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Published: October 2nd 2006
Los Angeles is really a massive city, actually it's not one city but several cities that have grown so much that they have created Greater Los Angeles.
You usually need a car to get around, but since that is quite difficult for me I have had to rely on public transportation which has been going surprisingly well with a bit of advanced planning.
The public transportation is slowly improving and there are now four subway lines. Also, in order to make more people use the public transportation they keep the fares very low, a day pass is only three dollars and is valid on all buses and trains in the entire city.
I visited Hollywood this morning, but have to say I was not very impressed.
I'm sure it was a great place in the beginning, but nowadays it's mostly a tourist trap with way too many souvenir shops and people trying to make you spend money. It felt very overrated!
No problem having a photo taken of you with Superman, Elvis, Batman, Frankenstein, or whoever you prefer...
The walk of fame was there though, and I did manage to find both Ingrid Bergman and Greta Garbo, two of the
most successful Swedish actresses abroad.
I also made an effort to find that famous Hollywood sign on the hill to take a photo, but no success!
I also made a visit to downtown Los Angeles which was quite deserted.
They had a Mexican district there though which was fun to visit, lots of shops selling cheap stuff and most of the signs and ads were in Spanish and Spanish music was played in the shops. There is a very large Hispanic community in this city.
Also made a visit to Long Beach after getting recommendations from others of going there, and I was very happy I did.
It was quite a trek to get there, almost an hour by train, but one of the subway lines (actually light rail) goes there from downtown L.A so in fact quite painless and the public transportation in this city is as I said very cheap.
Long Beach is a really nice coastal city with everything you can expect of a Californian coastal city: beaches, palm trees, nice restaurants, sailing boats etc. Probably some wealthy people as well.
I did a one hour harbour cruise which was well worth the money and
Hollywood Boulevard
One of the most successful Swedish actresses, Greta Garbo!also gave me a chance to see the city from the sea. Long Beach actually has one of the largest and most important ports on the American west coast with a huge amount of cargo handled every year.
I would happily go back to Long Beach some other time for a bit of relaxation, but I can imagine the hotels are quite pricey (as are probably the flats and houses close to the beach).
It is a very big contrast to the city of Los Angeles.
Tomorrow I'm heading to the northwest to the city of Seattle, one of the main reasons is to visit the Boeing factory where I also have booked a ticket for a guided visit.
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