After the best nights sleep ever, each in our double beds, we checked out, put our bags in the store room and walked out into the gorgeously warm californian sun.

So where should we go? LA is known for hollywood, celebrities and the beach but we only had one day and didnt really want to spend much money. So enjoying this new change in climate we got a lift and short tour of the surrounding area with Micheal to the closest beach - Imperial. It was an endless expanse of sand and sea bordered by palm trees and sky scrapers! It was beautiful!

Our first mission however was to find a pay phone to book a taxi to make sure that we could get back to the hotel in time for the shuttle to the airport. But this hunt wasnt as easy as we'd expected. Luckily the life guards in LA are incredibly friendly and helpful and when we asked about the nearest pay phone the response was: "If you keep a look out for drowning people for me I'll grab you my cell!"

Whilst Phoebe tried to explain to the taxi company that we weren't 104 miles from the airport in Imperial City but 104 meters away on Imperial Beach I enviously discussed the lifestyle of an californian life guard. Phoebe finally got some sense out of the taxi service and we thanked him and left to spend the day sunbathing and strolling in the unfamiliar heat. It was hard to believe that only the day before we had been freezing! The happiness that heat gives brings strange desires with it such as my decision to for a nice run along the beach - Phoebe just watched me with a rather bemused expression on her face. obviously my enthusiam to do such unecessary exercise is out of character but I enjoyed it!

Unwillingly we left the beach and headed to the airport where we sped through security (obviously the Americans don't care who they're letting out) to wait for 3 hours in a really boring departures area. We ended up just buying a bottle of water from the only shop and catching up with our journals.

The flight was really long. As are Phoebes legs. The space between chairs in cattle class is not. Enough said.(the films were good though)

We touched down in Auckland airport at 7.00am on Wednesday having left on Monday...this time difference thing and skipping days is all too confusing for me!

Anyway after 2 hours of New Zealand customs and a close call incident which almost resulted in Phoebe having to completely unpack her bag as she tried to smuggle eggs in the country which turned out to be caduburys cream eggs we stepped out into the sun of Auckland to meet Chris and Christine who we would stay with.