Los Angeles

Arrived in LA on late Friday and met up with Susan, who is on secondment out here (actually in Santa Monica) and who had offered her spare room for me to stay in.

On the Saturday morning I took a walk along Venice Beach, not that I could see much of the beach as it was covered in fog! Very unusual mix of street sellers though, not the sort of combination you see everyday! I actually spent most of the day in Santa Monica, picking up things for later in the trip as this was my last real chance to do some shopping in the US proper (next stop was Hawaii but didn't think I would have the chance or inclination to do much shopping there). There's also a load of street entertainers in the 3rd Street Promenade as well, some better than others and some much wierder than others (psychic cat anyone!). Visited my first British pub of the trip as well, Ye Olde Kings Head. It's not quite as bad as the name implies, although the Fish and Chips were still not the real mccoy. It probably helped that I only had to pay for half my drinks at the bar, the barmaid buying the other half!

Sunday was spent at the Getty Museum, the buildings and grounds of which are almost as impressive as the collections. You are also meant to be able to get a good view of LA from here (the museum sits on top of a hill), however the smog prevented me from seeing it. Fairly quiet night in preparation for the flight to Hawaii the next day.