TRAVEL TRAVEL ++ LEISURE / JANUARY 2017 LEISURE / JANUARY 2017 7981
DAY 1 CLASS ACT
Out of habit, I bought a book
before taking off , and an accessory that
would become my uniform for the trip,
superseding everything else I packed in
the same category. With about half an
hour to kill, I went straight to the Plaza
Premium Lounge at the Delhi airport,
took several happy selfi es with a glass
of wine, put my feet up, and felt relieved
knowing this part of the world was
asleep. Etihad Airways off ers US border
pre-clearance (cbp.gov) at Abu Dhabi
airport, which took longer than usual
because fi rst, at their domestic check-in,
the security offi cer asked if I was carrying
any perfumes or chocolates in my hand
bag, not to confi scate, but to give to him as a
gift; second, the US offi cer asked me to pen
down a Maroon 5 playlist for him.
I may have been up for over 24 hours,
but with full-blown FOMO I wasn’t sleepy
enough to forego a glass (or more) of
Champagne Jacquart Brut Mosaïque, my
experiments with in-fl ight Arabic Cinema,
and a lot of food.DAY 2 STAY AT A SPANISH VILLA
I was looking forward to my fi rst
Airbnb experience—a Spanish Villa in Echo
Park, about 20 miles from the airport—
owned by Elena Beuca, Hollywood Actor
and Producer of D-Love (2016) and
Connectivity (2010) fame. We went through
the heart of LA through World Way route,
under the San Diego Flyway, another one
of my favourite cities, along Downtown,Clockwise: Orpheum
Theatre; Airbnb CEO
Brian Chesky
addressing the
audience at the event;
murals along the
skyscrapers in the
city; Echo Park;
a vintage poster of
the Downtown LA.
Inset: Interiors of the
Spanish Villa at
Echo Park.COURTESY OF AIRBNB(4); FREDERIC SOLTAN/GETTYIMAGES(1)