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View over LA
From up high near the Hollywood sign Well since the last update, I’ve managed trips to two continents, flying across the Atlantic to Los Angeles for a week, and just recently, a long weekend in Menorca, a gorgeous island off the coast of Spain.
First things first though and it was off on my 10 hour flight across the pond to be quizzed by a thoroughly intelligent individual obviously doing customs work as a night job from his regular job at MENSA........ Apparently because I am entering the country, therefore I must be a terrorist. I have met many American’s who give their country a good name, but people like that….. Honestly.
After getting out of LAX(barely), I headed to my hotel. When I booked it, I found one that looked close to the airport and relatively cheap. Little did I know that it was deep in Inglewood. For those of you who don’t know (because I didn’t!), Inglewood is ‘The Hood’, where gangs and drive-by shootings were born. I learnt more about it after I got back, but honestly I had no problems and felt a lot safer there than a lot of places in London. There was even once instance of a drunk Irishman
View up
to the Hollywood sign from in town (who had just got back from Vegas) trying to swap for change for the bus and asked a hooded teenager in front of me. He gave him a quarter for free - good luck doing that in London!
My week in LA was pretty relaxing and I got a lot done as well. I headed out on a ‘Star Homes’ tour and saw the mansions and holiday homes of the biggest stars, ie the Beckhams, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Jackie Chan, Jennifer Aniston and about 40 others. One deserves special mention and that is Shaquille O’Neal’s house. Being a NBA star, he isn’t small, but his house is absolutely huge - so big it has wings! I also got out to see Hollywood Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, and checked out the nightlife around Venice Beach.
After another nice flight back, it was back to work for a couple of weeks before my next trip to Menorca. During that time, I managed to fit in seeing Velvet Revolver, Nightwish and Matchbox Twenty, and also catch up with people I felt like I hadn’t seen in months. I also got dressed up for the first time this year and went
Chuck Norris
On Hollywood Boulevard on the Walk of Fame along to the ANZAC Day ball with Katie, Brad, and a very tanned Hannah, who had just arrived back from an enforced 3 months in NZ due to Visa problems. It was a really cool night, especially for Hannah who managed to win a 9 day tour of Egypt. Very nice!
Then it was off to Menorca with 13 others. With Katie as chief organiser, we had booked 2 villas and they turned out to be superb, once we arrived at them safely anyway. We had hire cars and since no one had driven on the right side of the road before, there were some interesting occasions and girls squealing on the half hour drive from the airport. Each villa had a pool, BBQ, outside entertainment are and awesome interior as well.
The first night was basically a swim and then bed. I was up early the next morning and dragged Katie out of bed for an early run, which was a fantastic way to see the island, especially before the rest of the hordes arose from their slumber. Then it was off to do some food shopping to get ourselves setup and ready for the long awaited
Beverly Hills
The famous sign, with the Sunset Boulevard sign sneaking in the bottom corner as well BBQ that night, then off to the beach. After the first average beach, every beach we visited for the rest of the stay was stunning. The water was probably the perfect temperature as well. It was cold when we first got in, but we soon adjusted and were in there for quite a while.
Most of the days followed the same basic pattern of a healthy breakfast of bacon and eggs, beach, then back to the villas for a BBQ then drinking until the early hours. We were quite lucky on a couple of counts. The first being, the houses around us were empty so we never had any complaints about the noise, and the second being that alcohol was so cheap. For example, a bottle of Absinthe cost 6 Euros. For 3 of the 4 mornings I went for a run, and needless to say the one morning I didn’t was after the night on Absinthe. Lethal stuff.
On our final day, our group of 14, had dwindled to 7 as people left early and we explored yet another beach, lay in the sun and then explored to the top of the island where we got some
Non-Celebrity Houses
This doesn't belong to anyone famous, so as one of the 'lesser' houses, it gives some idea of the opulence of the neighbourhoods. amazing views as the pictures will tell.
Then, disappointingly, the holiday drew to an end, and I know I speak for all us when I wish it could have lasted longer. 3 or 4 months at least! It is a really beautiful island, and we only explored 5 or so of the beaches, and there are many more we didn’t manage to get to. Next time......
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