I spent two days in Beverly Hills this week. I was invited on a panel at the Canada Media Marketplace to share some of our blogging experience on HelloBCBlogs.com. It was my fist stay in LA and beside the fact that it was raining, I noticed that a large number of people were walking/driving around with a blue-tooth device clipped at their ear that connects to their cell phone. I also found it strange that there were virtually no shoppers on Rodeo drive, although the weather might have had something to do with it.

Visiting a new city also gave me a chance to test Google Local for mobiles. Bell gave me a Blackberry 7130e with EVDO capabilities to try out for a few weeks. So I used the driving directions to walk from my hotel to to the conference. Very nice. When they manage to connect it with GPS or another location service, it’s a killer app. I also tried to post a blog while sitting in a Thai restaurant. It took me 20 minutes to type an entry only to realize that it wouldn’t save because of a browser limitation.

On the second day I had a few hours before heading back to Vancouver so I visited the Getty Centre. I was very impressed with the architecture of the building and gardens and their art collection of classic European art is very impressive. Any day I can see a van Gogh is a good day. It’s funny how a lot of people I talk to tell me they like the gardens as much as the art. I’m sorry but no garden can ever beat looking at a van Gogh, a Renoir, a Cézanne, a Manet, a Degas, a Monet or Millet.