Another day spent in Los Angeles yielded not one ray of sunshine but I somehow think that does not entitle me to any sympathy from anybody. The temperature was fine though and enabled me to sit atop a hop on hop off bus and take in the scenes Southern California has to offer. Starting at the ever popular Chinese Theatre on Hollywood boulevard, down to the famous Santa Monica pier and across to the Farmers Market it was a full day of sight seeing, some for the second time.

The Farmers Market has a fantastic blend of cultural food stalls and fresh produce and stopping there at lunch time for me was mission detox, and a must for any tourist. The place has an open bar in the middle of all of the food stalls and we're told this is the place to go also to catch a glimpse of celebrities. I either saw Quinten Tarantino getting himself an industrial sized bag of oranges at a fresh fruit stand or somebody that looked exactly like him but that was it. I was there for the food anyway and was not disappointed with a bout of chilli chicken and fresh vegetables. I was tempted but managed to resist a home made fudge stand. Yay for healthy.

I did see one celebrity today though. Even if not for his movie career or honest sporting career spotting Lance Armstrong riding his bike across Hollywood boulevard was a bit of a surprise. Of all the people to see it happened to be one of the most recognisable and disgraced athletes our planet has ever known. He did turn when somebody called his name just before zooming past me standing at a street corner.

Not surprisingly Hollywood is by far and away the seediest of tourist destinations in this area. Compared to areas like residential Beverley Hills and Brentwood Hollywood is pretty average. The walk and the views of the famous sign on the hill are a must but a tip I now have is to not return the warm smile given to you by people roaming the boulevard with cd's in their hand, unless you want to spare some change. Granted the two cd's I now own that the I had no intention of buying could be good but according to a tour bus operator I have now run the risk of putting the cd in a player and hearing the sounds of sweet nothing for my cash. From then on I was sure to not give Freddie Kruger, Jack Sparrow, any other character mock up or any other apparent emerging hip hop or rock artist my time. Like being in a pour part of town just make no eye contact and always look in rush to get somewhere, even if your not.

A day like this, according to some locals, was not very inspiring weather wise yet the Santa Monica pier and the surrounding beach area was as vibrant as any hot summer day in Sorrento. With people everywhere at the carnival and playing games on the beach it only made me think of just how busy this place would be during their summer. It also gave me an idea for that last day of this trip in the middle of January. Lush green grass among the palm trees skirted the beautiful sands. It was picturesque to say the least.

The afternoon ended a little dramatically when I realised I only had forty five minutes to make it back to downtown from Hollywood to get my Amtrak train but to the rescue came this crazy Spanish cab driver who honked and swore his way through freeway traffic to get me there with time to spare. With no functioning seatbelts I had to find something to grip on to with his lightning quick lane changes but to the victor go the spoils. He earnt his twenty dollar tip from me that's for sure. I am getting better at tipping now. It only took me two weeks last trip but this time I have it down to a fine art.

All in all I think my Los Angeles experience this time around was a lot more fulfilled and I think I have a much better idea how this place operates. With as many picture taking attractions and ridiculously rich areas as there are homeless people begging for change out the front of liquor and adult stores a trip to LA will have you cover just about everything.

And just incase you were wondering, no, not one riot or protest to speak of.

Now, onward east.