Off to Fiji! Today we fly to Fiji, which I'm really excited about. LA has been so much better than I expected, and has really changed my opinion of Americans, who I've found to be really friendly and accommodating. Having said that I'm ready to leave now, and I can't wait for some sun, and to get away from the constant thumping music coming from the bar underneath our hostel! We had dinner in Hermosa, and while we were eating the waitress came over and told us...

"The Sound of Music!" Yesterday we just had quite a relaxed day, and had a really nice tapas dinner in the evening. Today we were feeling more energetic, so we rented bikes and rode along the Strand to Redondo Pier. Our bikes were only 1-gear though, and they had no brakes, so we had to cycle backwards to stop which was really dangerous, especially as I haven't been on a bike in years! They also had baskets on the front which made us feel like the Von ...

"Hello Barbie, come in and buy!" On the way back from San Diego we decided to drive to the Mexican border with two northern guys we met - looking back I'm so glad we went with them as Mexico was so much scarier than I thought. We had to leave our car at the border and cross over by foot into Tijuana, with no-one even checking our passports (although we did ask to have a souvenir stamp!). Tijuana was basically a long strip of bars and shops, where you c...

Zoo Time! Today we drove to San Diego Zoo, and had such a good time! It was much better than London Zoo as you could get really close to the animals. I loved the elephants, who did loads of tricks, and the pandas, meerkats and orangutans! There was also a cheetah and golden retriever who lived together! We went for dinner at a place called 'Good Time Charlies' and made friends with Charlie, the owner, who insisted on taking us into the kitchen to have a photo!

Road Trip! We left Hermosa today and rented a car to drive to San Diego. Lisa drove, and got the hang very quickly of driving an automatic on the wrong side of the road! The new hostel is full of surfer dudes - we've already heard loads of 'awesomes' and 'sweets'! Our room is really nice, with a beach theme, and we're right next to the sea. At lunch we ordered cocktails, which ended up being huge, and the owner also gave us free shots, so we walked off the eff...