So if I had to sum Hollywood up in one word it would be... MENTAL! We decided to check it out on day two of our trip. The first thing you notice is all the people dressed up as characters from cartoons, movies and TV. I got accosted by Popeye five steps out of the car park who insisted on photos with me and Dan and then informed us he "worked for tips" - should have seen that coming really but I was dazzled by the light after leaving the dark car park and was trying to get my camera out so I never stood a chance...

I managed to get quite a few snaps of names I recognised on the Walk of Fame in between being hassled to take a tour. One guy got mad at me because I didn't want to take his tour but I did want a photo of David Bowies star... I'm not sure if being rude and aggresive works on most tourists but it just annoyed me to be honest.

The atmosphere in Hollywood is pretty intense. Everyone is trying to sell you something and you aren't left in peace for one second. One guy even offered to help Dan find some e-hash because he noticed him smoking his e-cig. They will literally sell you anything along this strip.

We grabbed a quick coffee at Starbucks and a few snaps of the Hollywood sign then decided to hot foot it out of there. It wasn't all bad though, I did managed to bag myself a bubble tea and I saw Darth Vader confront some over zealous Christians who were picketing the street (incidentally, that's a sentence I never thought I'd write).

To recover from our stressful morning, we decided to head back to Santa Monica and check out the pier this time. The rest of our day was epic. We played the arcades, grabbed a burger at Pier One (recommended if you find yourself at Santa Monica Pier), and saw a seal playing in the ocean just off the end of the pier.

In the evening we headed back down to the beach and watched the sunset behind the pier - stunning. Our day was finished off with a movie on the pier. Eat, See, Hear (http://eatseehear.com) were showing Gravity for free, so we sat and watched that while munching delicious food from Luckdish (http://www.luckdish.com). I had a chicken curry with rice and Dan had a chicken curry quesadilla. Both are highly recommended if you get the chance.

By the end of the evening the craziness of Hollywood seemed like a life time away. Absolutely brilliant day.

PHRASES COINED TODAY: "I work for tips": use whenever someone asks you to do something. Exchange 'work' for any other action. Completely interchangeable with "$5".