I arrived in LA late Saturday night with little sleep the night before and feeling, for the first time, quite alone. I didn't quite anticipate this feeling. I knew i would at some stage get lonely, but after spending so much time around someone familiar that i feel so naturally comfortable around, it was a very weird feeling suddenly realising i was now alone on this trip. My time feeling safe, in my element, in control and familiar with my surroundings was over. I now had to fend for myself. However in a hostel full of travellers this isn't too much of a task unless you have the social skills of a plank of wood.
My time in LA is being spent in Santa Monica, just one block off the beach. It is amazing. I awoke early on Sunday still feeling tired but unable to sleep. I decided i needed to explore to help clear my head, and what better way than to hit the beach. Walked down to the Famous Santa Monica Pier, the one with the amusement park on it. As it was early Sunday morning and most people were sleeping so it was nice to see it relatively quiet.
Then with the instruction of a helpful tourist guide i made the 2km walk across Santa Monica to Venice Beach. The pathway between the two is unreal. Tons of people working out, jogging, rollerblading, skating and riding their bikes. Walked past 'Muscle Beach' which is a little work our station along the way. Set up with all kinds of equipment like chin up bars, climbing ropes, monkey bars etc. Continued into Venice Beach and along the famous Venice Beach Boardwalk which is about a 1km strip of shops/bars/eateries on one side and buskers/street sellers/beggars on the other. Heaps of bums here. Really cool strip though. Can get most things you need, and some things you don't.
Spent a lot of the morning here exploring and then settled into a bar to watch Canada take on the States in the Olympic gold medal hockey match. Ended up chatting and drinking with this guy sitting next to me most of the afternoon. Turned out he was some Guatemalan boxing sensation that trained with Manny Pac and such. Took his word for it cause it looked like a little Latino cage fighter, but the guy couldn't have been nicer. We were each others wingmen as we left no rock unturned on our search for some ladies, he supplied the cash for drinks...even better bloke.
Got back to the hostel feeling a little proppy and started talking to everyone there. Turned out a whole bunch of people were headed out for a few drinks so i ended up tagging along. Met a pretty cool Aussie bird from the Gold Coast and we arranged to go check out a few places in LA the next day. On Monday a couple of us met in the lobby and then went off to explore LA. We went to a Farmer's Market in Beverly Hills which was choc-a-bloc full of delicious foods to try. We all stuffed our faces and then set off to see the fancy designer shops of The Grove. The Grove is a pretty tofo shopping strip that looks like something out of a Hollywood movie set. Full of beautiful people, expensive clothes and things that i would never be able to afford on a backpackers budget. Apparently it's a famous hotspot for celebrities and it didn't disappoint. You'll never guess who i bumped into while browsing the unattainable items in the fancy window fronts...2 time premiership captain, Brownlow Medalist James Hird! Had a little conversation with him on the street and then he was on his way looking a little bemused at my over-enthusiasm.
With celebrity hunting becoming the theme of the day we decided to go check out the famous Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards. We boarded an extremely crowded bus and made our way to Hollywood! Now i don't exactly know what i was expecting when i got to Hollywood, but this definitely wasn't it. Perhaps i was living in some delusion that Nicholas Cage would just be sitting out in a cafe discussing the possibility of Face Off 2 with John Travolta, or that Megan Fox would be window shopping and ask me for my opinion of this new lacey outfit she was considering. Nevertheless it was a pretty cool experience to see all the trademark tourist attractions. Saw the Hollywood sign, the Star studded footpaths, Kodak Theatre where the Oscars are being held this weekend, Wax Museum, impersonators on the street and even got a D grade celebrity red carpet at the famous Chinese Theatre venue. In all honesty it's just like a normal city strip, but it is Hollywood so it seems to pull it off with an incomparable dash of class.
Got home that night pretty late and buggered from walking around all day. Got back to the hostel and discovered I'd had an upgrade in roommates from the crazy-talk-in-your-sleep-and-do-ninja-moves-in-the-morning Japanese guy, to a cool Swedish guy who i'd spend the next couple of days hanging out with and getting drunk.
The next few days in LA were spent cruising the streets of Santa Monica and Venice drinking, meeting new people and having a good time. Jasper and I rented longboard skateboards and cruised up and down the boardwalk (seems to be the thing to do) and then i rented a surfboard and got out for the first time since leaving Australia for a quick paddle at Venice Beach. Was awesome to get out int the water again. Although the conditions weren't fantastic, it was a nice little prep for things to come when i get down to Costa Rica.
Had a few pretty funny nights out. Second last night checked out Venice and ran into some fellow travellers. Hit up a bar in Venice and the rest is history. Was supposed to go on a tour of Malibu on Wednesday but just wasn't feeling up to it, little bit disappointed in myself there. Instead Jasper and I just fed our faces with greasey food for the day and then chilled out. The hostel was organising a pub crawl for that night so we got prepped for that. Ended up heading out with a fairly decent sized crew and bar hopped around Santa Monica with Germans, Swiss, French, French-Canadian, English, Norwegian and Swedish lads and ladies. Hit up a karaoke bar and i smashed out a few tunes (Angles by Robbie Williams and Mustang Sally to reminisce for Macca's old man during the Anglesea times) before calling it a night at close.
Now i write to you all from LA airport getting ready to board to Denver, before making a connection to Costa Rica. No idea how my internet access is gonna be, but should be able to work something out. Take care and enjoy!
* And just as a side note, i still write to you from Denver Airport airport after getting stuck here overnight! F@#K! Missed my flight to Costa Rica because i didn't have the sufficient departure documents, so i spent the night asleep in a corridor hugging my bag. Felt like Tom Hanks from The Terminal. Hopefully everything gets cleared up today and i'm good to go :)
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