So here I am in LA; the final stop of my entire trip... It feels like four months have flown by. I fly out of LAX this evening and shall be arriving in Edinburgh tomorrow evening...!
It's been a whistle stop tour of LA; I've managed to pack a lot into my long weekend here. For the first few nights I was staying in a hostel on Hollywood Boulevard, right opposite the Kodak Theatre (which last night was renamed The Dolby Theatre and marked by a celebrity-filled red carpet event). The location of the hostel was incredible- the walk of fame is on its doorstep and on my second night a rooftop party was thrown where we got an incredible view of the red carpet and after party of the premiere for the film "Rock Of Ages".
A ridiculous amount of people who I met on Fiji are out here. I walked into my hostel when I arrived to see a big group I'd met island hopping and then for my last few nights I have been staying with a couple (also Fiji) who are staying in an apartment in Hollywood Hills. It appears the supermarket-like experience of bumping into people you know stretches beyond the Yasawa and Mamanuca islands! On top of all that I was also reunited with my Canadian exchange partner who I haven't seen since I was 14... So what I thought was going to be an independent five days of being a lonely tourist suddenly became very sociable!
LA itself is crazy- "la la land" sums it up quite nicely. The range of people is like nothing I've ever experienced before... From the actors who spend their days dressed up as characters posing for photos on Hollywood Boulevard to the nouveau-riche who trot around Beverly hills, chihuahuas cradled in the crook of their expensively decorated arms. Everyone drives eeeverywhere; when I ask for directions for walking or using, god forbid, public transport- my questions are returned with a shocked stare. Aside from the craziness; the people so friendly (if perhaps a tad superficial). Shopping is a thoroughly enjoyable experience; smiley shop assistants point out things they think you'll like and offer to start a changing room for you to save yourself carrying around the clothes whilst browsing.
Aside from a lot of shopping... My days were spent hiking up Runyon canyon, visiting the Warner Bros studios (interluded by Christian Bale wandering past a few times), soaking in the insanity of Venice beach boardwalk, window shopping at The Grove and taking trips to Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.
I can't quite believe that my travels are almost over but for now I'm going out to soak up the last of the Hollywood madness and Californian sunshine before my flight this evening.
JH-J