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We covered heaaapps today! It's now 12:37am and it's the first time I've had a chance to sit down and write.
So I will begin with last night. Matt and I have gotten in to a bit of a routine of spending all day walking around places, coming back to the hostel around 7pm, mooching until about 10pm (which is when I usually write), and then heading off to the beach to get a tub of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. But a few funny things happened last night!
Firstly, when we were doing our usual and eating Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Matt and I were sat on a wooden fence by the main beach car park and watched a man breaking in to a car directly in front of us. It was funny because we were sat just meters away with a tub of ice cream watching the entire time as he dug in through the window with a coat hanger.. He knew we were watching too! He shouted out that it was his car so he wasn't breaking in, but we didn't say anything - just continued watching whilst eating our ice cream hahahaha.
The next funny thing that happened was when Matt and I were trying to sleep in the hostel. We heard lots of shouting outside so had a look, and there was a man fighting with a statue.. He kept shouting at it, as well as kicking it and punching it, knocking it over then picking it up again. Eventually when some people came to tell him to cut it out, he said he wanted to fight them. They obviously were like no you're crazy, but he took off his shirt and started whipping them with it? Hahaha. When they managed to get away, he continued fighting this statue and three cop cars (eight cops!) showed up. He immediately claimed that he had been sexually harrassed when they questioned why he was not wearing his top. This took place over a period of about half an hour!
There was another funny thing, but you'll have to message me to find out as it's pretty mental and I probably shouldn't post it up on here.
Something I noticed when walking home the last few nights is that you very rarely are able to see the stars in L.A. There's heaps of light pollution and quite a bit of smog! Today I thought I could see some but a local said that they were just satellites.
Right, now on to today. Today was very busy! Matt has a friend here in L.A. who offered to drive us around for the day to show us the sights. We managed to cover downtown (saw the Staples Center where Taylor Swift is currently performing!), Beverly Hills (BEAUTIFUL houses, Koreatown, and Rodeo Drive. I have a photo of me in Rodeo Drive as it is one of the most fanciest shopping streets in the world and we did some shopping! Feeling fancy. Downtown was okay, but what I've noticed about L.A. is that it is more just a cluster of suburbs rather than a city with high rise buildings. There are a few big buildings in downtown, but that area definitely is not the hub of the city. You only really hear bad things about it such as its derelict buildings and mass of homeless people. So bare that in mind if you plan on coming to L.A. as it is definitely not the place you want to be staying at. So thank you Matt's friend so, so much because we couldn't of covered that much during our trip without you!
We also went to In and Out burger today and ordered things from the secret menu this time! I got fries covered in cheese and fried onion. I actually didn't like it and ended up sharing it instead.
After all of this, Matt and I checked in to our hostel in Hollywood. It is amazing so far! We instantly realised that if we come back, we would stay here for the duration of our stay. This is because the hostel offers heaps of cheap or free tours, such as walking to the Hollywood sign, day trips to Beverly Hills or the beaches, bar crawls, etc. So that would be really cool. The name is USA Hostels, I think, located on Schrader Blvd which is literally 30 seconds from Hollywood Blvd.
So Matt and I spent the rest of the evening walking around Hollywood Blvd. It is a very crazy places - the Walk of Fame goes on foreverrrrrrrr! The plaques are quite old and dirty, but it's cool finding the names of stars you recognise. Also outside the Chinese Theater are handprints and footprints of lots of stars - such as the Twilight actors, Richard Gere, Johnny Depp, and so on. Tomorrow we are gonna spend more time checking it all out so I'll let you know how that goes.
Other things to note:
- When in L.A., be prepared to deal with a lot of homeless people or people coming up with you asking to buy things, esp. for charity things. I don't mean to be selfish but Matt and I have already given money to some of them and they just keep asking for more and more. The best thing to do is say no thank you and keep walking. It will seem really rude because you have to keep saying no and walking even if they follow you and try and make conversation. But seriously every time they will try and use small talk, and then they will ask you where you're from. Once you reply to that, they'll have you sucked in and will talk to you for like ten minutes asking you for donations. So yeah, the key is unfortunately to say no, no, no and keep walking no matter how much they try and make conversation.
- We hung out with a guy from Germany today who works in the U.S. He knows people from the German embassy here, one of which has a house in Beverly Hills and has been having pool parties each Saturday. We were invited which is amazinggg arghhh but unfortunately we won't be in L.A. then! So gutted because that would have been such a cool experience! Matt and I have been chatting about it and I really think I want to work for a New Zealand embassy overseas. I think it would be absolutely amazing representing NZ in other countries!!!
So just two more nights in L.A. guys :( Tomorrow will be spent in Hollywood and then Thursday morning we head off to Vegas! Hope everyone is okay back home - I really do miss you all heaps already. It's only been a week now but it feels so much longer xxxxxxxxx
P.S. photo today is Matt and I standing over the Michael Jackson plaque at the Walk of Fame in Hollywood Blvd :D
- comments
Anonymous Andy This blog is blogtastic.
BC Better read than harry potter. I know what you mean about the homeless people, must never make eye contact. sad to say but true. Happy travels
Aunty Claire Hahaha should have known you would hunt down the Michael Jackson plaque!! Loving the story of the guy with the statue, its incredible what intoxication can do to a person. Hope you have another fabulous day in LA and look forward to reading tomorrows update. Love you xxx