Tuesday 16 June

This was my first day in Los Angeles itself and the plan was to visit a couple of the beaches which was fortuitous as it turned out to be a nice day.

Santa Monica

I started off by heading towards Venice along the 'coast' road and exploring a couple of communities along the way although none where that exciting. When I reached Venice I had some parking problems so headed on to Santa Monica. Here I sun-bathed (and got sun-burnt), walked along the pier and looked on with amazement at the 'muscle beach' area. Santa Monica reminded me both of a British sea side resort, what with the pier and stuff and a European resort with all the hotels etc.

Venice

Late that afternoon I went to Venice again and this time I did find somewhere to park. The bit of the front I saw was somewhat similar to Santa Monica except for the shops which had a more 'market' feel to them. The main reason I stopped in Venice however was to seee the canals - left over from a much larger system. These were a little bizarre but also good fun to wander around.

Wednesday 17 June

On this day I mainly planned to explore some of the inland areas of Los Angeles. I started by driving aroun Beverley Hills which was quite disappointing as I never found any huge mansions and those I did find you could barely see.

Hollywood

Hollywood was my next stop. It was incredibly touristy and I only spent about an hour here - just enough time to see the 'stars', the famous theatre and snap a picture of the sign. I then went to a nearby park which overlooked the city and took a few photos.

El Pueblo de Los Angeles

As it was still quite early in the day I decided to visit this historical area which was the original city centre of Los Angeles although little of this remains. Apart from some reaosnably old buildings the main thing here was a little street market. Across the road was the rather magnificant Union Station - inside you could certainly get a feel for the 'golden' era of the railways.

Point Fermin

As I got back to the Youth Hostel relatively early I headed down the road towards its end. At its end I found a small park and a lighthouse. The lighouse wasn't open for tours when I was there but I still spent a nice fifteen minutes or so wandering around the park.

Thursdau 18 June

My last day in the US so obviously getting to the airport and flying was going to take up a large chunk of the day. First however I visted Long Beach.

Long Beach

Long Beach is where the Queen Mary is moored and used as a hotel. Also here is another Russian sub of the same class as the one in San Diego. I was debating a tour but both that and the cost of parking was rather expensive so I just took a couple of photos and moved on. Driving along the coast near Long Beach you could see islands out at sea - apparently these are well disguised oil rigs. After this I headed to the airport via a couple of malls.