What I did on my vacation #2

Discovered Cafe Audrey...a block or two away from the Napoleon Perdis store, this charming cafe is the brainchild of another Aussie, Lola Nelson, a former Sydneysider who has been ensconsed in LA for fifteen years, working as a decorator. The derelict old drycleaners had been empty for 35 years and the neighbourhood was a big gang hangout until only a couple of years ago, but sensing the winds of change on the boulevard, Nelson and her business partner set up camp in the derelict store and revamped it as a shrine to the fashion icon after coming across a cache of old Audrey photographs in a drywall during the renovation. The cafe is a delightful riff on Hepburnism and the little black dress, with a black and white decor (houndstooth recovered cinema chairs; zebra-stripe painted floors, a wall of framed Audrey photographs, handwritten Audrey quotes on the walls.) Nelson combed thrift shops and junk yards for elements of the design. "Everything has a story; nothing came brand new," she says. Missing from this scenario is any obvious fan stuff - Nelson refuses to hang any posters of Breakfast at Tiffanys. However, in a tribute to Funny Face, poetry readings happen sporadically. Cafe Audrey, 6701-B Hollywood Boulevard, CA 90028. Phone (323) 465 5359.