Blogs from Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, United States, North America - page 6

For our last full day in America we thought we would explore some of the beaches. First stop, 40 mins away was Liz's first choice - Malibu beach. We parked up, walked down through some marshland and onto the beach - It was practically deserted, We could have sunbathed and had the whole beach to ourselves! Liz & Nige paddled but myself & Andy bottled it, it looked freezing! Next up was Venice beach - A favourite of Nigel's, This was 15 mins down the road and absolutely heaving, we stopped in a bar for a drink and of course some people watching, we could have sat there all day taking in the various sights, We then walked up the promenade and on to Muscle Beach, and then the skate park where MTV was getting ready ... read more

My first day. Decided that the best way to beat jet lag was to be in the sun as much as possible. So we went to the beach. We went to Venice first off - for those who know London, think Soho meets Camden but all on a promenade by the sea. The stalls offered anything and everything and between that and the throngs of people, I don't think I took much in! It became a bit of a colourful blur... I'm still trying to get over how wide the streets are, which makes even a normal road seem like a motorway with shops either side. The bus stop (yes we braved public transport - and the bus had a bike rack on its nose, genius!) we got off at was next to this drugs store ... read more

Santa Monica 2009. Santa Monica is a city in western Los Angeles County, California, USA. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and Venice on the southeast.... read more

Decided today was a beach day so we head for the sand at Santa Monica Beach. Laura investigated the pier, cirque de soleil were hanging around by the shops and restaurants. Looked around the shops then ate in La Salsa, taco' s and fajitas, tasty good. Laura got a salsa attack from a random. I was not well from killer bugs so relaxed in the hostel.... read more

After 5 weeks of packing in so many activities and adventures i decided it was time to finally relax California style. I stopped in Santa Barbara which is a small city right on the coast about 2 hours north of Los Angeles. This was an absolutely awesome place, and to set the typical Californian scene, as i walked to my hostel from the greyhound the air was rye with the oh so sweet smell of marijuana. Santa Barbara is a college town but with a very classy feel. Everything is located along one main high street with a open shopping centre just off this street. The place is littered with sophisticated bars and restaurants but all offering student friendly prices so was a perfect opportunity for me to take a break from cooking cheaply and to ... read more