Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
We boarded our plane at 11:00pm, on December 13th and after a mostly smooth flight across from Fiji we landed at LAX at 1:00pm, on December 13th, we have got bored of just normal travelling, we thought we would give time travel a go.
We were wondering how long it would take us to get through security and immigration when we arrived in America but with there being lots of staff on hand we didn't think it would be too bad, and in reflection it wasn't. The only issue we had was me potentially not being allowed in into the country because of the pictures on my passport and driving licence. Granted I look pretty different in the pictures to now, but I have had not had any problems during the previous months. About 10 minutes, 6 checks, me emptying my wallet and one final check later, we were allowed into the US of A.
Before we had arrived in LA, or infact, before we had even left England we had pre - booked our accommodation for our last stop. Although this accommodation was still a hostel, it was by no means the cheapest place we have stayed and after doing a couple of last minute checks (for address etc.) for when we landed we re - read the reviews of the place. It was then that we found out that, we had booked a bit of a 'stinker.' With this in mind and not wanting to spend our last 2 nights away in somewhere (which from descriptions sounded like 'Sparky's hostel in New Zealand) we cancelled our reservation and upgraded our self to a hotel in Santa Monica.
On our arrival in Santa Monica where we had booked looked more like a motel, which we were a bit disappointed by, but after we had checked in and got to our room this slight disappointment soon vanished. The room was huge, complete with a king size bed, ensuite, with bath, flat screen tv and small separate kitchenette area, this was what were had hoped for.
Due to flights, time differences and not sleeping on the plane, neither of us really knew what day it was, so we decided to chill out for a bit in the room. We then headed out to find something to eat in the evening and headed towards Santa Monica pier. The sunset across the beach was stunning and a nice back drop to our first evening in America. We took a stroll up and down the pier before both wanting to find something to eat and some warmth, as it was pretty chilly.
We planned to have something cheap to eat that evening and then go out for dinner the following day, therefore after taking a short stroll towards the centre of Santa Monica, we stumbled across a McDonald's and settled on this. Joe (who had travelled across America before Australia) had informed us that there were a fair few 'colourful' characters in the good old US and especially in LA, he wasn't wrong. Although we didn't get any stick or anything (our crazy person attraction must not have been working) we both felt slightly uncomfortable chowing down on our dinner and didn't stick around for that long after and headed back to the room.
After catching up on some sleep (probably a bit too much as we had planned to get up and out earlier) we headed out into LA for the day, our only full day in the city. We wanted to do as much as we could and first decided on a guided bus tour (probably the most touristy thing we have done the whole trip) around Santa Monica and the Hollywood area.
We wont bore you with everything we saw on the trip (and to be honest we can't remember it all) but we did see all the major tourist attractions, Rodeo Drive, Melrose Place, Beverly Hills, Hollywood Sign, Chinese Theatre and various locations of films and studio's. It was an interesting tour but alot longer than we had thought and the round trip took about 6 hours, which is quite a long time to spend on a bus (or most of it at least).
As mentioned earlier, we had wanted to do as much as we could with our time in LA, but after the bus tour, we seemed to have limited our options quite dramatically as by the time we got back to the hostel it was early evening. After misjudging the temperature (again) we decided to stay in the room and warm up a little bit before heading back out towards Santa Monica (to the centre) for a nice meal, which was unbelievably our last night before returning home to England.
Belle had wanted to head into Santa Monica to have a look around the shops before we left and one especially, Bloomingdales. We thought it may have been too late by the time we got into town (about 8:00pm) but to Belle's delight the shop was open until 9:00pm.
After having a good look round and about 45 minutes later we left Bloomingdales with Belle and a few bags in tale, containing a bag, some makeup and a pair of UGG boots, she was very happy to say the least.
After leaving Bloomingdales the plan was to go and find something to eat at a half decent restaurant but it was now pretty late and neither of us were that hungry from the Mexican food we had for lunch. Therefore we settled for a stroll around a very christmasy Santa Monica, a take away Subway and a bag of cinnamon pretzel bites before heading back to the hotel. This was easy said than done. Somehow we managed to get lost on the way back (in a city made up of parallel streets), actually lost is probably a bit too strong, we just took a detour and then retraced our steps back to town, before finding the right way home. It was on the way home we encountered yet another slightly colourful character, one of many in LA.
We survived the detour and the crazy people and got back to the warmth of the room for our dinner and one last routine which we had grown very good at over the last eight months...packing!
It was hard to believe that it was now time to pack our backpacks for one last time before returning back home, a slightly sad and surreal feeling.
After minimal sleep that night, due to our bodies still being on Fiji time, it was time to check out and head back to LAX for our last flight of our trip. The shuttle bus over and check in was uneventful although the flight was delayed by an hour, but after a small wait it was time to board and make our way back to England!
- comments