LA.

So it’s no secret that the UK sunshine isn’t exactly reliable. It can go and be replaced with down pour as quickly as it came! Just like today! It made me think of the LA sunshine,and inspired me to share 😉

So – LA. Or La La Land. It’s a pretty amazing place with a lot going on. Plenty of clubs, restaurants, bars, hotels, you name it – this place has it. Me and Jim left San Francisco and hit LA for 3 days. This was the only section of our 3 week trip that was just us. We spent out first night in the Custom hotel – which was very cool, and spent the next 2 nights at The Hotel California. Beach front. Perfect.

We hit the famous Santa Monica Pier, the last point of route 66. This place has a mini theme park, restaurants, a one man band (who if you pay a couple of dollars will literally put on mini concert – by himself!) and men performing tricks with animals!

We did the whole touristy experience and took the hollywood express tour! It would have been rude not to! Out tour guide liked to refer to us as the Monkonhouses! ( With Jim’s surname being Monkhouse we found this quite funny!) Had a look round Rodeo drive obviously without purchasing ;-( and had a quick look at Simon Cowells house. Oh yes – the highlight of the Hollywood express.

But, the best thing that we did was ride the bikes. Oh and of course ate Sushi. But, for a few dollars you hire a beach cruiser each (with no brakes) and literally cruise up and down the beach. This was amazing.Seriously. You can go for miles and just cruise on down, next to the ocean. You can ride past the quirky houses (I don’t think planning laws really apply there) and just soak in the California sunshine. After a few Coronas you enjoy this even more!! 😉

Santa Monica and Venice Beach have some really cool places to chill at. We made reservations for the rooftop terrace at the Erwin hotel( in Venice Beach) and were not disappointed. The views from this place were beautiful! The Shangrai La is the next rooftop terrace we chilled at. This was in Santa Monica overlooking the pier and the ocean. And to eat, if you want to give yourself a treat, make reservations at Capo. It’s an intimate little restaurant just near the beach. It’s a little pricey, but worth it!

So there we have it…. a little bit of Sunshine…. Ah.. LA – I miss you!