First days in LA

Yay we are finally here… It is Tuesday evening here, so have been here for almost two whole days. Both still suffering from a little jet lag but slowly coming right.


We departed Brisbane at 12:30 Monday the 19th. We were in the air for around 13 hours, and arrived at 7am Monday morning. Flight was OK. I managed to get a couple of hours sleep, but Rochelle couldn’t get any. We were both shattered when we got off the plane. As soon as we got out of the airport we were confronted with the full craziness of LA! Beggars that dress up in official looking uniforms with fake badges that try to help you then try to get money out of you. And right outside the door of the airport is 5 lanes of traffic – the drivers all mentally insane! We called the rental car company and arranged for them to pick us up. After almost 2 hours and 3 phone calls to them they finally picked us up (apparently they couldn’t find us...). So after all this as well as being extremely tired, we were a bit on edge and not sure if we were cut out for this city...We got to the rental car place to pick up the car. The guy said he would give us a free upgrade because of the long wait… keeping in mind this was pretty much the cheapest car possible from the cheapest rental car company. So he drives around a 2007 Ford Mustang convertible! I was blown away. It is a bit rough and has done a few miles, but is awesome for what we paid!


Next hurdle... driving. Its just the complete opposite of what I am used to, which is harder than it sounds. You have to concentrate the whole time and go against all your instincts. I am getting more used to it now I that have been out on the roads a few times.

We got to our motel and checked in. The place is basic but tidy, exactly what we are after. Unfortunately we got a road-side room which meant really bad traffic noise. We unpacked and had a shower, then went out for a couple of hours in search of food. Back at the motel we pretty much crashed – both asleep by 8pm.

This morning we went on a city tour. First stop was Hollywood Blvd. We got our first glimpse of the Hollywood sign, and saw all the stars on the footpath. We also saw the Chinese theater with all the hand and footprints.


Next we went to see all the celebrity houses. We now have a whole bunch of photos of front gates on our camera and can’t remember who lived there.. But a couple of good ones we saw were the Playboy mansion, ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ house, John Travoltas , Paris Hiltons, Leonardo DiCaprios, Madonnas, L Jo’s and The Osbornes houses’.

Fresh Prince House


We then took a drive down Sunset Strip and saw all the celebrity hangouts. The Viper Room – Johnny Depp’s club where River Phoenix died of a drug OD. Whiskey Go Go – birth place of the doors. And heaps more I can’t remember. Next was Rodeo Drive – the exclusive shopping area for the rich and famous. It also was where Pretty Woman was filmed – we saw the shop where Julia Roberts was kicked out of, and the hotel where it was filmed.


We then traveled down to Venice Beach. This place is mental. The people there are just plain crazy. There are small shops and stalls along the beach selling all sorts of crap. The beach is amazing and it is so huge. We saw the basketball court where American History X was filmed, and the High School where Greece was filmed.

Greece High school

Next stop was a close up of the Hollywood sign. Unfortunately our battery went flat but managed to get a few pictures.


So it has been an interesting 2 days. 1 thing we have found so far is that everyone is so in your face and pushy. Really not our style. You just have to get used to saying ‘no thanks’ and ignoring people. But we are getting over the initial shock and starting to enjoy ourselves a little more. The plan for tomorrow is Universal Studios – which should be awesome! Thursday we are going to take a trip down to Santa Monica Pier, which should be cool. Friday we are going to travel north up toward San Francisco. We don’t have an exact itinerary yet but plan to hit San Fran on Saturday. 1 thing I really want to do there is a trip out to Alcatraz. We also plan to get out to Yosemite National Park – I have heard it’s really amazing. From there, Las Vegas!

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