Day Twenty
Well, despite warnings that public transport was “iffy” we
took the subway into town, changing lines twice and finding nothing unusual:
just one man telling me his father was getting an Emmy that night (too modest
to name his Dad) and a musician being pestered by fans for selfies. Despite his
distinctive haircut and clothes, I haven’t been able to identify him so sitting
next to a star has been wasted on me.
Back in the UK, when we planned our walking tour of LA, it
was a pleasant temperature in the high 60s, maybe breaking into 70s. When factoring in another thirty degrees, the
plans became too ambitious. After the
first 90 minutes outside I needed a long shade break – we took a rest in the
underground and headed off to Hollywood hoping it would be cooler than the
civic centre of LA.
It was cooler there as the buildings offered some shade
but we still did not do everything we planned and in the end had to sacrifice
the tour of China Town. We saw the key
sights and enjoyed some of the quieter side streets away from tour guides and
ticket sellers pouncing at every step.
We made our way back to the hotel, stopping to photograph
aircraft coming in to land and then checked in for our flight the next
day. Whilst at the hotel’s flight desk we
had a few comp drinks which we now think were for conference delegates in a
nearby room.
Day Twenty One
Thank you to our lovely friend Carol who picked us up and
drove us out to Manhattan Beach for breakfast. The
well-heeled town had a much more authentic feel than Santa Monica which had
been brimming with tourists.
After
breakfast, on the patio of a trendy restaurant, which had long queues for tables and
waiting times of at least half an hour, we had a walk on the pier and a peep
into the real estate agent’s window. I don’t have a spare $6m but if I did, I
could probably buy a one bed apartment there. Carole dropped us off with a
couple of hours to spare before our check in time – enough to squeeze in a last
ice cream sundae and root beer. It was almost time to say goodbye to the sunshine.
Virgin was very accommodating on the flight home and despite
pre-ordering a veggie meal, there were none on board at breakfast time. I ended up having a hot meal from first class
(should have been a cheese croissant), loads of posh cookies (also from first
class) and two fruit bowls which I shared with fellow passengers. I felt more than compensated for the
oversight.
Weather at Heathrow was not as cold as expected and after
stopping for a sleep at the services – we were both really fatigued and it
would have been dangerous to carry on driving – I arrived home to a lovely
clean and tidy house and a small premium bond prize, so all was good!
Before signing off, I leave you with my top tips for America
– if you don’t drink coffee, take a travel kettle. Some hotels do offer tea bags but the hot
water is tainted with the taste/smell of coffee making it unusable. Send any paperwork to your kindle/tablet – saves
carrying paper copies around and I found it easier to read on the move.
Till the next time, Ms Dozy is signing off. Family and friends can look forward to a VERY
BRIEF slide show and Americana Night once we have chosen highlight photos and
video. You can check out the selection of photos Neill has linked on FLICKR, just as soon as he gets through sorting and uploading.
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