California Dreamin’ in LA

From glossy Santa Monica to the famous Hollywood sign, there’s nowhere quite like Los Angeles.

However, all is not quite as glam and perfect as it seems (did you know trying to get too close to those famous letters is actually illegal?) and really it’s just a big, bad, lively city under the slick, celebrity surface. But all the better for it!

LA Hostels

There’s quite a few  cheap Los Angeles hostels to choose between, scattered around the city from Venice Beach to (as the Americans say) downtown LA. We wanted to be right among the stars (well, sort of) in Hollywood so plucked for USA Hostels Hollywood which was actually one of the best hostels I’ve stayed at in America.

The free tea (even though they can’t do it quite like the English), coffee and pancakes all day went down very well indeed… It’s big and fun, with cheap parties happening most nights. We made it to one of the barbeques but missed the open-mic night - according to the other guests, though, all the staff are pretty talented! Do we think they’re more hopeful starlets?

Starbucks are Everywhere!

You think Starbucks have taken over quite adequately in London until you come to Los Angeles. They even have drive-through service as everyone seems to get around this sprawling city by car (and only car) and are a bit too late or important to actually walk into the café.

In this city, the only thing bigger than the cars are the meals which, if anything, were even bigger than the portions in New York. All this seems a bit out of place, though, when you see so many bronzed, skinny locals hanging around (especially on the beach).

Overall, the food was good and pretty cheap, with tons of snack places and all-American diners around our hostel offering nice inexpensive meals like hot dogs to fill up us hungry traveler-types.

Following on from our burger adventures in New York, we thought we’d better let LA get a competition going for the best meal and, following recommendations from the hostel staff, headed to the (apparently) famous In And Out Burger joint on the Sunset Strip. Pretty tasty in our opinion!

Grand Central Market (between 3^rd and 4^th) is a backpackers’ heaven, with row upon row of stalls selling cheap but interesting ethnic food. The authentic Mexican was great and our massive burritos cost just $5 each.

We also managed to find some fruit after we realized we’d eaten nothing but meat and barbeque food for a few days!

Out at the Beach

Even though it was smoggy rather than sunny, we decided to check out the beach using the hostel’s very convenient free shuttle. It was packed, even though it was a Monday, but there was plenty of open space about so you could escape the crowds.

The sun came out around midday but, although it’s sandy, the water was surprisingly murky so we didn’t go for much of a swim and instead just relaxed watching some trendy surfer dudes try out the waves and an endless of swarm of pretty people energetically run around after a volleyball.

The best bit is the atmosphere, with its swarms of people and, up near Venice Beach, artists and street performers, too.

Sights through the smog

It’s a big city and we didn’t have time to see an awful lot on the trip, which wasn’t exactly helped by the smog which stopped you being able to see particularly far into the distance at most times!

To get a feel for LA, we walked along Broadway with its kitsch shops and blaring salsa music and also down the ‘Walk of Fame’ on Hollywood Boulevard which is even tackier. It’s all in the name of fun though, and it was indeed pretty amusing to watch tourists getting excited with the star-spotting along the sidewalk (pavement for us Brits).

Heading down to Sunset Boulevard, we found some better shops, including Amoeba Music which had one of the best selections of cheap second-hand CDs I’ve seen in a long time. From here, we took the bus up through the Hollywood Hills, between Bel Air and Beverly Hills. There’s nothing really to see except the amazing, massive mansions which set a slightly uncomfortable contrast with the poorer areas of the city like around LAX.

Entertainment Central

Most of LA’s attraction revolves around nighttime entertainment and we found ourselves exploring the bar and club scene around Sunset every night. Some drinks are pricey, although early happy hours help the bank balance a bit!

It’s a bit of an odd place – all neon lights, glitzy façades and crazy outfits. People were friendly enough but there was no real substance beneath the external show. Having said that, it has to be one of my favorite places to people watch in the world!

We also tried out one of the city’s famous comedy nights at The Laugh Factory on Sunset Boulevard which (although we’d been told could be hit and miss) had us rolling around with laughter.