Los Angeles, the home stretch! After extending the stay an extra night in San Diego we eventually arrived in the city of celebrities on Saturday evening to spend the final 4 days of our trip. As our initials plans had been altered a tad to allow for Halloween in San Diego and our initial accommodation being cancelled as a consequence, we soon found ourselves in the dilemma of being in one of the biggest, most populated cities in the world with nowhere to stay. Although we could've snuggled up to a few homeless people sleeping on the likes of Marilyn Monroe's star on the Hollywood walk of fame, we finally found shelter in the form of a hotel room for one night where we had to sleep 3 to a double bed (very cozy) and the rest of the time at most definitely the seediest hostel of the trip. However, whilst the beds may have had bugs and the decor a bit daggy, the location could not be questioned as it was located in the heart of Hollywood and we could literally watch red-carpet movie premieres at the el Capitan theatre from our bedroom window ... besides, with only 4 days in this busy city, we were hardly there to be lounging around in the rooms, as our itineraries were packed full each day and night.

Our first two nights in Los Angeles had been researched well in advance and sourced tickets to see live acts on each night. The Saturday night saw us heading to the Greek Theatre to watch Irish indie rock band, Two Door Cinema Club. Just as we would have done when we were 16 year olds in Boronia Park, the 5 of us hid in the bushes out the front of the venue with a Four Loco each as pre-drinks, whilst hearing lead up artists Capital Cities belt out their new tune 'Safe & Sound'. Getting us in high spirits, with the energy-fuelled beverage also playing a part, we headed in to what was an unreal, open-aired theatre surrounded by tall-standing trees to watch an awesome live performance with many of our favourite songs being played in tune with a solid light show. From there we made an attempt to kick on, but without the advice of a contiki group, locals of the area or helpful hostel staff, we were kind of lost in a big city and ended up playing beer pong in an Irish pub before setting out to find a warehouse rave to no avail, and was there we realised we should cut our losses. The second night was a lot tamer on the partying front but far from it in the entertainment stakes, with an LA Lakers NBA game against Atlanta Hawks at the Staples Centre. For a sport I hate so much to play, I'm extremely surprised as to how much I love to watch it live. A modern stadium with amazing viewing for all spectators in the stadium to witness a great game, and the players produced just that! The game went down to the wire at 103-all with 30 seconds to go, before the Lakers nailed two free throws in the dying seconds to take the game away on the bell; 105-103.

Tuesday saw Jack head down to visit Sarah's sister and family in Long Beach, with Louis and Joe hopping aboard a train to pay a visit to the Cal State College Fullerton, where they once studied during an exchange semester 4 years prior. Righton & I decided we'd use the sunny day to venture west to the coastline to visit the Santa Monica pier. Although we were the oldest people using the rides at the piers mini amusement park by upwards of a decade, we rode the roller coaster and had the time of our lives, before having lunch on the pier and setting south bound along the scenic boardwalk. Aligned with palm trees and a long stretch of isolated sand either side, I was surprised as to how nice the area was compared to my initial expectations of LA. Stopping for a few quick push-ups at the 'muscle beach' facilities on the way, we eventually arrived at Venice Beach ... and boy could you smell it in the air. This place was 'Amsterdam by the beach', with many cheap clothing stores and a few rather unusual characters hanging out which made for entertaining people watching. Homeless people in speedos guiding people on skateboards, a man pushing a dog in a pram, whilst another was seen air-guitaring violently in the middle of the walkway to no music whatsoever ... just to paint a picture of how weird and wacky of a place it was. Heading home via the beautiful Santa Monica sunset, and unlucky in our quest to find a pub to view the Melbourne Cup, we arrived back at Hollywood Boulevard to unintentionally arrive at the premiere of Thor, timing it immaculately as the Hemsworth brothers limousine pulled up within metres of us. Although it was cool to see an Aussie actor in LA, it didn't phase me too much but I'm sure it made many other Australian girls envious. Too exhausted to head out after a long day, Joe, Alex and I kicked back to 'Bad Grandpa' for a very humorous movie to end the day.

Our final full day in Hollywood was a toss up between which theme park to visit as our final item on the LA bucket list. With Universal Studios getting the nod over 6 Flags Magic Mountain, we headed up over the Hollywood sign to the movie park. Being a week day, the crowds were down and we had a pass to basically roam the park at will with no waiting times. In order to get a quick run down of the park, we hopped aboard a studio tour to see where and how movies are shot, including a brief scare from Bruce, the shark from Jaws. After that we spent the day riding the simulated roller coaster rides of Jurrasic Park, the newly-opened Transformers, the Simpsons, Shrek 4D, the horrifying House of Horror and my favourite, the Mummy. Afterwards we met Louis & Jack who were returning from their love interests and their families to indulge in our final meal together ... and what a coincidence it was Taco Tuesday. Eating Mexican and drinking beers to reflect on our favourite parts of the trip and the funniest stories throughout a whirlwind four months, I think we all started to get a bit emotional as the reality that it was all over had suddenly hit us. Nonetheless, with the majority of our intended cities of the trip being visited, all of our bank accounts running on empty (if not already exhausted), and each of our bodies heading in the direction of a future 'Biggest Loser' contestant as a result of the beer & American fast food diet, I think it is time we head home. It's been a blast; travelling 2 continents, 13 countries, 31 cities and islands, 20 flights and 2 contiki tours over the past 4 months with a few of my best mates. Whilst our bodies and bank accounts will be paying for it in the short term, the stories and memories that came from it are priceless and will last a lifetime, so a massive thank you to all that contributed to it. As for now, it's back home to Sydney ... just in time for the summer holidays.