TravelStream™ news feed for member lucyb1983uk on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/lucyb1983uk en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:42:07 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1231267500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1231267500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1231267500/tpod.html Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:42:07 -0500 Lucy does L.A.

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Lake Forest, California, United States

Day 57

Tuesday 6th January

Well here's my final entry! It seems sooo long ago now since I first arrived here. My birthday, Vegas... it seems like a lifetime ago. But now I'm all packed up and ready to go back home.

My last couple of days here were really fun. On Saturday night, Chris and Elizabeth came over and Elizabeth cooked us a nice meal and we played Singstar again, was fun and has got me in the mood for a Singstar day when I get back home... anyone up for it?! Then on Sunday, me Paul and Amanda went into LA for the Lakers game.

We left around midday and went to The Grove to do some shopping and have a meal. The Grove is an outdoor shopping mall in Hollywood with lots of nice shops as well as the Farmer's Market where you can get a huge range of food from different cuisenes. They even had a Cajan stall selling alligator, although we skipped that and went to a restaurant called The Farm which did really good salads.

Once we had finished at The Grove, we drove to the Staples Center, a large arena in downtown LA next to the Nokia Theatre and LA Live. Paul dropped us off as he wasn't coming to the game, and me and Amanda went inside and looked in the Laker's shop and got some snacks before finding our seats. We were pretty high up in one corner, but from the angle we were at we had a great view of the court plus we had borrowed Amanda's dad's binoculars so we could see the players - and celebrity crowd - a bit clearer.

The LA Lakers were playing Portland Trailblazers and the Lakers were favourites to win as they have a very good record this season. But in the first two quarters, Portland were ahead and outplaying the Lakers. But just before half time, the Lakers drew level and in the third and fourth quarters they extended the lead, winning by a large margin by the end.

The game was a lot of fun. The crowd were similar to a football crowd in many ways, with their chanting and cheering, although instead of chanting the likes of 'we hate you Man U, we do' as they may at the Emerates, the rivalry was pointed at Boston and Cleveland, two of the laker's biggest rival teams. The loud speakers played music off and on during the game, and whenever the rival team had possession and were trying to score, the speakers played out loud, dramatic drum beats to try and put them off.

Almost as fun as watching the game was watching the crowd, as the Lakers games are well known for having celebrities attend and sit on the front benches. Me and Amanda used the binoculars to scan the crowd, and we managed to spot Reece Witherspoon and her boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal on the front benches. During one of the breaks, the large screens showed couples sitting in the crowd and put a heart around the outside, prompting each couple to kiss once they spotted themselves on the screen. The crowd all clapped and cheered when the screen showed Reece and Jake kissing, and the pictures were on E News last night. We also spotted the lead singer from Maroon 5 sitting upfront behind one of the baskets, and huge Lakers fan Jack Nicholson was sitting in his regular spot next to the players bench.

Yesterday was my last full day here, so I spent the day packing and just chilling out, then in the evening the whole family plus Chris and Elizabeth went out for a meal paid for by me to thank them for having me as their guest for the last eight week. We went to BJ's, a nice restaurant in Laguna Hills where we have been a couple of times before. The food was great and it was nice to all have a meal together before I leave. Today I have just been chilling out, have a couple of things to pack but most of it's done... I bought so much stuff while over here I'm surprised I managed to fit it all in, although I am using two suitcases plus my hand luggage. I wish there was enough room to take the dog and cat with me - they are both here with me in the room right now - but I don't think they'd like the long flight or the Bristish weather!

Paul will be home in a couple of hours then we are driving to LAX for my flight which is at 9pm. I hope I can get some sleep on board (please no crying babies on board!!) so that I'm not too jetlagged when I return. I land around 4.30pm on Wednesday and I hear there was snow yesterday, but let's hope it's all melted by the time I get back.

I've had an amazing eight weeks here, I will miss the family, the friends I've made, the dog & cat, the palm trees, the sunny blue skies, the cheap shops & restaurants, cable TV, Forever 21, the beach, pancakes for brunch and boba tea... but I'm really looking forwards to seeing family & friends back home, walking around London, the big Topshop on Oxford St, quiz days with the gang, watching Eggheads (mum has taped the final Are You An Egghead and I'm sooo excited about watching it!), watching the X Factor final (again, thanks mum for recording it), my old bed, eating healthy food (as I ate so much junk over here), Roshni's with the work gang, even just shopping in good old Staines.

