Last Day
Trip Start
Nov 11, 2008
1
22
Trip End
Jan 06, 2009
Lake Forest, California, United States
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
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....
