Both of us were sad to say goodbye to the island and the tribe who had become our family for the previous month but a part of us was ready for the next adventure. During announcements before take off people were reminded not to sleep on the plane floor for their own safety which made us laugh. We flew over the international date line which meant we lived June 29th twice. It was one very long day of travelling!! The plane arrived in LAX which was huge, especially compared to the Fijian airport we left. We had to wait ages to be taxied into a spot. We then had more passport checks as soon as we stepped off the plane. Getting through customs was surprisingly easy, we just had to wait in huge queues. To get to our hostel would have been mega expensive in a taxi so we opted for public transport. We caught one bus followed by three metro trains full of really badly dressed people and a few gangsters with their bling. The metro travelled through dodgy places that people don't tend to imagine when they think of LA and Hollywood. We were really conscious to keep our heads down and not stare at those who wore ill-fitting graffiti covered clothes or those with socks with sandals. We got off the tube and began to walk. At first we were fine and dandy but then the heavy bags began to feel even heavier. Stupidly, the maps we were given didn't show every road, just the main junctions. We were actually miles away from where we wanted to be. Our feet and backs killed as we walked a good hour to our hostel. The first morning we got on a bus to Hollywood Boulevard. Although the people on the bus looked slightly normal, we were still provided with some public transport entertainment. The driver nearly ran a dog over and pulled over to check it out. Another passenger decided to turn up the volume and joined in the drama. For the remainder of his time on the bus he was impersonating the owner 'oh i don't care about my dog and I let it get ran over by a BUS! what a douche bag...the worst thing about being a douche bag is not knowing your a douche bag!' and 'note to self do not let dog get hit by bus'. It was all very American and very amusing! We arrived on Hollywood Boulevard and checked out the Chinese Theatre in front of which were signatures, hand and footprints of various stars. It was strange to see how small some of the actors hands were! We walked along looking at the stars on the sidewalk floor. We popped inside the Kodak theatre which holds the academy awards. The Nokia theatre complex was really nice and we had clear views of the Hollywood sign in the distance. We decided to go on a cheap tour and were driven around Beverly Hills and saw where all the rich and famous live. Sadly quite a few houses had big gates and hedges but the visible ones were amazing! We passed the playboy mansion which had loads of ground and we also saw houses belonging to the Hiltons, Johnny Depp, Madonna, Beckhams, Steve Martin, George Harrison, George Clooney, Dr Phil, Tom Cruise and the old Ozbournes house. Driving past we saw someone with a zimmer-frame and a massive peaked hat hiding their face - I was adamant that it was a celeb in disguise. Beverly Hills seems like a million miles away from downtown LA. We drove down Rodeo Drive where all the posh shops are before heading back into Hollywood. After lunch in Hooters,we did a spot of shopping to replace items that had got ruined in Fiji. Si almost loved shopping at much as me when he saw the prices - although his excitement was shattered when he realised tax wasn't on the price tag but added on at the counter. It was during this trip that I became aware of how much Simon stares at breasts - every five minutes he'd say 'fake' and then recieve a jab in the ribs from me! Back at the hostel we cleaned up and got changed for some pre-birthday drinks on Sunset Strip. We were peckish so asked a waiter for a menu. It never came. Simon went to get one himself and the waiter came back and apologised for being slow and forgetful. He then went on to tell us he was stoned and wrote his number on the back of someones order offering to get some for us. He then finished his ramble with the words 'Im not a creeper' - which probably means he is! After watching a lass with massive boobs attempt the buckin' bronco we realised it was midnight so had some birthday celebratory shots. We went to a few bars on the strip and found a swanky rooftop bar with a pool and a view of downtown LA. Our hangovers the following day were a clear sign of a good night out. Si slept til late morning whilst I briefly skyped Clare who had cake and candle for Simon. My sickness didn't come until we were just about to leave. What a pair! It was a long and cold ride on the air-con bus to Santa Monica. We walked along the mall, munched on a steak sarnie and watched some street performing break dancers who were working the crowd. The Santa Monica pier is the end of Route 66. Si loved our little stole up and down Venice beach, as the movie "White men can't jump" was filmed there. Me and Si sat on the bleachers for about half an hour watching the various people playing basket ball on the famous courts. From Start to finish Venice Beach is a mecca of the weird and very wacky of California. The best part about Venice beach is people watching. We followed a man with the worlds largest boom box for a while listening to his tunes as he entertained the masses. We were both shocked at how easily available and advertised Majuirana is in Venice beach. In Californian, it is legal to buy weed from doctors if you have a self proclaimed medical reason for doing so. It was funny to sit outside of the medical majuirana clinics and watch all the tourists go inside and purchase weed, as it just seemed very alien to both of us. Along the board walk are numerous hippies selling art work, which was cool to look at as some was actually quite good and not just junk.

The next morning we both caught the bus from West Hollywood where we were staying to Rodeo Dive in Beverly Hills, where Kim was able to fulfill her Pretty Woman dream of being able to walk about Rodeo Drive and pretend she could afford to shop there. Rodeo dive is the main shopping shopping street in Beverly Hills where all the world top designers have shops. Its majorly expensive - one place costs $1,500 just for an appointment regardless of any purchase. Kim and me both enjoyed walking around the street and doing some serious window shopping as to buy anything in any of the stores would have probably used up a months budget for us both. That evening we were both extremely tired and wanted to chill out a little, so we went to watch the new Twilight film at the pictures in the farmers market in West Hollywood. The Farmers Market proved to be an upmarket shopping area with a little park which we chilled out in before the film (and Kim took great pleasure in talking photographs off all the women who had had plastic surgery for our own entertainment).
The best part about going to the pictures to watch the new Twilight film was the reactions of all the people during the film. At the start of the film the audience started to clap and cheer which made me and Kim simply laugh!.. During the film whenever there was a love scene everyone went crazy and started clapping and shouting and at the end of the film the entire audience apart from me and Kim stood up and gave the film a round of applause. This was very hard to stomach for me as it just left weird and truly America and didn't agree with the British stiffer upper lip. Although we both enjoyed our time in LA, we were a little disappointed in the place. It was a complete mixture of the rich and famous, the tourists and then dodgy areas. Just two blocks either way from the Nokia theatre and main tourist strip in Hollywood was like the ghetto. It was dirty and our feet were black within minutes, infact our feet were cleaner in Fiji where we walked around barefoot!! We're glad we went and have seen the place but neither of us are racing back to return.