la la land

LA was crazy, as I expected it would be. But it was also fantastic – something I didn’t expect at all. I stayed in Santa Monica, one of the 80-odd cities that make up LA County (I meant that to read approx. 80 cities, but it would not be wrong to read it as 80 ‘odd’ cities)! My hostel...



was 2 blocks from the beach, and the famous Santa Monica Pier which you would recognise as an icon of LA, and has been in films such as Forest Gump. In fact, there’s even a ‘Bubba Gump’ shrimp restaurant that sells ‘fried shrimp, curried shrimp, shrimp gumbo, shrimp cocktail...’

It was wonderful to walk along the boardwalk all the way to Venice Beach; there were runners, cyclists, roller-bladers, segway-ers and even people on tandems, I heard some great snippets of conversation, and was told by a little girl that she loved my accent. Venice was cool – I met a beat poet who insisted on reciting a weird poem to me; a busker called Will Snake who gave me some perfume and his business card (with his plumbing business on the back), and saw a two headed turtle (!) outside the Freak Show. My favourite thing was watching the roller disco club – they had a boom-box and were just doing their thing. That would never happen in England, we’re far too self-conscious!

The next day I did a tour of the sights in LA: stars’ homes, Rodeo Drive, Sunset Strip, Hollywood Blvd, Downtown, and Universal studios. It was so cool to be there – I found the stars’ homes thing a bit intrusive, as they clearly don’t want tour groups peering through their gates. But the rest of the day was fantastic. Unfortunately I didn’t see any stars - apart from those on Hollywood Blvd - but I was taken for one on Rodeo Drive. I was wearing mirrored aviator glasses and my trilby hat, and got quite a few glances as if people were trying to figure out who I was, haha! Unless of course they were thinking ‘who’s that idiot?’... we’ll stick with the first I think.

The third day I decided to go back to Universal Studios, as you can do a tour of the sets and also there are lots of rides and shows. I had such a fantastic day, but must admit it was one of those things that would have been better with a friend. Ho hum, that’s one of the few down sides to travelling alone. Anyway, I wasn’t going to let being a billy-no-mates spoil my day. I had a great time going on the rides (nothing too scary thank goodness, except for the House of Terrors which I can’t for the life of me imagine what possessed me to enter)! I was truly terrified, and stuck closely to the couple in front of me when Frankenstein, Dracula and countless other monsters jumped out of the darkness.

The best bit was of course the Simpsons ride - a fantastic simulation of a roller coaster, within ‘Krusty Land.’ For a big fan like me it was brilliant – they had the Kwik-e-mart too, and loads of stalls and buildings set up to create a mini-Springfield. And of course the pièce de résistance... I got to meet Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa! The studio tour was fantastic too – they take you on a tram through working studios and sets. The day I went they were shooting Desperate Housewives (one of my favourites) so we weren’t allowed to drive down Wisteria Lane, much to my disappointment. But we did see the set from Jaws, where the shark jumps up at you. And the Bates Motel, where they have an actor playing Norman Bates putting a body in the boot of his car and then chasing the tram. I also saw the crash site from War of the Worlds - a real 747 torn apart.

I watched the Waterworld show - an outdated movie which I’ve never seen - but the show was excellent, with great special effects and lots of action. There was also a great 3D Shrek show (I had my pic taken with him), and a Blues Brothers Revue, full of great music, singing and dancing. By mid-afternoon I had done everything there was to do, so got back on the studio tour tram to see if I would be able to see Wisteria Lane. I was in luck - by now the filming had moved to the indoor sets, so we were able to drive all the way down the street! I didn’t see Susan or Gabriella, or Mike (more’s the pity) but it was great to be on the set. I thought of you Sandy!

Back in the real world (well, if you can call LA the real world) I met up with a friend of my friend Ross, a fellow volunteer from Tanzania, Nicki, who is an LA local. She took me to an English pub – not because I was homesick, but because it’s famous for attracting stars. None in there on the night I went of course, but there was a singer (from Manchester) and Nicki and I had a great time chatting. She’s a teacher and since I’m thinking about training options for my future, she was a good resource. I think I may have found another volunteer for Africa too...

So, from LA I flew to Vancouver, where I spent one night before taking the ferry across to Vancouver Island where I am now. My Dad’s sister Sue has lived here for as long as I can remember, so it’s lovely to finally see her house and gorgeous view across the Juan de Fuca Strait to the Olympic Mountains in America. I’m here for a week, part of which we’re spending hiking in the wilderness – for the most part I can be found gazing at the ocean hoping to see one of the resident Killer Whales. There are black bears around too, and bald eagles and deer. After leaving Sue I will return to Vancouver to meet my friend Rachel and embark on the Trans-Canada rail journey through the Rocky mountains and miles upon miles of prairie before reaching Toronto. And then home to London!