Los Angeles

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After a short flight, our taxi driver delivered us to our Villa at Venice Beach just 15 minutes from Los Angeles. Once checked in, we walked a short distance to an intriguing looking hotel with a great rooftop bar overlooking the beach where we enjoyed what else, fresh fish and chips and a cool larger. The vista from this spot over looking the huge expansive beach was magnificent and we weren't in a hurry to leave. However, walking along the Venice Beach Boardwalk taking in the colour and vibrance of the locals was essential and most enjoyable. Home to legendary Muscle Beach, the Venice Skate Park, Venice Art Walls, Artists, and entertainment ranging from the freaky to the fabulous - it was great fun. Of course we ended our adventure back at the same rooftop bar for a meal, drinks and mingling with the locals and other tourists.

The morning after, and it's our last day in the U.S. We'd booked a "Day in LA Tour" and set off on foot to our collection point further down the Venice Boardwalk to fill our day before embarking on the long flight home to Aus. It was a huge day of being taken to vantage points from where we would disembark, spend nominated time to explore, before boarding our bus to move to the next point of interest. It was fun to see the many tourist attractions only ever having been seen previously on the screen at home: Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, the Original Farmers Market, the Hollywood Sign at Griffith Observatory and of course the famous Hollywood Boulevard and the Walk of Fame.

Having left our Villa at 8.00am and returning at 6.00pm, to quickly change into comfortable travel clothes, collect our stored luggage and take a taxi to the airport to face the challenge of managing the complex process of the huge LA International Airport, by the time we got through the hoops and collapsed with a meal of sorts and cup of coffee, we felt we had well and truly filled our final day!

We had never in our wildest dreams envisaged ourselves visiting all these beautiful and widely acclaimed places. Had Trent, Denise, Eva, Matilda, Charlie and Max not moved to Reston to live for at least two years, we probably would not have taken this journey. We are very pleased to have embarked on this adventure.

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