Hello again!

After a wonderful night's sleep in our junior suite, in the comfiest beds ever, we emerged for a poolside breakfast consisting of all types of juice, muffins, cereal, scones and yoghurt! We then set off for our 'Grand Tour of LA' which has been long but fascinating.

We started off going to Santa Monica and the pier - which is in Forrest Gump for those of you who have seen the film. We then went on to Beverley Hills and Rodeo Drive - where we got off the bus for a while and looked around. We went in the Wilshire Grand Hotel which is where a lot of Pretty Woman was filmed, to use the 'restroom'. They had posh soap and hand lotion in there, which smelt like Lynne's perfume and reminded me of New Zealand! So Lynne, you are in keeping with the rich and famous in Hollywood. We then went up and down various incredibly posh roads, seeing where the celebrities live. This included the houses of the Hilton family, Nicholas Cage, Tom Cruise, the Beckhams and the place where OJ did or didn't commit murder! The areas where they all lived were called Brentwood and Bel Air. We actually saw the house that is in Fresh Prince of Bel Air and I am about 99% sure I saw Michael Caine in one house!

We then carried on to the Sunset Strip and down to near our hotel, past the walk of fame, Kodak Theatre and Chinese Theatre. We put our hands and feet in the imprints of many famous people outside the theatre - there's loads ranging from Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren to Will Smith and George Clooney. We found lots of people's stars on the walk of fame too - including Tom Hanks (seems to be a recurring theme!) and Aretha Franklin. From there we headed to Universal Studios where we had lunch and a little look around. There was a big cafe and shop there called 'Bubba Gump' and it was completely centred around Forrest Gump and the shrimp company he sets up in the film - it was so cool! We also went across Mulholland Drive which is where you get the best view of the Hollywood sign and the flying saucer house which Drew Barrymore jumps out of in Charlie's Angels! We then went back to Hollywood to get out and have a look around, before heading to Downtown LA.

We had a lot of fun on the tour and saw everything that LA is famous for! We were certainly glad that we didn't have to catch buses or drive, even worse, around the city to do it ourselves. We saw all sides of the city, from the huge houses and designer shops in Beverley Hills, to the homeless people rooting through the rubbish bins in Hollywood. Not all of LA is as glamorous as it looks on the TV. We went out for an Italian meal in Hollywood, just next to the Kodak Theatre where the Oscars is held. It was really nice and I even saw someone I know from home - which was very very odd! Back on Sunset Boulevard, we saw more characters including Marilyn Monroe, Barney the Dinosaur, Jimmy Neutron, Charlie Chaplin, Dorothy and the Tin Man amongst many others! We learned that they aren't hired by anyone, but try to get money by charging people around $1 to have a photo taken with them.

Tomorrow is our last day in LA and we fly back to London in the evening. We have had a lot of fun here and it was a good ending to our trip - but it was not really like we expected at all!

Probably speak again when we get home,

Naomi (and Stuart) x

P.S. Forgot to mention in our Fiji blog, that Bounty Island (where we stayed) was actually the island on which they filmed 'Celebrity Love Island' - how cool is that?!