Blogs from Venice Beach, Los Angeles, California, United States, North America - page 9

We arrived in LA on a hazy morning, and were picked up at the airport by Michael from the hostel. He gave us a quickie description of the sights from the car, then dropped us off at the hostel. We had the only private room, complete with sunken bath tub (jacuzzi too!), fridge and painted glass window with a lion. Classy! Sadly the window above the bed wouldn't close so the nights were pretty cold, but otherwise ok. After dropping off our bags we headed down to Venice Beach and the (in)famous boardwalk, complete with nutters, street vendors, old hippie types and loads of people on skates. Muscle Beach was quite a disappointment, only one guy there and none of that over-the-top oiled skin seen in movies... No complaining, but we like to see myths proven ... read more

Yesterday we woke up to sweltering hot sunshine and set off to find something for breakfast. There was a little breakfast cafe just up the road from the hotel which was good. We left Morro Bay and headed south for Los Angeles. We passed some fabulous scenery along the way and found a place called Carpinteria where we stopped for a while on the beach and had some lunch. While we were walking to the beach Chloe discovered, much to her amusement, that I had left one of the stickers on the back of my new jeans. After lunch we made the final part of our journey to LA. We found our hotel, for the next four days, in amongst the traffic congestion. To kill some time in the evening we found a shopping mall which ... read more

It was a shame to leave Yosemite as the scenery was so phenomenal. So after we saw the last of Yosemite, half dome, El Capitan and walked through the smoldering sequira grove we left the park to find the freeway and make our way to something that is a total contrast to Yosemite’s environment. Yes we were going to LA, which would be the most southern stop on our trip. We found a historic museum to have lunch at on the way and chatted to the friendly volunteers at the museum who had plenty of good advice for traveling in California. Driving on the freeway was…..an experience. Vehicles whizzed past me on both sides. The corolla was battling to maintain the aggressive 70 mph or 112 kph speed limit. We managed to find the hostel in ... read more

Dear all, hope everyone is good and having a great summer.... I hear Big Brother is about to finish, who will win? Will it be Pete or will it be Glyn??? Who cares!!! Time for your next Travelblog Installment!!! Ok so we flew from Rarotonga to Tahiti, unfortunatly our jobs do not make enough money for us to be able to stay in Tahiti, so two hours later we left, bound for LA Baby! LA was Fabulous, abosolutely mind blowing and what surprised us most was that it was exactly as you expected! Our first night i booked us into a fancy comfort inn hotel(!!!) for the first night. This was great, we ordered in Pizza (American sized)watched TV and had a great time, we just ignored the fact that we were staying in downtown LA ... read more

LAX- I think its Monday and am uncertain of the date or time, but dazed and confused I stumble into the rusted 78 Ford station wagon, following the first man who approached me with offerings of cheap lodging. We drove to Venice Beach, the American epicenter of weirdness, and home to those who live on the fringes. The hostel was a flop house for junkies and degenerates, though the matted shag in the unisex bathroom upstairs tells a story of better times. The 4th of July was spent on the beach trying on hats, debating ridiculous tattoos and people watching. Strange memories from a nervous night in Los Angeles, out of my depth. Long pinky nails hint at extra currular exploits as they clink against the glass table in the hostel lounge. I size up my ... read more