Sun and Sand

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My first day. Decided that the best way to beat jet lag was to be in the sun as much as possible. So we went to the beach. We went to Venice first off - for those who know London, think Soho meets Camden but all on a promenade by the sea. The stalls offered anything and everything and between that and the throngs of people, I don't think I took much in! It became a bit of a colourful blur...

I'm still trying to get over how wide the streets are, which makes even a normal road seem like a motorway with shops either side. The bus stop (yes we braved public transport - and the bus had a bike rack on its nose, genius!) we got off at was next to this drugs store with the weirdest and scariest clown ever (I didn't take a photo in case it broke my camera - but imagine a clown's head and oversized hands on a ballerina's body...)

I find it amusing how many "medicinal Marijuana" shops there were, advertising quite openly. We also passed some fun-fair type places, just like you see in certain old kids films. Oh and palm trees. Lots and lots of palm trees, so yes LA lives up to its Hollywood-hype and representation. I wasn't expecting that.

We passed Muscle Beach - complete with the weight lifting apparatus and nappy-wearing bodybuilders...mmm and looped back to Santa Monica, to the fake beach (made of silicon haha) that had been built there and the amazing pier with rides, buskers and tonnes of people. I was told that this is the first really warm weekend of spring/'early summer and so everyone was out.

Lots of people were fishing off the pier - some quite successfully - and some of the other tourists were buying the fish. Not relishing the chore of gutting and cleaning them, we declined.

Then we headed slightly inland through Wilshire Boulevard, which is a shopping promenade, again packed full of buskers, and I was told I hadn't lived if I hadn't tasted American cupcakes. So we found a bakery and I chose key-lime and Red Velvet - both traditional American, and Red Velvet is apparently typical of the South. What I wasn't warned was that the red dye in the cake would stain my lips, my tongue, my teeth...

After that, I barely made it back to the flat and collapsed, watching my friend's housemate sew frantically. What for? You'll find out tomorrow.

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Photos

My new housemate
Nara. Trained in Japanese, English and Mandarin. The dog officially speaks more languages than I do!

Venice Pier
Not far from Muscle Beach, you can find the Pier, with a view North to Santa Monica beach (entirely fake) and futher into the cliffs, Malibu

Frank Lloyd Wright
Designed the most amazing binocular building - this was on the walk back from Venice

It wouldn't be LA without...
Palm trees (albeit a little drunk - or is that the cameraman?). These particular specimens are on Santa Monica beach.

Santa Monica beach
pre-sunburn

Dino sculptures
On the shopping promenade. Confusingly, some of the herbivores had sharp teeth...

Comments

[Jacqui]

Sounds like not too much relaxing going on! I see you now believe that the stereotype of LA is true to form!! The weather here is also lovely so we aren't too jealous! With love

[Rose]

Woo, LA : ) Are you going to go rollerblading? Apparently it is de rigeur. Also I hear gd things about the bar at the Sunset Marquis hotel...

[Rachael]

You arrived!
Venice sounds amazing!! Really glad that you got there OK and the sun is shining for you :-)