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Well it's been a crazy hectic week! My light from Auckland was delayed six hours but when I finally arrived in LA, it was awesome!
I spent my first day relaxing at Santa Monica beach, famous for it's pier which appeared in the Forrest Gump movie. It was crazy hot so I got all sunburnt.
I went on a tour around the famous people's houses feeling like such a tourist, taking photos of front gates, I couldn't tell you who's is who's now though! We drove around Beverly Hills and past Bel Air (I had the Fresh Prince theme tune stuck in my head all day!) I went window-shopping on Rodeo Drive and saw the hotel Pretty Woman was filmed in, the Beverly Wilshire. Our tour continued along Sunset Strip where we saw various restaurants, clubs and boutiques owned by the rich and famous, eg Johnny Depp's "The Viper Room". Then we arrived on Hollywood Boulevard at the Chinese Theatre, the Kodak Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was all pretty exciting, especially when we saw the Hollywood Sign and again from Mulholland Drive. In Downtown LA, we drove through Chinatown and the Jewellery district. I was really interested to see the Walt Disney Concert Hall (featured in Get Smart) because Frank Gehry designed it, and I studied his work in Art at school. Downtown LA is a bit scarier than Santa Monica, Santa Monica is a lot cleaner too.
The next day I went to the farmers' market on 3rd street promende with my aussie roommate, Jac. Then, we went to the famous (or infamous) Venice Beach. There were stalls everywhere, selling everything from tattoos and jewellery to cds and art work. We walked along the water to get back, and went for a swim as the sun was setting, I now have a new-found-respect for the lifeguards at the Baywatch beach. We also spotted dolphins playing around.
Jac and I went to UCLA the next day, it was so hot! It's not like a campus, it's like a little town. We then went back into Hollywood to see the sights again, we went on a tour of the Chinese theatre and watched Get Smart there. The bus back was crazy as we had to transfer in a bad area, I was glad to be back in the hostel, what a wimp!
Disneyland was cool! We looked really silly getting autographs and photos with the characters but didn't care! It was such a hot day and the schools are out now so we didn't get to go on many of the rides but it was still a good day.
Universal Studios was awesome! It wasn't so hot and we bought front of the line passes so we didn't have to queue up. It was so much better than Disney and the Jurassic Park ride was so good, we went on it twice and got soaked!! We went to the Hard Rock Cafe for drinks (non-alcoholic for me, it being the US) and played on the dance machines at the pier when we got back. Then I had to pack!
I left at 6am to catch my flight from LAX to New York JFK. When I arrived, I got the bus to Grand Central Station and a yellow taxi to Penn Station, passing Macy's and Madison Square Gardens on the way. I got the train to Princeton where my Aunty Sheila was waiting for me and after 19 hour of travelling, I arrived at their house in Philadelphia at 10.30pm! I had a yummy dinner and had a good night sleep.
Today, I went to the farmers' market in Newtown - a quaint little town not far from where my relatives live. It's quite overcast today but still pretty hot. This is my last stop before going back to the Uk, which feels pretty strange, won't be long now!
Anyway, better run.
xxxx
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