So that's it for now, but I'm sure my next adventure is just around the corner. Paul and Amanda are currently looking at apartments to rent and are hoping to get a two bedroom place - Chris was joking that their spare room should be named Lucy's Room... sounds good to me just as long as they get a comfortable bed! I'm planning to come out and visit again later in the year once I have a new job and some money saved up again, although not for as long as eight weeks again next time! Anyone else up for a couple of weeks in the California sunshine with me???

Until the next time....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1231020000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1231020000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1231020000/tpod.html Sat, 03 Jan 2009 20:23:44 -0500 Lucy does L.A.

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Hollywood, California, United States

Day 54

Saturday January 3rd

It's been a busy few days... I think I've seen more of L.A. in the last few days as most residents see in their whole life.And I'm going back again tomorrow.

As I mentioned in my last entry, I did a tour of Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Bel Air on new years eve. I'd wanted to do the whole tacky, touristy bus tour experience since I got out here but not had time until now, and it was a lot of fun. I boarded the small mini-van on Hollywood Blvd outside Graumann's Chinese Thetre, where countless characters were conning tourists out of their spare change to pose for photos. I spotted Elvis, Michael Jackson (he said 'hey gorgeous' to me, hmmm no thanks!), Elmo, Big Bird, Tinkerbell, Jack Sparrow, the Joker, Batman & Robin, the Scream mask man and loads more, but I didn't pose with any of them as my tour guide warned us that some of them are creepy, especially one of the Jack Sparrow's who is too touchy feely with the ladies, a smelly Spiderman who hides in trash cans then jumps out on people and a Marilyn Monroe who show's she's not actually a woman when her white dress blows up...

I sat up front in the van along side the tour guide driver, a woman around thirty who had lots of interesting anecdotes about stars she had spotted on previous tours and infamous places around Hollywood. It was a warm sunny day, perfect for a nice two-hour drive, although the smog level was pretty bad so the view of the city from the hills wasn't too clear.

We drove up Sunset Blvd first, away from the seedy touristy end and towards the famous 'Sunset Strip' end where all the best nightspots and expensive houses are. The tour guide pointed out several famous hotspots such as the Roxy, Houseof Blues, Whisky a Go Go, the Viper Room and posh hotel Chateau Marmont. She also pointed out the hot dog place where Elvis used to regularly go and the street corner where Hugh Grant was arrested back in the 90s. We then drove around the residential areas where all the million dollar mansions of the stars past and present are, starting in West Hollywood then zig-zagging around Beverly Hills, Bel Air then up Mulholland Drive into the Hollywood Hills.

The houses were all so amazing, I didn't have one favourite as they were all pretty impressive... even one of the smaller (ie 4 bedroom) houses would do me nicely thanks! The tour guide pointed out countless star's houses, I can't remember every single one but they included the girls from The Hills (I took a photo especially for Heather hehe), the Beckhams (sorry mum but I had to take a photo, it was a nice house!), the Osbourne's old house where their show was filmed (now owned by Christina Agulera), Snoop Dogg (the house opposite him is currently being rented by Michael Jackson, we saw his bodyguards and some photographers outside), several fashion designers (the Guess guy had some very nice cars), Dr Phill, Richard Gere, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, the Fresh Prince of Bel Air house, the 9-5 house, the Beverly Hills Cop police station and many more.

We made two stops on the tour - the first at Greystone Mansion, a huuuuge house in Beverly Hills (next to the Beckham's) owned by the city which is often rented out for movie shoots and private events. Many big films such as Batman, The Holiday and The Bodyguard were filmed there. We got to walk around the grounds, although with only 10 minutes we only saw a very small area as it was so huge. The gardens were beautiful and so were the views of the city. We also made a stop towards the top of Mulholland Drive, up in the Hollywood hills underneath the famous Hollywood sign. I tried taking photos although the warm hazy weather and the snog made it difficult to capture the amazing view.

I went into LA again yesterday, as Amanda and Chris had the day off work and suggested going into Santa Monica. The drive up there was pretty quick, although we drove around for ages afterwards trying to find a nice restaurant to eat in, but we didn't mind as we got to see loads of different parts of the city.

