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After breakfast the plan was to book the car hire so we could pick it up tomorrow. After a quick internet search we thought we'd found a decent deal, so we booked it online. Then the drama started.
After entering our credit card details, attempting to complete the transaction resulted in nothing happening. So we rung the local number on the site - not connected. Alarm bells! Goolging for the site name and "scam" resulted in a few hits. Nothing that definitively suggested it was a scam site, but enough to cause concern. We spent the next half hour trying to ring the credit card company collect - to no avail. Finally we just rung to be told no transaction was recorded, and a file note would be added so that we wouldn't be liable for any charges made. Back to the drawing board, and it wasn't until midday that we could finally leave the hotel.
The original plan was to take the red line bus to Rodeo Drive and have a look around before heading out to Santa Monica for lunch. However, it was already lunchtime before we'd even left so we decided to head straight out after
Santa Monica Pier
From the roadside a few quick photos in Beverly Hills. After a 20 min wait for the metro and bus change, we finally arrived at Santa Monica well into the mid afternoon. A quick slice of pizza (very good) and we wandered down to Santa Monica Pier.
Although a little overcast the rain stayed away. We wandered along the pier taking in the sights - including a Zoltar machine straight out of "Big" which we'd just happened to have watched a few days before we left - before heading down to the beach to hire a bikes for a ride to Venice Beach.
The ride was great fun - completely flat on a bicycle track along the sand's edge, occasionally dodging rollerbladers and/or kids and completely out-running the segways! A leisurely ride to Venice and the long line of souvineer and T-shirt shops, interspersed with the odd cafe and "pipe" shop. Hundreds if not thousands of people walking amongst the many dozens of vendors, buskers, entertainers and those just posing along the beach at the gym or swinging on the oddly adundant sets of (gymnastic) rings. Quite a carnival atmosphere as Karina commented.
All too soon it was time to
Santa Monica
Typical Californian beach scenery head back if we were to get some time along Rodeo Drive before catching the last red line bus back to Hollywood Blvd. In all, we had the bikes for 90 mins, and probably rode for half that.
Back on the bus and, thankfully, the driver was attempting to break the Santa-Monica - Beverly Hills record. If he didn't get it, he went close! That gave us almost an hour to walk down to the Beverly Wilshire (Pretty Woman) and back up to the Old Beverly Hills Post Office, marvelling at stores that sold, for example, no suits under $15,000.
We worried briefly that, at 7:20pm, the last bus wouldn't show - it didn't seem like a very well-run operation at all - but it turned up exactly on time. It was cooler now so we sat downstairs inside - only to be gassed by the exhaust fumes.
On return we scoured the souvineer shops again, this time I finally decided on a T-shirt. This trip we purposely packed inadequate clothing so we could buy plenty and not have to waste money sending anything back.
We ended finding a "Great American Steakhouse" outlet and ordered a
Bike Ride
Karina on her bike with the pier in the background couple of "sandwiches" for dinner - hot beef or chicken on a roll. Absolutely brilliant in a land of fat-drenched takeaway! We vowed to return tomorrow night.
After a very stressful and frustrating morning, the day turned out well and we headed back to the hotel worn out again - only to find we'd inadventantly left the "do not disturb" sign on the door, and our room wasn't serviced. Not ordinarily a problem - but we'd left a big bag full of Chinese leftovers from the night before in the room! Phew!!!
We both managed to do our 1st day blog before falling soundly asleep.
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