LA

Greenland from above
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After a long flight over Scandanavia, Greenland (check out the pics from the plane!) and Canada we descended down the US where we touched down early evening in LA and were picked up from LAX by our friend Gillian who we were staying with in Pasadena.  After the Champagne at Heathrow and the complimentary wine during the flight we were in no mood to be going out so went back to Gillian's condo and chilled with a glass of Vino on her patio before getting a good nights sleep.

Early(ish) the next day we headed down to Hollywood Boulevard to check out the Grauman's Chinese Theatre with the hand and footprints of the stars out front and the star paving slabs running the length of the Boulevard. The heat and walking gave us a thirst so we went to Muso and Franks which is the oldest restaurant in Hollywood.  A cosmopolitan and whisky sour later and we were ready to hit the road again.

Clare's burrito looked like someone had wrapped a small child up in tortilla blanket!

Clare chatting up a Fireman
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Next we made our way up into the hills to the Hollyridge hiking trail which takes you up to the Hollywood sign - despite the warnings we didnt meet any mountain lions or rattlesnakes on the way.

After lunch we drove the entire length of Sunset Boulevard taking in the sights of West Hollywood and the sunset strip, Beverley Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Pacific Palasades before hitting Malibu Beach.

We then drove up in to the hills to check out Corral Canyon below where you could still see some of the fire damage that ravaged LA last year. Clare saw her first humming bird ever and despite what our friend Nigel thinks they're not anything like over-sized mosquitos.

Johnny Depp may be good looking but he's got tiny hands..
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After driving back along the Pacific Coast Highway we made our way through Santa Monica and downtown LA back to Pasadena for some food and beers in the best british pub in California!

We started our second day with a walk round a market at Pasadena City College before heading off for a Mexican breakfast at "El Super Burrito" where the portions are seriously big! My tacos were really good and Clare's burrito looked like someone had wrapped a small child up in tortilla blanket!

We've just got back from the LA Zoo where we spent the rest of our day checking out the animals and plant life in gorgeous sunny surroundings before heading back to Gillian's for a Hershey's frozen yoghurt (how can something so good be low in fat?!).

I'll be back..
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Tonight were going back to LAX to fly down to Ecuador overnight - Quito and the Galapagos here we come!!