Goodbye USA

So we’re ready to go home! Our bags are packed, we’re going now to check out, and get a bus to the airport, and in the meantime, thought we’d quickly post!

We have enjoyed our few days in LA – it’s a bit of an overwhelming place, but we managed to see plenty of stuff! And it was great not having to fly straight home – not sure we could have coped with 2 long flights in quick succession!

So now all we have left to do is our 2 flights home – LA to Heathrow, and then tomorrow morning, Heathrow to George Best Belfast City Airport (!)

Jill & Jonny

The City of Angels

Today was our big tour of the city of LA. Our guide for the day was the bus driver Mark who seemed to have a never ending supply of stories to tell us, not only about the places we were seeing but about previous passengers that have been on his trips.

We started out with a trip to Venice Beach. Here we got to see some of the man made canals that are built between the houses, a house that Julia Roberts lives in (just the outside of it), Muscle Beach – there wasn’t anybody doing and weights today though apparently it was too cold (even though today ended up being about 21 degrees and sunny!) and lots of wierd and wonderful characters and shops along the beach front. Not that nice a place really and not safe after dark according to the bus driver.

Venice Beach

Next up we drove through Santa Monica past a whole block of buildings owned by Arnold Schwarzenegger including his own cigar store. Then on to Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive which has more expensive designer shops than you can shake a stick at!

Our longest stop of the day was a place called Farmers Market. This is a massive food market (not just for people, we found a bakery for dogs in there as well!) with lots of places to eat in it. We tried a Brazillian place called Pampas where you pay for your meal by the weight of food you have on your plate. Beside the market was The Grove shopping area. It was fully decked out in Christmas lights, trees, Santa’s Grotto and a brass band playing carols.

Christmas tree at The Grove

After lunch the trip took us to Hollywood and our next stop on Hollywood Boulevard. We took a walk along ‘The Walk of Fame’ (the stars in the footpath) and then to Sid Grauman’s Chinese Theatre where all the hand/foot prints of the stars are on the ground. Here are just two of the ones we saw:

What's up doc?

Will Smith

The final part of the tour was in Downtown where we got to see areas like the Jewellery District (1000 shops selling nothing but jewellery including an old cinema converted into a massive shop) Chinatown, Little Tokyo and the area where the city was founded by the Spanish, Olvera Street.

Jonny