Santa Monica is a beach town centred around the shops and restaurants on Santa Monica Blvd/3rd St/Wilshire Bld. It's also a very Bristish area, with several Bristish shops, traditional English pubs and even Indian restaurants that smelled like proper Indian food... it was like being back home but with palm trees. I heard several Bristish accents and one of the shops was even playing Hard Fi, all the way from good old Staines. We hit the shops and I got some nice stuff in Zara, as they are a lot cheaper here than back home (don't be jealous, James!)

We walked up to the beach front and looked at the view of the ocean and of the famous amusement pier. But being a bit of an overcast day and being hungry, we skipped the beach in favour of driving around to have some dinner. After passing two restaurants we'd looked up that were actually closed, we went to a favourite Italian place of Amanda's in Echo Park, which was really nice.We then went back into Hollywood and went for cocktails in the Beauty Bar, a bar where you can get your nails done for $10 which also includes a cocktail... bargain. I chose a nice coral colour, it looks so pretty. After a quick stop at the amazing Hollywood record store Amoeba (where I have spent a lot of money in the last couple of months!) we drove back to Orange County to meet Paul and Elizabeth and have a Singstar night. It was a lot of fun and it was good to play the US version of the game as it's a bit different to the UK one which I have played sooo many times!

Today I have been very lazy and just watched TV and eaten Thai food and peanut butter M&M's, but Paul has just got in from work so we should be doing something tonight. While on Facebook today I discovered that it's been absolutley freezing and that Celeb Big Brother has just started... remind me again why I've been out of the country for 2 months?!? But bad weather and bad TV aside, it will be nice to get back home and catch up with everything and everyone I've missed!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1230867900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1230867900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1230867900/tpod.html Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:53:09 -0500 Lucy does L.A.

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Newport Beach, California, United States

Day 52

Thursday 1st January

Happy New Year everyone. In the week since I last wrote I've been pretty busy. Last Saturday, Paul and I drove to Balboa Island for the evening to walk around. Balboa is a small island which is part of Newport Beach and has lots of pretty house, boats and restaurants. It was dark by the time we got there and the locals still had their Christmas lights up so we walked the whole perimeter of the island (which only took about half an hour) to look at the decorations on the house, boats and piers. Some were a bit tacky and over the top, but there were lots of very pretty, award-winning decorations. My favourite featured a house with tall palm tresses which were dotted with rainbow-coloured lights. My friends back home informed me that Ashford and the surrounding area were pretty poor with their festive lights this year, due to the credit crunch I'd imagine, but as Balboa is the 4th most expensive area to live in the whole of the US I'm sure they can afford the electricity bills.

Last Sunday, Paul and I went to Laguna Beach in the afternoon. It was a warm sunny day and I took some nice photos. I'd been to the beach back in November and it was nice to go back again and just walk around and enjoy the weather and surroundings. Being a warm sunday at Christmas it was pretty busy (...and hard to park) but we had a nice afternoon there.

This week I have been eating out a lot, going to coffee and doing shopping. Chris and Amanda took me to a local Indian restaurant, it felt like I was back in England! The food was very nice but it wasn't quite Tamanna's. One evening we went to Starbucks in Newport Beach and played board games, and we also visted Chris's house for dinner.

Yesterday was New Years Eve, the final day of the year. To see it out in style, I went into Hollywood for the day, but I'll write about that in my next entry as I have lots of photos to post with that so I'll keep it seperate. Later that evening, a group of us went to Chris's house in Newport Beach to see in the new year. His house is really nice and as it's up in the hills there is an amazing view of the coastline. We had some wine and played some board games while listening to music, then watched the ball drop over Times Square at midnight (even though New York celebrated it 3 hours before us being on the opposite coast) It was strange to celebrate the new year late, behind the UK who were waking up at 8am with their hangovers right when we were counting down to midnight. We stayed over until around 1.30am and I spent most of today lazing around doing very little, although me, Paul and Amanda went out to dinner this evening. Tomorrow me and Amanda might go out somewhere as it's her day off, then on Sunday we are going into LA again for the LA Lakers basketball game.... then I suppose Monday will be my day to pack everything, hoping it all fits in my suitcase...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1230310800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1230310800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1230310800/tpod.html Fri, 26 Dec 2008 15:11:41 -0500 Lucy does L.A.

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Lake Forest, California, United States

Day 46

Friday December 26th

Well Christmas is over again for another year! Today would be Boxing Day but it's not really celebrated over here - most people just go back to work. Well except for me, lazing around at midday not even dressed yet, thinking about getting another brownie and some of yesterdays leftovers.

