Had such a great time in LA. Kevin drove me to Hollywood from Long Beach which was so nice of him, on my way up I started to get a bit nervous but I was about to start hostelling for the first time ever and this waswhere my solo trip really began. After we said our goodbyes I checked in USA Hostels Hollywood and was actually pleasantly surprised. One of the staff members showed you around the building, there was a garden/patio area, upstairs bar, computer areas, massive kitchen and lounge. The dorm I stayed in had 8 beds and an en-suite bathroom, which I was pleasantly surprised with as I was expecting the worst. This was really modern like a normal bathroom. Thank god.

No-one interesting was in my room at the time so I dumped my bags and headed out to Hollywood Boulevard by myself to check it all out. Walking down the street you immediately seen the famous Hollywood stars on the pavement, the further along the street you were the 'less famous' the stars names were, but as you moved towards the central focus of the street, the Kodak and Chinese Theatres then you began to see more recognisable names. It was so funny as there were so many people dressed up as famous characters from movies, with the aim to star in as many photos as they could where they would ask people to tip and thats how they made their money I guess. I saw Transformers, Elvis, Prince, Pirates of the Carribean, Batman etc etc. Some imitations were pretty good but others were just amusing.

Once I'd seen all that I decided to hop on a local bus and check out the famous 'Farmers Market' about 20 minutes from Hollywood. The bus was totally fine and there was electronic voice and TV screen which told you were you were at each stop so it was easy. I walked around this market which had food from all over the world (not that I would have tried most of it) but it was nice to walk around and there were loads of food stalls and little boutique shops. I headed back to the hostel after a couple of hours and got ready for the Runyon Canyon walking tour. This hostel was great at organising group activities so it was a perfect way to meet people if you were by yourself, which 90% of people were. Which was also reassuring! So we began this hike up the Hollywood hills, it was pretty steep at times but you know me, I like the work out. At the first stop we could see all over LA which was pretty cool. Then we carried up and could see the Hollywood sign. You can't actually get that close to it at all as the surrounding land is all privately owned and those who try to trepass easily get caught and fined. Met some nice people and we went for dinner after.

A group of us arranged to go to Universal Studios the next morning which I was pleased about as I only had limited time there and didn't really fancy the idea of going to a theme park by myself. But in the end there was about 6 of us. Universal Studios was good fun, the studio tour was good, went through sets from War of Worlds and drove along Wisteria Lane!!!! (Desperate housewives for those who don't know...) The rides were more themed than full blown rollercoasters but it was great. The lockers at the park were fingerprint alarmed which we all found hilarious. I couldn't believe it. It was a great idea to save you having got hold a key but I had never seen that in a theme park before. Then I left the others at 2pm because Nicki had kindly arranged with Sergio at the LA Warner Bros office to put me on the WB VIP Studio Tour for free. It was amazing. It was 2 hours and you actually went and explored the working studios, our guide was great and there was only 6 of us on that particular buggy. You were able to get off and explore set, it was mainly TV focused actually so it was nice to see the layouts and stuff in comparison to the amazing film sets I've already been lucky enough to see.I went and sat on the sofa in Central Perk from the Friends Set which was pretty cool and saw a set where there is a live studio audience which was pretty interesting. After the tour I went into the WB offices to say hi to all the team I used to work with. It was great to meet some of them face to face who never came across to the London office and it was also great to see some familiar faces. Sergio lived in Hollywood so he dropped me back to my hostel after.

That night about 40 of us went on a stretch hummer 2 hour cruise of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Rodeo drive etc. There were 2 limos and it was free champagne. It was a great way to meet people and was so much fun. We stopped at a bar half way where some people were doing the rodeo bull thing, it was so funny!! Then we cruised around Rodeo Drive. We ended up at this random CD launch party for some artist I'd never heard of but we all had a laugh anyways. The next day a few of us went to Venice beach and walked up to Santa Monica and went along the pier etc. The weather was great and it was nice to relax on the beach for a few hours, go in the sea and watch some of the surfers.

One of my new-found friends Gemma and I headed back and then went for a walk and had dinner on Sunset Boulevard. We got on so well, it's funny how you can meet people for 24 hours and hang out but it's like you've know them for ages. Then I headed off for the airport for my night flight to Fiji. I absolutely loved California and really want to move there. I will definitely be going back there anyway.