Monday
Pretty much had the best day on Venice Beach! Started with a waffle! Christian hasn't shut up about Hermosa Beach so we thought we would rent bikes and ride down to it! I was overexcited over my rented pink bike and pink basket. The smooth pavements make it a seriously easy ride along the beach but we got to Matina Del Ray and didnt want to go along the roads without helmets so turned back and rode to Santa Monica. Since I'm not the best cyclist I did pretty good but took me a little while to remember to slow down by back peddling!

We returned the bikes after a couple of hours ($22 together) and shared a Cobb salad at the Sidewalk Cafe (learning from previous experience) little bacon bits were dreams!

Tooooo the beach for a swim and bath absolute dreams. The water is the perfect temperature for the weather. The waves seem to pull you back in, just wish I had a boogie board!

Back to the hostel for a shower and a change and we were back out again this time Neil hiring a skateboard while I walked (lifelong fear of skateboards from Elenor Hayes) along the beach front to a bar that had a 4-7 happy hour. Couple of big 36oz margaritas and a free cheese and bean burrito and we were on our way back towards the hostel with a swing in our step!

Next stop a speakeasy that is apparently the oldest bar on the westside. Good music, classy surroundings and a comedy act bar tender makes it worth the stop!

We went back to the hostel for our free dinner of rice and veg and made an omelette with our own eggs to go with it. Our seasoning was skilfully done that made it über tasty, chilli, garlic, adobo and sal and peps yes please and thank you very much!

Back to the beach to watch the sun go down this time with a mat, red cups, iPod and rum and coke and another perfect end to the day!

Venice Beach has so many pros, vast clean beaches, palm trees, shops, eccentric souls, places to hire surfboards and bikes and lots of bars and restaurants. However the only cons I found were the people constantly asking for money for their CDs and and begging it for a burger and it was sad to see the amount of homeless people sleeping under palm trees but most people were really friendly and there to entertain.