Hey everyone, sorry about the slight delay in writing my next part of the blog. The internet cafe accross the road in LA was rubbish!
I visited a place called Manhatten Beach today,about half an hour away from the hotel. It cost me $3 for a round trip...bargain! Such a beautiful place, like Venice Beach but so much nicer.
The views as we were being dropped off by the bus were amazing. Unspoilt sandy beaches with beautiful blue sea. It was really nice weather as well...although in the pictures it doesnt look good, it was really hazey.
So I walked down the path, got a nice elderly couple to take a few photos and wandered the beach. Doesnt sound amazing but when you're miles from the sea, and with the lovely wet and cold weather we usually have at home it is. Also being the other side of the world makes it more interesting.
The beach had loads and loads of beach volleyball courts, I think they have championships here and i read somewhere that this place is the home of beach volleyball. There were a few people playing so i stopped and watched for a bit.
There was a concrete pier jetting out a few hundred yards. Apparently the original pier was made out of a few railway track blocks and a sheet of wood, that got wrecked during a storm back in the early 1900s. The new pier was then made out of concrete not so long ago ( a couple of decades.). There were some awesome views off of the pier, i even got a glimpse of a pod of dolphins a few hundred yards out, i've never seen dolphins before! I managed to get some long distance pics of them. I also saw loads and loads of Pelicans! I was so used to sea guls back home. These are absolutley massive! Another cool sight.
At the end of the pier was a small aquarium and cafe, so I went in and had a look, nothing exciting but still pretty good for free. there were a couple of people who were fishing on the end of the pier, they must've caught about 5-6 mackeral in 10mins...i was very tempted to have a go and rent a rod.
Just up from the beach there was a row of shops so i had a stroll along, nothing interesting though.
The houses here are beautiful...i forgot to mention last time that no two houses are the same shape in LA, every one i saw had a different design. Some of the houses by Manhatten beach were absolutley beautiful. Expensive too i bet, with wonderful views.
I caught the bus back to the hotel and decided to stop off at this shopping village (cant remember the exact name though) a few miles from the beach. Bought a nice tshirt from a store called Macy's for less than $10...another bargain.
I'm staying at the holiday Inn for a further night as it provides me with more security and a comfy bed, as well as regular free shuttle runs to the LAX airport.
Tonight I'm chilling, getting ready for an early departure to San Fran tomorrow...although I was tempted to go to Madame Tussauds at Hollywood ($25 to enter and a $80 taxi fare there and back) or the Cirque De Soliel at Santa Monica ($60 enter and a $90 taxi fare) but the costs put me off...maybe another time.
Enjoy the photos :D