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Published: February 12th 2010
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So I have had a pretty good week in LA. After flying into LAX on Sunday and setting ourselves up at a cool hostel down on Venice Beach we headed to a supermarket to get some food in and managed to get a membership card so we saved $25! May not sound like a lot but at this stage in the trip it means everything. We also got a free bus ride so all in all a good money saving day. On Monday we went to Santa Monica, did some laundry (exciting) and went for a wonder through town. Picked up a few things we needed and headed back to the beach and caught a beautiful sunset all the way up the LA coast. I must admit it feels like a buit of a 24/7 fashion show in LA. I felt the need to wear a shirt most days just to fit in! I went for a run every morning whilst I was here and it was good to see the surf rolling in by the pier every day. I comtemplated going in the water to surf many times but it was just way too cold. I did however jump in one day just to say I've been in the ocean off Calafornia! I have found that Americans are (for the most part) extremely friendly and pretty much everyone will say hi just because you walk past them. On Tuesday we took the no.33 bus to downtown LA and that was...kind of scary. I think the massive thunder and lightning storm had something to do with it but it was nothing like being out on the coast. We avoided Compton and Inglewood (as we had been warned off going there) and stuck to the main streets so it wasn't to bad. After sorting out our Greyhound bus passes for our time in America and Canada we ventured back to Venice Beach. One funny inncodent however did occur in a McDonalds when Dan asked for a bottle of water, was told by the Mexican worker that he wasn't speaking English, and then procedded to be given a cheeseburger...and $5. It was so funny I don't think I have laughed so much in a long long time. On Wednesday we took a trip up to Hollywood to have a look around. The closer we got, the more billboards started appearing will the latest films on show. It was odd because the street leading up to the Hollywood Blvd looks fairly normal then you hit the main road and everything changes. Huge buildings, flashing lights and people dressed up as film characters walking around everywhere. i even saw a guy dressed as Jesus...and I'm pretty sure he wasn't even working there! I could definalty see that when a big movie premier is on or something like that the whole place would really transform into an array of glitz and glamour. The premier of the film Valentine's Day was the other night and a guy we met in our hostel said he was in a bar with Quentin Tarantino and the like! Quite a lot fo the stars hang out at a place called the Ivy Bar and we were going to head up there but to afford a drink in that place on our budget...was just bever going to happen! We had lunch in Jonny Rockets where I had the biggest burger known to man kind, more fires than you know what to do with and a milkshake made with apple pie. I was so full it actually hurt but I loved it! We got some cool photos of the Hollywood sign and the Sunset Strip and we went to a discount store (apparently where the one and only Snoop is a local) and then we headed back...on the bus after Dan finally gave in and admitted that we couldn't walk 20 blocks back to the main road in the time we had! Yesterday we went a bit further, up to Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. This really is an up market place. We took the bus out of the main Hollywood strip and as we pulled up to Beverly Hills more and more flash cars started appearing and it was all a lot cleaner and smarter. Every top brand stop imaginable was there and I saw two Rolles-Royce, three Porshe and an awesome Ferrari...all on one street! No celebrities around though. One extremly wierd thing I found was a booklet that had a list of all the top movie stars and their home addresses! How crazy is that? It is basically like promoting stalking famous people! It was good to see the city, all sides of it and my lasting impression will be that the place is literally...huge! We were on a bus for 2 hours and were still in the city. I think it would be a bit easier to see LA by car but if you get to know the bus routes well (which we certainly did) then it is not too bad at all. We have checked out of Venice Beach now and we are taking the Greyhound down to San Diego this afternnon where it might be a little bit warmer...as I said before it is definatly winter here. LA is a cool, trendy, exciting place and a great first stop on my travels around the States.
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