevered out: I had to be charming for Chinese TV--live, of all things--which was very difficult as a contestant who DIDN'T make it past the first round was in the audience glaring at me for four straight hours. However, if you are in need of a break, may I recommend the Westin? I've always been a Hyatt girl but I'm telling you, this was the cleanest, nicest place I've ever stayed in, and as I travel a lot for MJN2, staying at five-stars across China, you can believe me when I say it is absolutely the best. Oh, NB: ironically, as it was the first day in 19 plus years when I could have actually slept in--I had insomnia. And so did the Rose. We did the show on about four hours of sleep, each.