We slept in until about 11am today, and after getting ready (and getting water!) we headed out.
We stopped by a coffee shop and got a (huge) medium sized coffee then jumped on the bus.
We got off at True Tone Music and went in to get the mandolin restrung. Chris was working and very happy to see us, so we hung out there a while as they sorted out the mandolin, and hooked us up with spare strings as well.
Some of the other guys from the band were there too, so after hanging out for a while and playing some other instruments we headed off and walked back down to the bus stop and went back to Venice to drop off the mandolin at the hostel, then turned around again and got back on the bus.
We got off in Santa Monica again and waited for the next bus. We dropped into a convenience store for a snack and missed a bus, then went and got a drink and missed another one!
Starting to get annoyed at ourselves we waited for the next one and jumped on.
It was a long annoying process and it seemed like we weren't supposed to get to Hollywood today!
We rode the bus for about 45mins and got off at Highland Avenue. We walked up the street to the famous Hollywood and Highland complex where the Walk of Fame is, but by this time we were both quite hungry, so we skimmed past the names looking for somewhere to eat.
Honestly the area was nothing like I expected. It almost felt a little dirty, like most of the streets around, and a bit washed up and tired. I was maybe expecting a bit more glitz and glamour or something!
We stopped at a small Italian restaurant and got a small pizza each. Not sure if it was breakfast, lunch or an early dinner, but afterwards we crossed the road and got a few touristy photos with the plaque for the Walk of Fame then headed down to Sunset Boulevard and down to the Guitar Centre.
Out the front of the centre was their own "walk of fame" called the Rock Walk, where they had lots of handprints from famous rockers and bands.
We went in and had a play with some guitars, and a baritone ukelele which was okay. We left after a bit and went across the street to another music store and had a play of a few things there, and got a little bit pressured to buy something from the sales girl there!
We were able to leave empty handed though and crossed the road for a quick coffee and juice at a restaurant across the street.
Afterwards we headed back up to Hollywood Boulevard towards the Walk of Fame and towards the Hollywood and Highland complex again.
We went inside and finally found where Hollywood felt 'real'.
It had vibe, and it had feeling.
There were big statues overlooking the courtyard where the fountains were playing with a light show, and people were there soaking in the atmosphere.
We went up to an observation deck, where there was a view of the Hollywood Hills and a tiny little sign in the distance that said Hollywood!
It was too dark to really make it out and definitely too dark for the camera to see it, but we saw it. :P
We stopped at a small souvenir shop where we got a sticker of the Californian flag, which looks pretty cool, then we went to grab a drink at a place called Cabo Wabo where a guy was playing an acoustic set.
We were able to just relax and enjoy ourselves here, and our waitress was very friendly.
The actual pub was owned by Sammy Hagar (from Van Halen) and there were photos and paintings and things of him everywhere. One guy thought that Darren looked like him and wanted to get a photo with him and a cardboard cut out of Sammy, but we didn't realise why he was asking until he left, then Darren felt bad for not getting a photo with him!
We were deciding between getting one more drink or heading off to walk down the Sunset Strip, and thought we'd just order one more drink before we left. But then our waitress Mayra brought us a couple of free cocktails with our last beer so we stayed a little longer!
As we were drinking those, there was a band starting to set up with a saxophone case, so we figured we'd stay and check out a song before we left.
They started playing, it was just a drummer with two saxophonists, and they were playing awesome versions of cover songs.
They had a great sound and had a lot of fun together, and were very interactive with the audience too.
So we stayed for another drink... And another.
One of the sax players played like a lead guitar, and the other guy was like a bass.
He had this effect on the sax that was just insane. It was so deep and so powerful, it was amazing!
They had a break from their set and came over for a chat with us.
We talked to the 'bass' guy, Julian, about maybe doing some recording on one of Darren's tracks, and we chatted with the other two guys, Craig the drummer, and Marquise the lead sax player as well.
Darren was talking to the sound engineer and having some tequila shots, and I was talking with Julian.
When they were about to start playing again we realized that the sound guy had started packing up the mics, so we had to convince him that there was still another set to come! So he reset the mics and the guys got back up to play.
They had a few guest singers from the audience and I think people started thinking it was karaoke or something because someone came up asking if they could have a go!
I took some pictures of the band and in the last couple of songs Darren jumped on stage and played tambourine with them, which was pretty cool.
After they finished we hung out with the band again and had a good laugh. They taught us about curse words like 'dang', which was a hilarious conversation, and we had some more tequila.
There was some confusion with our credit card when the bar guy brought us the wrong card back and when I asked Darren for his to show him what it looked like he couldn't find his either...
The bar guy eventually found mine, and Darren found his in his pocket... so all was good, but it was a little bit scary!
We chatted with the guys a while longer, then they had to head off so we went on our way as well.
We walked down the Walk of Fame again, getting a couple of pics of good ones, and headed back down the street.
We stopped in at an In'N'Out Burger, which Darren had been told was awesome by one of his friends. It was basically your regular late night burger place, where we got some fries and a burger each, and had a chat with one of the workers there who was from San Diego. He gave us some tips on places to eat when we got there too. After a while we headed off (I don't think his boss was happy with him talking to us for so long!) and walked down the street to get a cab. We ended up asking a guy in a hotel to call one for us, tipped him and went back outside where we only had to wait a minute or two for a cab.
He drove us back to Venice, and I was falling asleep in the back, but Darren woke me up and we paid him and headed upstairs.
So much for an early night, it was about 4am again!