Los Angeles in general > Reviews > My trip to LA . . .

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LOS ANGELES

This op is more of an account of the areas of LA that I visited during my recent holiday there. I also spent the consecutive week in San Francisco but that will have to be another op!

~ GENERAL INFO

As you may, may not be aware Los Angeles (“City of Angels”) is America’s second (to New York) largest city with a population of around 16 million people. Hence why my 1-week visit only covered a small part of this huge urban sprawl.

The ethnic make-up of LA is primarily Caucasians and Mexicans; Mexico is only a 5-hour drive away. However, there are also areas for many other racial communities. Los Angeles was originally a settlement founded by Mexicans in the 18th century (I think).

Like most large cities LA is divided up into areas, here are a few:

· Downtown – the business district, a whole lot a skyscrapers.
· Hollywood – as you know this is where you will find all the movie studios.
· Beverly Hills / Bel Air – These places are near to Hollywood.
· Orange County – this is on the east side of LA and where Disney Land is.
· Santa Monica – Coastal town near to Venice & Muscle beach.
· Malibu – Around the coast from Santa Monica, where the celebs live.

There are plenty more areas that I have missed off, simply because I did not have the chance to either visit / look into them.

~ WHERE I STAYED (http://www.furamalax.com/)

I stayed in the Furama hotel, which was in Westchester (30 minute bus ride from Santa Monica). It was on Lincoln and Manchester, which for those of you not familiar with American street naming conventions, means that the hotel was on Lincoln Blvd (roughly) where it joined with Manchester Blvd.

It was a 3 star hotel and had very pleasant amenities, including a pool, restaurant, bar, bus service, etc . . . The room itself was a double room with two double beds. It was very spacious and overlooked the pool. It had its’ own bathroom which came with a bath, shower and toilet. The room also came with a TV that had around a dozen channels, there was also function to order movies to your room and check your hotel bill through the TV. Also there was lots of storage space.

The area around the hotel was great. Over the road there was a bus stop that had regular routes into Santa Monica town center. There were also Ralph’s and Albertson’s supermarkets and several restaurants, Taco Bell, KFC, Chicago Ribs and also Thai, Chinese and Mexican places.

~ WHERE I WENT

Here I have tried to cover the main areas of LA that I visited, believe me each could be an op of its’ own if I had the time.

Hollywood

Getting the bus out to Hollywood took about an hour and a half from Westchester. The ‘Big Blue Bus’ that operates in Santa Monica and the surrounding area is excellent and only 50c a ride.

Having got off the bus I spied the famed Hollywood sign and in my ignorance headed straight for it. Only to find that it is miles from Hollywood itself. I soon crossed Sunset Strip and arrived on Hollywood Blvd only to be confronted by tattoo parlors a plenty.

Luckily for me I stumbled upon the ‘walk of stars’ and this lead me to the more glamorous side of Hollywood. Here I found a whole new world! Mann’s Chinese Theatre, the Kodak cinema, the Roosevelt Hotel and many more famed landmarks.

If you ever visit Hollywood then there is a shopping center there (it’s name escapes me) but go there because it is absolutely brilliant. I would also recommend shelling about $20-$30 on a tour of Hollywood and its surrounding areas, it lasts about 2 hours but is a fantastic experience.

6 flags Magic Mountain

6 flags Magic Mountain is a theme park situation north of LA and in the valley. I believe there are other parks of the same style scattered across America. Our trip (transport there & back and tickets) there along with our trip to universal studios was arranged through Virgin Holidays for reasonable prices.

Out in the valley the temperate was significantly hotter than by the coast, so don’t forget you sun block!

I don’t want to harp on about all of the rides there and go into excess detail, if you want to find out go there! What I can say is that the Americans don’t so things by halves. The attractions there are big, high and fast.

Here’s a few brief statistics for one of roller coasters I went on:

“ 255ft drop and 85 miles an hour in a pitch black tunnel filled with smoke”.

That was just the beginning. To find out more visit:

http://www.sixflags.com/parks/hurricaneharborla/rides/list.html

Universal Studios

Doubtlessly the best place I went during my stay in the US. It is every thing I imagined and more. So, if there is one thing that you do if ever in LA then go to Universal Studios, you will not be disappointed.

Santa Monica & its beaches

The last place I’d like to talk about is Santa Monica. It is a very quaint seaside town with glorious beaches. Santa Monica state beach along with its pier is a really relaxing place to be. There is a ‘carnival like’ atmosphere and many street performers and artists. The beach itself stretches about a mile and half around the bay.

Southward is Venice beach and muscle beach. By the sea front is a multitude of cosmopolitan shops and stalls, everything including palm readers, modern artists, political speakers and tattoo places. Venice beach was not a spectacular as Santa Monica and also has a very bad reputation, my travel guides said – “Do not be there when it gets dark” enough said.

~ FINAL VERDICT

For my first visit to America and incidentally my first trip outside of Europe I had a fabulous time. Well, the accumulated 22 hours of flying wasn’t that hot but hey you can’t have it all! By the way Los Angeles airport (LAX) seemed very organized and it was easy to figure out where I was supposed to go.

As a city Los Angeles is very big and there is loads to do and see. I spent one week there and departed with much I would still like to do, e.g. – going to Century City, Downtown, Disney Land, Malibu Beach etc . . .

I have barely touched on all the nice food they had as well!!

I would recommend LA to any keen traveler.