USA- The "sisters from Australia" have landed!!!

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On the 22nd January Bec and I flew Virgin Australia from Brisbane to Los Angeles direct. Having both had a less than enjoyable week we were relieved and excited to be going on holidays.

The flight left around 11am and was possibly the longest 13 hours+ ever. Neither of us could sleep as it was daytime and we were sat near a guy who didnt reallly want to let us get up to pee. Food & flight attendants were a dime in a dozen but apart from that it was a pretty good flight and the entertainment system was really good for those who wish to fly Virgin Australia in the future.

As we landed early the plane circled LAX Airport and the first taste of American culture was seeing a black and white American police car driving on the opposite side of the road which excited us a little to much. We must have looked a bit odd on the plane.

Anyway we landed in LA- 6 am- Sunday again(you gain a day) dead tired and proceeded to be 'herded' through customs. An hour later after retina scans and fingerprints taken we were finally at our first destination.YAY!!

Karmel Airport Shuttle picked us up from the Airport and took us to our hotel.On our way to our hotel we were lucky to have a chatty larry who informed us which hospital Michael Jackson died in, where the Hollywood sign is and the area we were driving through was Bel Air; what to do in LA, shows in vegas etc. This guy earned his tip. We stayed for 5 nights at Beverley Garland Holiday Inn- Universal City.

This hotel is modelled like a ski lodge and was pretty much a hub for Aussies. This hotel was the nicest we stayed in and we were sad to leave. The hotel offers a free shuttle service to Universal studios and to the metro station. After having a short nana nap we took advantage of the shuttle and went to Universal city for food and shopping, and stood on the red carpet for some snaps.(see photos) Back to the hotel we went to sleep some more and get ready for DAY 2.

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