LA to San Diego to LAX

Now in Washington DC; arrived around midnight last night after a fairly average flight from Los Angeles. Staying at Donovan House (a Thompson hotel). It seems to be the DC place to be at the moment - various American Idol people were wandering around last night when we arrived.

LAX has not improved since last time I flew from there in 2002 - still a very painful airport to leave. Our carry-on bags excited some interest, and for some reason they ran my bag through 4 times. And then let it through without actually going through anything inside it. Anyway, we almost missed our plane. V stressful.

A late start on Monday... M went to a work meeting in an LA outer suburb then was very late back - I was pretty irritated. After another Gordon Ramsay restaurant breakfast (very good again) headed off for a quick cruise down Hollywood Boulevard (we didn't stop or get out, but I did see a few stars on the boulevard while driving - and felt no compulsion to see more. Oh and there was some guy dressed up as batman). Headed on to the freeways and drove towards San Diego. My first US proper freeway experience for some years - it was actually quite fun once I settled into it. The Mustang was made for freeway driving.

Arrived in San Diego and headed to S and R's house - they live in suburbia about 20 minutes from downtown. Fascinating to spend some time in an American suburb, rather than the inner-city life we normally see on holiday. We headed down to meet R after work in La Jolla - a really nice seaside suburb. Had some great Mexican food, then a walk around La Jolla. After that, S took M and I on a mega-tourist spree. In a few hours we wandered around Balboa Park (beautiful museums and nice gardens - a great place to be on a summer evening), then a drive to Coronado Island - a cute area with great views (including over to Mexico) and the amazing-looking old Hotel del Coronado. Followed by ice-cream and tequila with S and R. In the morning, S made a great breakfast then we hung out for a while, then hit the road back towards LA. Was great to see S and R and the kids (I and B) - they've been back in the USA for a few months now. The kids are adorable and I taught me hopscotch. She's starting to get an American accent on some words!

Making good time on the way back to LAX, so dropped by Newport Beach to relive my memories of the OC (particularly Season One). Parked near the Newport Beach Yacht Club and went for a wander. Very upmarket and glamorous - and self-contained - it reminded me of Brighton. And also of Rachel Bilson.

Then a mad rush to make our plane for DC.

LA Day #3

It is now 12.50am - the end of another fun day in LA.

We had a late start this morning after the wedding... when we eventually got up, the gym for me and a swim for M then a late (and good) breakfast poolside on the roof.

Then headed down Sunset to the Getty Museum via Beverly Hills and Bel Air - lots of mansions, high hedges and little stands selling star maps. The Getty is awesome - you park at the bottom of the hill, then head up the hill in an electric tram to the museum. The museum consists of a number of pavilions surrounding a beautiful garden. Great architecture. A fairly good selection of c15th-c18th religious art - including a spectacular El Greco - plus some excellent impressionists and an amazing sculpture collection (including an incredible Magritte). A huge photography exhibit. And a temporary exhibition of French bronzes from c16th - c18th was pretty impressive.

After the Getty, headed down to Santa Monica Beach. Traffic was bad - unsurprising for a perfect Summer Sunday afternoon. We (eventually) parked at a parking lot on Santa Monica pier, after dodging thousands of people and much traffic. The beach is amazing - very white and very wide. And the crowd was multicultural and happy. It is a weird setup - there is a road by the beach, then a grassed section, then a HUGE parking lot right by the beach. After parking, we headed to the 3rd Street Promenade - a mall of huge stores (all the big chains), thousands of people and extremely polished street performers / buskers. I bought perhaps the two biggest coffees I've ever seen (I'm still in shock that they were regular-sized) and burned myself carrying them. We headed up the pier past lots of crappy amusement parlors and etc, then back to the car and drove back to the hotel via Venice Beach and Culver City (we drove right past the Sony Pictures / Columbia studio lot).

We are still working on tipping culture - M lost her watch and bracelet by the pool earlier today, and retrieved them this evening. A nice guy from security brought them back after we asked at the front desk. Given our (admittedly limited) understanding of US tipping culture, we had thought it was appropriate to give him some money as a thank you. He refused it. We do not understand why, and probably never will.

A quick change, then headed down Sunset to dinner at Le Petit Four - it is claimed to be LA's best restaurant for people-watching and, though I have little to compare it to, it seems possible. We had a great outside table, and there was definitely lots of people-watching going on, along with really good French food. The cars parked outside were largely Ferraris, with an occasional Audi R8 or 7 series BMW - rather pedestrian after the Bugatti last night.

After a late dinner, a drink at the bar at the Sunset Marquis... very dark, very intimate and very cool. I felt very much at home there, and M had to drag me away.

After another day of observation, it is clear that the dress code in LA this summer is either
(a) short and tight; or
(b) see-through and billowing.

M&T: LA #1

It is now 5.20pm Friday LA time; arrived at about 8am today, after an incredibly stress-free journey from Melbourne. Very happy we upgraded our flight. I even had a good conversation with the customs guy at LAX about the differences between barristers and solicitors !?!

Ended up hiring a black Ford Mustang for $7/day more than the (crap) car we were going to hire. It is an American muscle car - 2 door, very low-slung, big bonnet, short tail, fairly ugly and (I suspect) a suburban hoon's car; it is certainly not in abundance in West Hollywood, which appears to be dominated by European sports cars, Hummers and Range Rovers.

The London West Hollywood is fantastic so far. Our room is huge and extremely tastefully funished [no kidding, the bathroom is bigger than I expect my room to be at The Standard NYC and the double shower inexplicably has 3 separate shower heads], the staff are friendly (and have so far complimented both my car and my t-shirt), the pool and surround are really nice and they let us check in at about 9am - very welcome after the long flight.
The location is also great - basically on the corner of San Vicente and Sunset Boulevard. The Whisky A Go Go is pretty much within spitting distance, and the Viper Room is a couple of doors down on Sunsset. About 5 minutes drive to Beverly Centre (a huge shopping mall).

Have had a great day so far... determined to try and stay awake until bedtime tonight.
Went to the gym this morning, then a wander down Sunset.
Ended up getting lunch on Santa Monica Boulevard, then grabbed the car [still getting used to valet parking and the whens,hows and whys of tipping] and found Samy's Cameras to buy a Canon G10 - much cheaper than in Australia, and (apparently) the best camera store in LA. It was huge and fantastic (and had valet parking!!), and we got talking to a couple of people working there. Bizarrely, one had spent a year living in Bundoora studying at Latrobe and the other was an older European guy who's son was leaving for Australia today.
Then a coffee at Urth Cafe on Melrose in West Hollywood - good coffee, and great people watching. The people at the next table were having what appeared to be a script development meeting, and the girl sitting at the table 2 away directly in my line of sight was whatever is beyond beautiful.
A drive through the hills of Beverly Hills and Bel Air - lots of amazing modernist architecture (and etc) and huge mansions, most of which are hidden behind hedges and fences so all that can be seen is glimpses and gates. A very wind-y drive along Mulholland Drive and we somehow ended up in Sherman Oaks thanks to M's directions. After finding our way out of the Valley, we drove back up Sunset and are now back at the hotel relaxing.

Tonight, dinner with M's friend Tanya who lives in LA. Tomorrow, M's cousin's wedding somewhere in the wilds of Burbank.

No pressure, but if you're interested in further instalments check them out at www.samizdat7.blogspot.com - i won't be sending further group emails.