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November 20th 2009
Published: November 20th 2009
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Handsome & SmartHandsome & SmartHandsome & Smart

Can't be related to us
A brief trip back to England for Matthew’s graduation (he looked very handsome and we were both very proud) meant we could visit quickly with family and dump some of the excess baggage we had with us. We found that we had both packed too much in the rucksacks and so what wasn’t used in the first 6 weeks in America was left behind (even some of Lisa’s face cream - shock, horror). This resulted in the rucksacks being slightly more manageable and, hopefully, Lisa wouldn’t fall over again under the weight of hers - slightly embarrassing for her but amusing for everyone else.

It was a long long flight to Los Angeles with Virgin, but it actually went relatively quickly travelling Upper Class helped a lot and the completely flat beds were fantastic, but Virgin are not as good as they used to be. The food was OK, the service was OK, the space was OK but they certainly weren’t excellent anymore! The cabin staff even let a few idiots drink the bar dry, ruining the experience for everyone else. (Abbey Wood & DSTL staff travelling in business class it won’t surprise a few of you to read). Our
Santa Monica BvdSanta Monica BvdSanta Monica Bvd

Just watch out for the thousands of runners and cyclists.
first view of LA was, obviously, from the air, and it struck home how huge it is, got a good view of the Hollywood sign though. Our first real experience of LA was the huge amounts of traffic on the Interstate as we travelled to our hotel in Torrance. As we were both slightly spaced out from the journey we just managed to have a look around the local area, do a bit of grocery shopping and then sleep came early.

Because our trip to LA really was a whirlwind visit we decided to book on the LA Grand Tour incorporating movie stars’ homes - because you’ve just got to. We had intended using public transport and taxis but 3 day’s car hire was the same as a bus pass; we gave in and braved the chaos. The trip left from Santa Monica and so we arrived early on the Saturday morning and had a bit of time to look around first. We liked SM very much, with a nice selection of shops, cafes and of course the famous pier and beach. Had a quick walk around and decided to visit the pier later in the day. What a
K's PadK's PadK's Pad

Bit weird this Mr Reeves. Looks like the home of a Bond villain.
great idea the tour was, our guide was chatty and informative with a great sense of humour, the only annoying aspect was the one couple who consistently came back from the stops late. The only reason we mention this was because Lisa had to rush a really delicious lunch and leave some of it in order to be back to the bus in time only for them to roll up 15 minutes late - argh - whoa betide anyone who comes between Lisa and her food! We did, however, meet a very nice couple from Austin, Texas, and spent a lot of the trip chatting with them and intend to keep in touch (another holiday coming on methinks).

The trip included the lovely houses in Beverly Hills and Bel Air. The tour guide pointed out a number of movie star homes such as Keanu Reeves (not so impressed with this one), Cameron Diaz (Chris felt he should pop in here for a cup of tea!), Mr and Mrs Tom Cruise (wonder how the nuptial agreement is going), Will Smith (Lisa was all for popping in here for a cup of tea!), Charlie Chaplin and Demi and Ashton’s place (we
Want a ride?Want a ride?Want a ride?

Rodeo Dv. No Jimmys for Lisa.
were both up for tea break here) - to name just a few. We also found ourselves looking in cars as they drove by just in case we saw someone famous. We popped along to Rodeo Drive for a bit of retail therapy - only in Lisa’s dreams. It was very nice as you would expect, not very busy in the shops, but the highlight was watching some rich girlie trying to parallel park a gorgeous blue Lamborgini. Chris wanted to offer his assistance. Sunset Strip looked like an ‘interesting’ place to go back to. A club owned by Johnny Depp, an upside down hotel owned by Cameron Diaz and the little bloke from Titanic, oh yes, Leonardo Di Caprio (fancy Ms Diaz offering the turn down service ;-)). The Hollywood sign was a bit disappointing, we couldn’t get very close and in fact we had a better view of it from the plane! The tour also took us to Mann’s Chinese Theatre, Walk of Fame and Avenue of the Stars which was generally a bit grubby and crowded. Good to see the place that most people associate with LA, but the constant barrage of people dressed up in costumes touting for you to have your photo taken with them was a bit annoying. Among the other things we passed by was Union Station and Disney Concert Hall (nice architecture). It was a very interesting day and we were both glad we had gone on the trip rather than trying to negotiate the hideous traffic on our own.

The tour dropped us off back in Santa Monica so we headed for the pier. It was everything you would expect of a pier, packed with arcade games, rides and sideshows with a few added extras - a Bubba Gump restaurant and the Cirque du Soleil. It was a great atmosphere and obviously very popular with locals and holidaymakers alike.

Our final day in LA we felt we had to visit the most well-known beach in the world - no not Weymouth beach - Venice Beach. Lots of parking, but none of it free. What can we say about it - tacky, shabby, a bit dirty, outrageous, bizarre and yes, we loved it. It was popular, fun and full of larger than life characters. Walking down the prom our senses were assailed with those hawking their wares (most of it
Venice BeachVenice BeachVenice Beach

Weird but wonderful.
cheap holiday tat), performers singing, dancing and playing instruments (a lot of them very good) and those who felt that honesty was the best policy and begging for money to buy their next ‘smoke’ - yeah really going to give money to them! We were stunned by the youngsters in the skateboarding park - one of whom must have been about 5 years old. There seemed to be no obvious protocol between the skaters, but they managed not to skate into each other and provided a really good spectacle of different skills, you can see why so many top skaters hail from here. A group of drummers attracted some attention. The drumming was excellent but we couldn’t make out what type of dancing the slightly overweight, semi-naked, man was doing - weed is a wonderful thing for getting rid of inhibitions. Lisa eagerly made her way to Muscle Beach for a few photos for the girls - sorry girls but they must have all been gone for lunch or something - very disappointing. The sports facilities on the beach were top notch, we watched a basketball game going on and the interplay was almost more interesting than the high quality
Night NightNight NightNight Night

The sun sets on our first continent.
play (better not publish the dialog). After watching the sunset, sitting by the beach next to some young boygirl (not sure which) who was trying to go for the guinness book of records for length of crying, we made our way back to the car and headed for the airport.

We were glad we visited LA, and it certainly helped break up the long journey to New Zealand, but to tell you the truth it’s a bit of a hole and we both felt we would not bother to come back. The local council are trying to ‘tidy up’ the Venice Beach, let developers move in and gentrify the area, personally we hope they fail, Venice Beach is a great at being Venice Beach, the one real part of LA we visited.


New Zealand here we come - whoopee.



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Hollywood HeroHollywood Hero
Hollywood Hero

'Hereeeeeee's Johnny'
Twitter CentralTwitter Central
Twitter Central

Do Demi and Ashton have time for anything else with all that tweeting?
Santa MonicaSanta Monica
Santa Monica

Would be nice to do the whole thing one day.


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