Los Angeles in general

Late last year myself and my girlfriend took a three week break to explore the west coast of America and Hawaii. One of the places where we spent more time than we should was in The City Of Angels - Los Angeles.

This vibrant city has something to offer everyone, but beware, day becomes night, night becomes day and sleep becomes a thing of the past.

We stayed at a Comfort Inn in Hermosa Beach during our time in LA, this was about a 1/2 hour drive away from the touristic centre, which includes such great sites as Mann's Chinese Theater (the place with the handprints in the concrete), Macy's, Bloomingdales and a whole lot more.

Although you may feel like too much of a tourist do not underestimate the acclimatisation that a guided tour around the stars homes can do - it really is quite interesting, and it gives you a good layout of the roads for when you jump into your hire car.

This leads nicely onto driving in LA, or any big American city for that matter, rule of thumb - DON'T BE AFRAID. Americans are quite aggressive drivers, and you get nowhere by being nice. Don't go stupid, but remember to push your way through the traffic or you will be left in a cloud of exhaust smoke.

Take time out to go and see Beverly Hills whilst you are there, but be prepared to come away disappointed, you see, Beverly Hills is just Rodeo Drive and a few other "upmarket" streets and that is it. It feels like a cold and clinical place - not much happening there.

If, like me, you are a movie buff, then LA is the place to be. Stars can be seen quite easily - I shook hands with Nicholas Cage, George Clooney, and Tom Petty. The Mecca for all movie buffs is in LA - Universal Studios. Now I'm not a great Theme Park fan, but this was heaven for me. It costs about $40 each to get in, and we spent a full day and night there and left hankering for more. There is just so much to see and do, and once you have paid your entrance fee all you have to buy is your food, drink and souvenirs. A great and fully recommended attraction is the Terminator 2 experience - fully 3d and breathtaking. But don't forget to go on the back-lot tour, the Backdraft experience and the seminars on movie magic etc.

They have a wonderful array of shops on site, where you can buy anything - and I do mean anything. I picked up some great dvd bargains from here.

Outside of Universal Studios make sure you go to Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach - these places are so laid back, and give a great atmosphere. Little restaurants, cafes, shops, bars - all wonderfully interesting.

HEAT - it does get very hot, depending on what time of year you go. We were there in August and the temperature was regularly in the 90's, so don't forget loose fitting clothes, a hat and some suncream.

Why not take in some of the nightclubs - it may seem a little daunting, but once you get over the fact that you are in a foreign country it's no different. We got into Johnny Depp's "Viper Room" and had a great night there, no stars when we were there, but a great nightclub all the same.

Try the restaurants - you can get any type of food that you want in LA, and at almost any time, so many tastes are catered for you'll, come back feeling a little bloated.

It can be relatively inexpensive, our accomodation was approx £40.00 a night, but you can go cheaper or more expensive, obviously depends what you are looking for. Food is CHEAP though, huge Pizzas costing less than a side order of Garlic Bread over here.

LA is a great place to move on from as well. We used it as a base for our trip and then drove to Phoenix, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, Glenn Canyon, Las Vegas and then back to LA before our flight to Hawaii.

It is the kind of place that has something for everyone, and as long as you are reasonably sensible, you shouldn't need to worry at all.