La La Land

  Los Angeles, California
Tuesday, October 6, 2009

If you go to LA, don't get a taxi, the city is ridiculously spread out and it costs you a small fortune to get from one place to another!

The place we stayed was right on Venice Beach, home to Muscle Beach, various 'talented' homeless people and the famous board walk which you can skate along, cycle or just walk.  The beach was beautiful, an endless strip of clean white sand and once again flawless blue water, prefect for relaxing after yet another Greyhound trip (bags safely arrived this time), at least it would have been if for some reason they weren't having a freak windstorm the day we arrived!  A short walk up the boardwalk to find some food and it felt like my legs and face were being sandpapered!  We did brave it long enough to get some pictures of the sun setting over the beach though.

Luckily by the next day the wind had died down and we were back to the usual California weather which meant that we could take a walk along the beach and check out the sites.  Plenty of Baywatch style Lifeguard huts dotted along the beach although being October not many people were braving the water.  Our aim was to talk along the beach until we got the the pier we could see up ahead, the Santa Monica pier as we found out, but Helen was unlucky enough to step on a bee that must have been buried in the sand!  A stop into one of the iconic Lifeguard stations followed and then a bit of a limp back to the hostel.  She was leaving later that afternoon anyway to head back to Portland and then back to the UK, but that put a bit of a downer on things.
Traveling solo again I spent the afternoon getting a much needed haircut and completing the walk to Santa Monica, a deceptively long way (hour walk each way).

For me LA wasn't a must see stop but it seemed silly to miss it out as I was traveling between San Fran and San Diego.  Having made the choice to come here I thought it would be good to see some of the tourist sites so I could say that I'd been there and done it.  As I said, LA is a ridiculously sprawling city and getting from one place to another takes a lot of time.  Only having a day and a half I figured that one of the sightseeing tour buses would be a good way to get around, giving me chance to stop off in any places that interested me. 

One of the stops for the bus was outside the Santa Monica Aquarium so the next day I caught a bus up to there to start my tour.  Got to see lots of the major sites, including the Hollywood sign, the LA Farmers Market where I stopped for some lunch, Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive and Gruaman's Chinese Theature as well as various sites used in Hollywood films over the years.  I took a wander along the Walk of Fame and saw stars for various famous types.  Unfortuantly when I got to the Chinese Theatre the front was closed off and a red carpet set up (I assume for a premier) so I couldn't see the hand and footprints.

I'm glad I did make the decision to stop in LA as it was interesting but I think three days was plenty, anymore and I'd have been bored.  Roll on Vegas!