My room at the Figeuroa was brightly painted and a Moroccan theme.  The entire hotel has a Casbah feel to it.  There is a small bar and lounge area, a shady pool and hot tub area, and a breakfast spot, where you can purchase breakfast by the individual item ("so, how many slices of toast do you have?").

Directly across the street is the very cool LA Live area, which has some awesome bars and restaurants.  We had an event at the South Pacific themed restaurant one night, and we went to the Yard House a few times that weekend.  

When attended a large show in LA that weekend, and when the show ended on Sunday night, Kiwi and another colleague from NZ decided that they wanted to go to Santa Monica for dinner. Well, this was Valentine's Day, so I did not expect much.  I drove them down to S.M. and dropped them off at the pier.  It took me about 25 minutes to eventually find a parking spot.

I met them at their choice of restaurants:  Bubba Gump Shrimp.  Seriously.  That's where they wanted to go for their dinner.  I saw a remarkably long line, but no sight of them.  I approached the hostess and was told it was a 1 1/2 - 2 hour wait time for a table.  Still no sight of the two of them, so I walked inside to use the bathroom.  And, what do I find?  The two of them, already on their second beers, sitting at a table near the bar.  They just walked right into the restaurant, found this table, sat down, and took it as their own.  I tried to explain to them that we would never do that in America, but they laughed and ordered me a beer.

After dinner, we walked along the pier, and they decided to ride the Ferris Wheel.  I am not a fan, so I just walked around a bit.  Come to find out, they just got in line for the wheel, and didn't buy a ticket. When they got to the front, the guy laughed at them and just let them on for free.

After their little Ferris Wheel adventure, we walked back towards Santa Monica and found a bar.  It was quite late, and was closed.  Well, that doesn't stop a couple of Kiwis.  They stood near the locked door until a patron came out, and they walked right in.  As the wait staff and bartenders were cleaning everything, they grabbed a table at the bar, and we all ordered drinks. We all laughed pretty hard at the thought of these two Kiwis not following any rules, and getting anything they wanted.  While it was not a romantic Valentine's Day, it was at least funny.