Christmas Eve is a big deal over here, it's when most families celebrate together and open their gifts. Paul and Amanda worked in the morning but by late afternoon they had returned home and soon Erika and a friend of hers arrived too, ready for a family evening. All the presents were under the tree - there were loads! - so after some mexican food we all sat around opening presents. I had got Amanda a WALL-E toy that speaks and dances just like he does in the film, he is so cute! I got some nice gifts including make-up, clothes and books. Uling, the family's black chow, was loving all the excitement, sniffing around all the paper, as was the cat Puma, who loved climbing into bags and boxes. No need to buy the pets any gifts, they are happy with all our rubbish!

On Christmas morning, we had breakfast purchased by Erika at a local pancake house, then me and Paul opened our gifts from each other and the ones I had brought over with me - had to keep up our English traditions! I gave Paul some boba balls to put into drinks as well as a jigsaw as he loves them, while he gave me such a cool present - tickets for me and Amanda to see the LA Lakers play next weekend! I then ate the box of chocolates mum had got me (thanks mum!) as I had another family tradition to keep up - eating your box of chocs as soon as you open them (must have got that tradition from dad hehe) and put on the earrings Heather and Linda had given me (thanks girls!)

After stuffing my face, I joined Paul, Amanda, and Chris who had also come to vist, to play a couple of board games before it was time for Christmas dinner. Donna had laid everything out for us to help ourselves, so I tried a bit of everything, including turkey, beef, sweet potatoes, macaroni, green beans, cranberry sauce and rolls. It was really yummy, although with so many people round I had to share my chair with the cat but she was spread out over the whole chair sleeping and wouldn't budge so I had to perch on the end... where's your Christmas spirit, Puma?!

In the evening we were going to see a movie at the local cinema but everything good was sold out (going to the cinema on Christmas day is very popular here as many big films are released that day) so I lazed around watching TV, tired from all the food. Today I'm not doing very much, maybe go to the cinema tonight. I have a week and a half left so I'm trying to think what else I want to do before I leave, and also what fun stuff to do when I get home and see everyone in 2009!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229893200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229893200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229893200/tpod.html Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:10:57 -0500 Lucy does L.A.

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Lake Forest, California, United States

Day 41

Sunday December 21st

Well it's that time of year again!! After my busy 8-day trip, I've been chilling out the last few days. On Thursday night, I went out to dinner with Paul, Amanda, Chris and Elizabeth to Paul's favourite restaurant, Fuddruckers, then Amanda and Elizabeth went out to see a play so me Paul and Chris hung out at a bar/arcade in the Specrtum mall where we played a cool trivia game where you compete against other players in front of a big screen and press the buzzers... we won lots of tickets but didn't cash them in for a prize as we want to wait til we have several thousand to win a jukebox... don't know how many years that will take though!

On Friday, me Paul and Amanda went to a Southern restaurant which serves really nice authentic Southern cuisene... I had cajan chicken with sweet potatoes which was lovely but filling, and the drinks were served in jam jars. Afterwards we went to a coffee shop to play board games and drink tea... yes we are so rock and roll, but it was fun! Yesterday Paul and I went for brunch with Chris to IHOP which is a pancake house, then the three of us hung out at the house watching random YouTube videos and playing scattegories before meeting Amanda at the Spectrum mall.

The mall was so busy!! But for the Saturday before xmas that can be expected. We went in a few shops then drove to a smaller mall in Laguna where we had dinner (I had a pizza with burger toppings... different but nice!) and did a little xmas shopping before heading home. Today I have spent most of my time watching Game Show Network, my fave channel, watching old episodes of Family Feud (similar to Family Fortunes), Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and lots of other old cheesy gameshows, while uploading all my pics onto Facebook and my blog. It's taken a few hours but I've finally finished now -go check them out!

Well it's almost Christmas, then it will be new year then time to go home... 2008 has flown by so fast! I'll update again soon with a report of my first American Christmas...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229616000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229616000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229616000/tpod.html Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:05:52 -0500 Lucy does L.A.

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Lake Forest, California, United States

Day 38

Thursday 18th December

Well I'm back 'home' in Orange County after my 8 day trip up the West Coast! It was a fun week and I went to lots of cool places and took lots of great photos (which I'll start uploading tonight) but it's nice to be back here to chill out and relax... and prepare for Christmas! I got so many gifts and things while I was away so I need to start wrapping things up to go under the tree.

