Hotel Lucile

Christina Caradona, the creator behind Trop Rouge, on sixteen years of documenting her life online, learning to let go, and the case for a reservoir picnic.

Christina Caradona has been sharing her life online since 2010, when she started Trop Rouge as a blog. Along the way she has lived between France, New York, and Los Angeles, and these days she calls LA home, with a growing amount of acting in the mix. We caught up with her about the many versions of herself she has shared over the years, what she's learning now, and her favorite way to spend an afternoon in Silver Lake.

Beginnings

You've lived between France, New York, and LA. What made you want to call LA home?

I came over on the Mayflower during Covid. It was a quick decision, given the circumstances. I gave myself two weeks, and then I was out. I wanted a change in everything. What was supposed to be three months is now going on six years. I love California, and I love the person I've become since moving here.

Evolution

Trop Rouge started as a blog in 2010. How has it evolved?

It's grown alongside me. It started as a blog, and somewhere along the way it became a kind of online diary. I've been documenting my life for so long that you can see all the different versions of me. It has changed shape and I've changed, but it's always been an extension of myself. Being online is a vulnerable thing.

What are you most passionate about right now?

I really want to learn how to sew. I'd love to do my own alterations and make curtains for my kitchen window.

Is there something you used to care a lot about that you've let go of?

Feeling like I have to share so much of myself to be understood.

“I've been documenting my life for so long that you can see all the different versions of me.”

Looking ahead

Hotel Lucile takes its name from an 1860 poem about the distance between who we are, who we've been, and who we might become. Who is Christina Caradona becoming?

Hopefully the best version of myself. So far, every year has been better than the last. I have a few trips and projects coming up that I'm excited about, and I've been acting a lot more since moving to LA. It's been fun to see where that goes. Right now I'm just enjoying the flow of my life. I'm not tied to any place or thing.

Is there something you've been wanting to explore that you haven't yet?

Telepathy and the Oregon Coast.

Silver Lake

What does Silver Lake give you that you can't find elsewhere in LA?

Cheap burgers at The Window, which make up for LA's overpriced coffee culture.

Where do you bring someone visiting Silver Lake for the first time?

A little picnic at the reservoir. It's cute and wholesome, with fantastic people watching.

Quick questions

Coffee order: An iced cold brew with brown sugar, no milk, at Cafe Telegrama.
On the coffee table: Origines by Eva Tind. I can't put it down.
The song on the way to Lucile: “Walk in the Park” by Beach House.
Who in Silver Lake we should meet next: Whitney Olschwanger, an amazing stylist whose closet I'd love to raid. She lives just around the corner from Hotel Lucile.

You can follow along with Christina's next chapter at Trop Rouge.

Christina Caradona