LA (la) Land

Fri 11th Apr 08, 8pm

Phew!  Been a mad few days.  The trip from Hawaii to LA was a nightmare, not for the distance but the timing :-

*  3.30am  -  Wake up call
*  4.00am  -  Transfer to airport
*  4.30am  -  Realise tour company have stiffed us as check-in opens 5am.  Half hour sitting around fuming.
*  5.00am  -  Stiffed by United Airlines/Travel Agent who hadn't informed us there's a $50 charge for bags over 50lbs.
*  5.30am  -  Taken aside for "special security checks" (ie extra degrading and unnecessary public humiliation)  Shoes checked, carry-on luggage wiped for dodgy substances, patted down.  I ain't coming back to the US in the near future!   Welcome to the New World Order in practice...
*  6.00am  -  Get airside and find the food places aren't open, have to get a Starbucks coffee as breakfast.
*  7.00am  -  Take off already frazzled and stressed.

At least the flight touched down in LA safely, and we actually got through the airport much quicker than we feared (everyone kept warning us about LAX).

We picked up a hire car and I treated myself to a Toyota Cabriolet for posing value.  Set off for the hotel in Anaheim with top down feeling quite the elite.  Unlike everyone else on the Interstate I thoroughly enjoyed the journey, driving on the right is a piece of cake!

Arrived at the hotel 90 minutes later absolutely freezing, bright pink forehead, hair Kramer would be proud of and coughing up lungfuls of rush hour fumes.  So that's why nobody else was driving with the top down ...

Initial impression of hotel was bad and proved accurate.  Basically I'd been persuaded by the travel agents to go to Anaheim, where the amount of hotels around Disneyland mean better prices.  I wish I had stuck to my guns and gone more centrally, it's too far out of the way and the place we went to -- Carousel Inn -- was a glorified motel from the '70s.  Not only did children running along the balcony make a racket, you could actually feel the vibrations!  The TV made horrible noises, the air con unit was so loud you had to raise your voice to be heard, the bed linen didn't reach the end of the bed and the towels had seen better days.

We struggled through the first night as we were so tired, then checked out the next morning to moved over to a better hotel in Culver City, closer to LA.   (Anyone thinking of booking a hotel should check the recent reviews on www.tripadvisor.com first, it's a vital tool.  Also look on www.wotif.com for cheap and available accommodation.)

So basically we lost the first day of our three days in LA which is annoying and totally the fault of FlightCenter in NZ, which will get a blazing email very soon.

Anyway, we've been trying to catch up and getting round the major sights - we've been to Mann's Chinese Theater, Kodak Theater, and done the sightseeing bus round Beverly Hills and Hollywood.   We also tried to go round Paramount Studios but the tours had finished (more bad advice!).  We're planning to get to the coast tomorrow and drive up to Malibu, then go to a Dodgers ball game tomorrow night.  

We've even managed to buy another small case and Wor Lass is spreading out the weight as I write.  I think she's taken the overweight luggage charge personally and is determined not to get stung on the next flight!

So Sunday it's back home to the tropical climate of Yorkshire, flying overnight and landing Monday 11am for the final push home.

It's a privilege getting to travel the World, but right now I'm REALLY looking forward to sitting on the sofa at home, eating beans on toast, watching Emmerdale and sleeping in my own bed again.

Nearly back to the Shire, the end is in sight!!