San Francisco was really nice. On my second day there, I went to Haight St which was the centre of the hippy scene in the late 60s, and still today it has lots of cool shops and cafes. I went in Amoeba Records (I love the Hollywood one and the San Francisco one was pretty cool too) and had some brunch in an old cafe where you sit along a bar and see the chefs making your food in front of you. I browsed some gift shops and took photos before heading back to downtown San Francisco for the rest of the afternoon to walk along the seafront and check out all the various piers. I then went for dinner at a really nice restaurant in the Ferry Building called the Slanted Door - the food was amazing!

Yesterday after brunch in a diner overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, I headed to the airport and made my way back to Long Beach. The flight was only an hour long and went pretty fast and soon I was back in Orange County. Paul picked me up and we had a boba tea on the way home and then had some delicious pumpkin scones that Amanda had baked when we got home.

With only a week left until Christmas, I'm going to have a chilled week, maybe go into San Diego one day and do a night out in LA.... and wrap up all my presents of course. Everyone's talking about how bad the weather is on the West Coast, although for me I'm pretty used to the cold and rain! Here in southern California it's a bit chiller than usual and there's been a bit of rain, but it's still warmer than it would be at Christmas time back home... but further up the coast and even as close as Las Vegas there has been snow - that's pretty rare for Vegas bearing in mind it's in the middle of the desert!

Check back soon for my photos from my trip, which I'll upload in between the present wrapping, scone eating, movie watching and other festive activities this weekend!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229371200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229371200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229371200/tpod.html Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:25:00 -0500 Lucy does L.A.

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San Francisco, California, United States

Day 35

Monday 15th December

Well I'm back in California! Although you've got to realise how huge this state is... it's bigger than the UK and I'm still roughly 300 miles away from Lake Forest... but I'll be back there ina couple of days.

Yesterday was such a looooong day. I had to get my bus out of Vancouver at 8am, so when I left my hotel it was still dark... and it was snowing! Thick snow lining the ground, flakes still falling down... normally I hate snow as it's a pain to walk and drive in, but being near Christmas it felt so festive, especially after spending the last month in the sunshine among palm trees.

The bus was scheduled to take 4 and a half hours to get back to Seattle but it arrived an hour early as the border control went very quickly. Although the Canidian officials had asked loads of questions on my way in, the US officials were really nice and friendly and let me straight through.Once in Seattle, I had a few hours to kill so I walked around chinatown (treading carefully so I didn't slip in what was left of the snow!) and had some lunch and some green tea, before heading to the airport. I took some photos of the snowy streets, including one of a snow covered I-5 freeway... the I-5 runs the length of the West coast from San Diego all the way to the Canadian border, I drive it with Paul all the time through Orange County so it was weird seeing it covered in snow rather than lined with palm trees.

I got through the airport security quickly and had a while to wait so I read some magazines and got more green tea, then discovered flinghts were being delayed due to bad weather and mine was an hour late. The actually flight went pretty well - I flew with Virgin America and they had good onboard entertainment as well as an interactive Google map showing you were you were flying. It was gone 11pm by the time I landed at San Francisco airport. I got my luggage pretty fast then went out to the rainy street to get a cab. I checked into my hotel and went to bed feeling exhausted form a long day travelling!

This morning I went out to blue skies and a much milder temperature than it had been in Seattle and Vancouver... I felt glad to be back in California! I walked up Lombard St where my hotel is located, towards Fishermans Wharf. Lomabrd St is known for being very hilly, so by the time I got to the seafront I was exhausted from climbing up and down so many hills! Fishermans Wharf is a seafront area with lots of little shops, cafes, seafood restaurants and boats lining the front. I took pictures and admired the view of the Bay. I then walked along to the piers, looking in lots of gifts shops and eating some lunch. Just off the pier there is a platform where local sea-lions congregate, you can hear then barking away from the pier, they are sooo cute!

I then got a travelpass and got in one of the famous cablecars to go downtown. They are sooo cool... you sit sideways almost hanging out of the cabin (there's no doors!) or if you hop on halfway you can stand on the ledge hanging on to the side... it looked scary! A grip man stands in the middle of the cablecar operating the grips that make the car stop and go, they have to have strong arms for that job as it's all manualy done.

