Los Angeles is the largest urban sprawl on the planet. So much so that each of its 90-odd districts considers itself a seperate city in its own right. And Venice Beach must be the funkiest of the lot.

We arrived in California the same day we left Auckland after a 12 hour flight which crossed the International Date Line. Suddenly we were putting our summer clothes back on and feeling the sand between our toes with the sun shining on our faces.

Venice Beach is where artists, singers and street performers congregate to offer their wares to passers-by. And sports nuts run, cycle and skate down the boardwalk with no inhibitions about showing off their bodies. We had great fun just walking along, soaking up the sun and people watching.

And our first few days in the US were brightened with a familiar face - Matt's old school chum Mark flew out from his home in Chicago to meet us for a dose of LA life.

The only way to get around such a big city is to drive so we didn't hesitate in hiring a car (a convertible Chrysler Seybring) to see the sights. We made our way past the mansions of Beverly Hills up into the Hollywood Hills. After reaching Mulholland Drive it was then back down into Hollywood itself.

Now after first visiting five years ago I was considerably unimpressed with Hollywood. I remembered it as dirty, tacky and full of rubbish souvenir shops. Well, in the last five years they've done a great clean-up job. The souvenir shops are still there but the stars embedded in the Walk of Fame are gleaming, the celebrity handprints outside the Chinese Theatre are impressive and scores of movie characters line the streets to mingle with tourists. It was fun and I was beginning to like this town more and more.

Back in Venice Beach we walked up to neighbouring Santa Monica for food and drink along its Main Street. The area is full of unique boutiques, resturants, cafes and bars and it wasn't hard to find a great venue. In fact we ended the night drinking $5 mojitos which went down all too easily!

Alas, before long Mark was boarding his plane back to the windy city and Matt and I started our US road trip to Las Vegas. Matt was keen to see the bright lights once again after first trying his luck there six years ago.

You only actually have to drive along two roads to get from Santa Monica to Vegas - highways 10 and 15. But they are very, very long. It took about seven hours door to door so by the time we pulled into the car park of the MGM Grand we were shattered. But the Strip by night was calling so soon after we checked in we started walking up the boulevard. It felt very strange to be there, as it all seemed so familiar - the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffle Tower, the Luxor pyramid. The dazzling bright lights and music certainly takes your breath away.

We spent a couple of nights at the MGM Grand hotel (with a beautiful 1930s style room and marble bathroom) but we are backpackers after all so soon moved to a more modest hostel in Downtown. This is where Vegas originally thrived and all the old gangster style casinos are still going strong, The Four Queens, Binion's and The Golden Nugget for starters. We hopped in and out, soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying a lazer show on a huge overhead TV screen.

Two-thirds of visitors now come to Vegas for shopping instead of gambling and it is easy to see why. As we walked through the vast hotel complexes we were surrounded by designer shops. Here you can ride in a Venetian gondola before popping into Dior, or admire a Roman statue before going into Prada. Just what Europe is like of course!

Our one main expense during our Vegas stop-over was tickets for the Cirque du Soleil show Love. It was absolutely fantastic, a magical mystery tour based on The Beatles music with amazing trapeze acts, acrobatics and dance routines. It was a fantastic visual spectacular and I loved every minute of it.

But back to reality, we hired another car and drove back to LA to enjoy the sights once more. It's been great and I can't believe I've been walking along a beautiful beach in the bright sunshine in November.

Our journey will be coming to an end all too soon but there is one more destination and major event we have to do. The reason we decided to embark on this trip in the first place..... Roll on Costa Rica!

Lots of love,

Nikki

xxx