Los Angeles

DAY 1:

We arrived off the Shuttle bus at 10am and checked into the Hollywood International Hostel and confronted with a mountain of very steep possibly illegal stairs which we lugged our bags up to reception and were told that our checking was for 11am so we headed down the street to kill an hour - very hard (not!) when surrounded by things to see. And excuse me but isnt't it ment to be winter and therefore cold? Or so we were told! It's hot and humid and we are completely underprepared for this heat (being that we bought only winter clothes) Its a hot 32 degrees celcius.

Finally we arrive!

After killing an hour we went back to the hostel where upon receiving our keys were told we were another floor above so faced yet another mountain of stairs with the heavy bags in tow. Heading towards our room we were ready to off load and enter room.... we should have waited!

The room was well...... bare? It contain soley two mattresses on the floor and a set of lockers! We stood in silence looking exectantly at each other unsure whether to laugh or cry - the laughter soon set in. We decided that we were here for the sights and not the accommodation (our hostel is right on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - beggars can't be choosers)after which we headed to the showers to freshen up - secretly hoping the room would improve but it didn't!

We headed outside and at the foot of our door we found the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Mann's Chinese Theatre. We grabbed some delicious food at a Mexican Restraunt and then decided that as the jet lag kicked in we would have a relaxing time at the movies (we chose the Mann's Chinese Theatre as it is extremely famous) only to discover that the movie was chose (Casino Royale - the new James Bond movie) had only been released the day before and was very popular with long lines. Luckily the theatre was HUGE and was extremely beautiful and the chair were very comfy. The movie was different but we will leave you to decide what you think. A blue eyed James Bond was different.

After the movie, we headed back to our extremely close hostel and settled in for the night, riddled with jet lag, we hit the pillows at around 8pm.

DAY 2:

Today we slept in to try and recover from our jet lag. We checked out the Hollywood Farmers Market which was interesting but more of a local affair. We walked back along the Hollywood Walk of fame and pigged out on a huge American Hamburger! YUM! After lunch we bargained our way into a tour of Los Angeles and the sites of Hollywood in a Limo!! Way to go in style! The tour included star's homes, sunset strip, Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. In the afternoon we took pictures of the Hollywood sign (the lookout was only a few minutes walk from our hostel).

DAY 3:

After experiencing a long ride on the American Public Transport system (an experience in itself) we arrived at Venice Beach. We strolled up and down the boardwalk and had a casual lunch at the sidewalk Cafe. We then checked out Muscle beach and then made the long journey back to our hostel. For tea we went to Disney's Soda Fountain where we had hotdogs and shared a bananna sunday (yummy!). We then walked back to our hostel down the Hollywood Walk of Fame!

DAY 4:

We got up and packed then checked out of the hostel as we had to met in Aneheim for our contiki tour. We wheeled our bags up the street to the greyhound bus terminal. While waiting for the bus we met another Aussie who was also going to be on our contiki tour. The bus from Anehiem to LA was very full and the bus driver almost didnt let us on. As there were not many seats on the bus we had to go sit down next to people we didnt know. Kylie sat next to a gentleman who she soon figured out had just been let out of prision. There was a group of three of them and they were discussing their plans for when they got home. They were all wearing matching clothing and were carrying their belongings in clear plastic bags. It was the longest 40 minutes of Kylie's life! We got to Aneheim and checked in to our hotel (what luxury, compared to our hostel!). We then went and check out the Disneyland Board walk. We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. It was an amazing set up. Katie ordered a entree nachos (as she wasnt very hungry) but it could of fed at least 4-5 people.

That evening we had a group meeting we our contiki tour group. Was a great to meet the people that we would be with for the next 10 days.