I hopped off the cablecar at Union Square where there are tonnes of shops. I've just been in good old Forever 21 to get some new jeans and about to go in Vicoria's Secret and Borders which are both close by, then I think a trip to Starbucks is needed as this shopping and sightseeing it thirsty work! It's has rained off and on a couple of times but it's pretty mild and sunny otherwise. I have all day tomorrow to continue to explore, then Wednesday afternoon I head back to Orange County in time for the build up to Christmas... not long now!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229200200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229200200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229200200/tpod.html Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:41:53 -0500 Lucy does L.A.

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Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Day 33

Saturday 13th December

Hello again from Canada! I was passing an internet cafe and thought I'd pop on to check out the X Factor results (yes I'm sad) and do a quick update since I won't get online tomorrow.

Last night I was so tired from travelling and my afternoon in the city so I had a quiet evening, having a quick bite to eat near the hotel and checking out the seafront. I chilled watching some TV in my hotel, checking out the Canadian TV which is similar to US cable but has lots of French channels rather than Spanish channels. As the hotel is on a main street there was a bit of noise in the night as people left bars, but on the whole I got a good nights sleep ready for my day out in Vancouver today.

This morning I woke up glad to see blue skies and no more rain! It was still pretty cold - around 4 degrees C - but I put on my coat and ventured out. After an omlette in a nice little French cafe, I walked down Robson St - Vancouver's answer to Oxford St. I got some xmas gifts for family and friends and checked out some cool shops along the way. I didn't spend too much money... talking of money, Canadian money is more like English money than US dollars. Their notes and coins have the queen on them, and unlike US dollars that have 1 dollar bills, Canadian dollars are in 1 or 2 dollar coins that look a lot like 1 and 2 pound coins... it's a lot like being back home! The city has more of a European feel to it, a bit like being in London (but much smaller) and almost like being in Paris as there are a lot of French speaking people and French shops (even though we are nowhere near French Canada!) The town is so easy to explore as the downtown area is pretty small and there are loads of buses as well as the airtrain and ferries.

After my shopping trip, I walked across the bridge to Granville Island which is just across the bay. The bridge was quite long, but so worth the walk just to take in the views of the city, the bay and the mountains in the distance. I took lots of great photos. Once on Granville Island, I checked out the famous market. It's very pretty, with lots of xmas stools, carol singers, arts & crafts for sale and a large food market. I browsed for a while then had lunch in a nice restaurant which overlooked the bay.

I then got the ferry back to Vancouver mainland and am making my way back to the main shopping streets. I saw a cinema earlier so I might go back there and check out what's on, and I saw some cool gloves in Urban Outfitters that I will get if the long queue has gone down by now! Then I'm getting an early night as tomorrow I have to be up early as my bus back to Seattle leaves at 8am (I'm so not used to early starts any more!) then I arrive at lunchtime and have a few hours there before getting my flight to my third and final stop on my tour of the west coast! Clues to where I'm heading? It has a famous bridge, a famous old prison and known for being foggy... I wonder where?!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229126400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229126400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229126400/tpod.html Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:08:04 -0500 Lucy does L.A.

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Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Day 32

Friday December 12th

Well I made it across the border to Canada!

Yesterday I made the most of my last afternoon in Seattle by going to the Seattle Center, a complex which includes the famous Space Needle. After arriving there via Monorail (so cool!) I went to the Experience Music Project; a center dedicated to Seattle's music scene from Hendrix in the 60s (they had lots of his old guitars and outfits on display) to the 90s grunge scene. I also went in the hands-on area where you can play instruments and try out mixing and sampling too... I mixed some songs and played on a drum kit - so fun!!

Next it was to the Space Needle. I got in the elevator and we shot up to the observation deck right at the top... it was so high up!! I took photos as it was almost about to get dark, then sat and had a coffee before taking more photos of the amazing view just after it got dark. The city looked so pretty all lit up.

After some thai food, I got a good nights sleep, before getting up this morning to travel to Canada. I'd been lucky with the weather so far as it had been a bit cold but dry... but it was pouring down this morning and has barely stopped. It's just like being back in London! I got a cab to the station then boarded my bus. The drive took about 2 and a half hours, but we had to stop at the border for a while to go through. The officials checking documents were scary, even the staff at the US airports I've used haven't asked that many questions! But I got through OK and before long we were in rainy Vancouver.

I got some Canadian dollars from an ATM, got a well needed Starbucks then got the Airtrain (overhead trains) to my hotel. I was pleased to see I'm on one of the main streets near lots of shops and restaurants, so just about everything I need is within walking distance... just as well with this weather! After dumping my suitcase, I headed to the Pacific Center, a big mall a couple of blocks away. I browsed the shops, alot of them the same as in the US and UK, including good old H&M where I got a couple of bits. On the walk back to my hotel I spotted this internet cafe literally across the street which is nice and handy... although I have my iPod on loud as there are workmen drilling away doing building work at the back of the shop (its more like a newsagents corner shop type thing with some PCs set up, weird!) and it smells of sawdust. Still, it's only 1 dollar for 30 minutes and 30 seconds from my hotel. I'm about to go get changed then head off for my Friday night - there's a restaurant/bar a few doors along that looks fun and they have rock and party tunes tonight so I think that's where I'll go for a couple of hours!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229022000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229022000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyb1983uk/1/1229022000/tpod.html Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:53:57 -0500 Lucy does L.A.

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Seattle, Washington, United States

Day 31

Thursday December 11th

Right now I'm sitting in a library in Seattle, Washington. I looove Seattle! It's so nice! Well, apart from the cold, but it's no colder than it would be back in London (a month in the Californian sun made me forget what cold is) The people, the shops, the food, the sights... it's a really nice place.
I left for Seattle in Tuesday evening. After lunch in the mall, Paul and Amanda drove me to Long Beach airport in Los Angeles. It's one of the citie's smaller airports and tiny compared to Heathrow. There's only 4 departure gates and one cafe. The plus side of using a small airport was how fast it was to check in, go through security and board the plan (also pretty small) and the flight itsself was only about 2 and a half hours... nothing compared to the transatlantic flights I'm used to. The time went by so fast as onboard Jetblue they have TV sets for everyone with about 100 cable channels and radio channels as well as free drinks and snacks. For a budget airline the same price as the likes of Ryanair, they were great!! I watched this fun rock music quiz show on the way (and got most of the answers right) then before I knew it I'd landed in SEA-TAC airport.

It was gone 11pm by the time I arrived at the Best Western - a lovely hotel with nice big rooms and a coffee maker, power shower and cable TV. After a good nights sleep, I got up, had my free breakfast in the hotel then walked a few blocks down to the seafront. It was fairly cold, probably about 10C, but as I was walking around all the time I didn't feel too cold. After walking along the seafront looking at all the boats and piers, I went in the famous Pike Place Market. Even though I don't like fish, it was cool to watch the men at the fish stall singing and throwing fish to one another... although I stood well out the way! The market was amazing, lots of little stalls and shops selling food, gifts and just about everything. I did a lot of xmas shopping, buying presents for friends and family (but I won't ruin the surprise by saying what I got!) I also went in the original Starbucks in the market, where it all began back in 1971. It was pretty small inside with no tables and the queue took about 10 minutes, but it was worth it to sample a latte from such a historic landmark!

After a few hours on the market, I walked up to the Seattle Center, where the famous Space Needle is located. It's so tall and futuristic looking, like something out of a sci-fi movie. In fact, there is a Sci Fi museum right there next to the needle. After dropping my shopping off at the hotel, I took a guided bus tour of Seattle. It was on a 'duck' vehicle - a land and water vehicle first used in WW2 which can drive on roads then turn into a boat when driving into water. I went on the same thing in Miami earlier this year and it was a lot of fun, and so was this one. Our guide was really funny and pointed out interesting and obscure facts about the city. Apparently the residents of Seattle drink on average of 4 lattes per day, the average age of a resident is 34 years old and the most popular occupation is lawyers. We saw the market and several squares from land, then launched into Lake Union to see some pretty (and expensive) houseboats including the one used in the movie Sleepless in Seattle and one owned by a Microsoft billionaire (the company started locally) which had a glass cellar under the water which is supposed to resemble a fish tank.

After the tour it was about 5pm and getting dark and I was pretty hungry, so I found a Japanese-Polynesian restaurant where I had chicken katsu and rice, then went to a local cinema and watched Cadilac Records, which was really good (go see it!) I was sooo tired by the time I returned!

This morning I walked all the way across town to the International District, which is mainly Chinese as well as many other nationalities. I went in the biggest Oriental supermarket in the Northwest and looked at all the cool foods, then went to a Tapioca tea house and got my favourite boba tea. I'm currently in the library but about to log off and go back to the Space Needle to go up in, and go to the Music Project next door which is a music museum type place where you can also create your own music... should be fun! Then tomorrow morning I'm going 3 hours over the boarder to Canada... hope it's not too cold!
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