Santa Monica / LA
Trip Start
Jun 05, 2008
1
2
5
Trip End
Sep 04, 2008
Santa Monica / LA,
California,
United States
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Firstly, Santa Monica. For the life of me i can't remember why i decided to begin my trip in Santa Monica, but i'm so glad i did. The Hostel i stayed in was 5 minutes walk from the beach (and WHAT a beach!!) and 5 minutes walk from the 3rd Street Promenade, which is the main shopping/entertainment area within SM. The hostel itself was fantastic. Secure, clean and all the amenities you could ask for. Getting used to sleeping in a dorm with 5 other guys coming in and out of the room at all hours took some getting used to, but all in all i thoroughly enjoyed my stay there. I manged to meet up with a friend, Kate, who i'd not seen in 2 years or so, and she's been fantastic, showing parts of LA most tourists would no doubt overlook (Venice canals, Malibu, Downtown LA, Hollywood Forever Cemetery!!!). We even managed to get out hiking in the San Gabriel mountains one Saturday, which was beautiful
Kate and her awesome Jeep :o)
. I also hooked up with some guys (and gals) at the hostel too, heading out with them to take in Rodeo Drive, Hollywood, Universal Studios etc. I'll upload some photos when i get the chance.LA is a sprawling city, the likes of which i've never seen before, and it's SO hot!! Bombing around the backstreets in Kate's open top jeep has definitely been one of the highlights so far, although it did nothing for my hair, leaving me looking like Doc Brown of Back to the Future fame more often than not... hey ho... anything goes in LA so no major worries there :o)
Next stop Vegas....
