Well after 8 weeks and 14 blog entries, we are about to come home, and it really has been the best summer of our lives. But right now we are in Hollywood, LA where we have spent the past two days star spotting. We arrived here on Sunday 12th(b) August...Sunday 12th(a) August was spent by the pool in Fiji! Crossing the Interatioal date Line was so strange! We spent the whole of suday lying by the beach, then got a flight at 10pm and fell asleep, ad the next thing we knew it was 11am on Sunday 12th again! Very bizarre! Our first evening in LA we didn't do much, we were hot and tired so we just lazed around watching TV, but we did have a walk dow Melrose Avenue where we are staying, which has lots of boutiques and retro shops.

On our first morning in LA we realised just how big the place is! We decided to go to Mulholland Drive up in the hills over looking the city as we heard we would get some fantastic views of the city and the Hollywood sign. We were not exactly sure of how to get there as we didn't have a bus map but we thought we would figure it out. It took 3 hours to find, and then we spent 2 hours walking along this hot, dusty, empty road which didn't provide any good views until we were nearly at the end! We did get to see the San Fernando valley, LA and the Hollywood sign though which was cool, although we would not recommend this to anyone!

We then went to Hollywood Boulevard where we saw the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and David photographed quite a few! We saw the Kodak Theatre where the Oscars are held, it was very grand and Jo got a bit carried away imagining it on the night. We were then going to head to Mann's Chinese Theatre to see the handprints and footprints of the stars but unfortunately it was closed......due to the premiere of the new film "Superbad" which has been very hyped up over here! So, we joined the crowds with our camera to try and spot the stars, even though we didn't even recognise the pictures of the people starring in the film! We think that we saw Johnny Depp though, or at least someone completely stealing his style of long blonde hair, a black trilby and white shirt! Jo also thinks she saw Lindsay Lohan but cant be sure as her hair was red now and also last we heard she had been arrested! It was fun trying to spot people though, taking turns holding the other up on a shop window ledge!!

Once we had done enough nosying, we walked down to the sunset strip on Sunset Boulevard, where lots of clubs and bars are. We saw Johnny Depp's club, The Viper Room, which looked like a little grungy Indie club, just the kind of place we like! We then stumbled across the legendary Whisky-a-go-go, an old favourite Jim Morrison and The Doors. There was a small gig on so we went in to have a look, Dave enjoyed drinking where Jim had once drank, but Jo could not have any alcohol as she is underage here, very strange after being legal for so long in England! She was afraid she would be kicked out after having a sip of Dave's beer! We liked the Whisky-a-go-go, especially the photos of Jim Morisson and a rubbing from his grave. And that was the end of day one in LA, we eventually returned to our hostel with VERY achy feet!

We had more luck with the buses on our second day having figured out where to go before we started zig-zagging around LA! First stop was Rodeo Drive, where we window shopped in all the designer shops, but didn't dare go in!! Then we returned to Hollywood Boulevard and Mann's Chinese Theatre for a second, and successful attempt at seeing the hands and footprints of the stars. This was interesting despite the hoards of people, and the heat! It has been about 100 degrees each day! Next stop, the beach! We caught the bus to Santa Monica where we walked along the pier, and saw muscle beach, then onto Venice beach and it's promenade of very 'interesting' shops! We then took a bus for 2 hours to get to Downtown LA (the city centre) where we had dinner on Olvera Street, the oldest street in LA, and probably the prettiest. We then headed back to the hostel where we stayed up until 4am watching TV to ensure we are so sleep deprived we will sleep all the way home tonight and hopefully beat jetlag!! Probably wont work though and we will just be all the more tired!

We have had such a great summer and hope that you have all enjoyed reading our holiday diary. It has been a great way to hear from you all and thanks for keeping in touch, we have loved getting messages and they have kept us amused. LA pictures will follow when we get home if you want to look at them, there is no USB port here. We spent most of last night discussing best bits, worst bits etc, but we both agreed travelling has been amazing. We are really looking forward to getting home however, we cant wait to see everyone again! And we are very excited for the V festival this weekend! So thanks for watching, see you soon!

Lots of love, Joanne and Dave xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx