Still feeling a little jet-lagged, as my sleeping pattern was mucked up, I didn't end up waking up until gone 9 this morning! The problem is my body clock thinks it is earlier than it actually is the nights before which made me have a late night. As a result of this I ended up missing breakfast this morning! The plan for today was to go to Hollywood which I was told takes 40 minutes by car, but 2 hours by public transport. Laughing this off, I headed out to catch a bus after a quick shower and bite to eat in the nearby cafe.
I had saved the bus timetables to my phone the night before and to get to Hollywood I had to go via Downtown LA to catch a connecting bus by my calculations. My problem with the bus system was the fact that they had no official times and just a map showing all the bus connections. With LA very much in a grid formation in terms of roads buses connected at what they call the intersections. To save any confusion I thought I would just go to the main city and get a bus from there as I assumed they would be frequent from here. In the end it took me around an hour to get into Downtown LA, although it was a nice journey from the beach where I was staying, even getting views of the Hollywood sign on the way in!
When arriving into the city I took a short walk to this market I found by chance when arriving, getting myself some tacos which were pretty reasonably priced. I didn't stay here long however as time was getting on, managing to walk straight onto my next bus to take me just outside Hollywood. This was another hour long bus journey, ending up as the only person left on the bus by the end! When finally arriving at what was known as West Hollywood, I used my very vague map of the city to navigate my way to the Hollywood Boulevard. I did stop off in McDonalds en route however as the temperature was unbearable to walk after a while. My problem in McDonalds like with many other American places was the fact they didn't understand me. I asked for a coke, and what I should have asked for was a soda which seemed to really confuse them.
After spending a while inside cooling down the air con, drinking out of this monster cup, I headed back out and eventually managed to get off the Sunset Strip and onto the main Hollywood Boulevard. It wasn't how I envisaged to start with although I did eventually come to a point where there were stars on the pavement which signified the start of the Hollywood walk of fame. Before long these stars which included an array of famous people, along with some people I had never heard of, took me into this glitzy area comparable to parts of London. With so many things to see here including theatres, museums and tour guides in every direction, I took a slow walk further along, passing lots of people dressed up as famous film characters who made a living by charging people to take pictures with them.
I was tempted to partake in a tour whilst I was here although the tour guides were charging a fortune, so I instead looked at all the attractions as I walked down further along the walk of fame. There was a Madame Tussauds, Ripleys museum, Guinness World Records museum and this massive McDonalds amongst the things to see here. As I got further down the walk the fame, the crowds got less and less busier and the celebrities in the stars got less and less well known for me, until I eventually reached the other end which was more like a residential area. When reaching the end I finally got a decent look at the Hollywood sign which actually a very long way away.
I was tempted to go and try and get close to the sign although many people get arrested for doing this. I had previously heard it is very difficult to see the sign up close so instead of being stupid I headed back into down the main boulevard into Hollywood and checked out the shopping centre which had its own viewpoint to see the sign. Looking round the shopping centre spread over six floors and round this circular area with a fountain, I found this balcony which did in fact give brilliant views of the sign, even if it was miles away! I spent a fair while here in the end, looking round the shops before eventually wandering back and forth along the boulevard to see all the aforementioned attractions in more detail, one the highlights being the Chinese theatre which seemed to be where most the characters in dress were based.
Eventually it came the time I thought I should be heading back as it came up to nearly 5 and I was a two hour bus journey from my hostel! I did previously want to go and check out Beverly Hills whilst I was here although surprisingly no buses took you there from Hollywood, instead just these expensive tour companies. I will probably save that for tomorrow as I have nothing planned. I eventually managed to get another bus back to the city which again gave views of the sign and also the Griffith Observatory which was an alternative place to view the sign.
By around 7 I arrived back into the city, although instead of hanging around I just headed straight for my bus, walking down LAs attempt of Broadway and down past the convention centre to my bus stop. I didn't arrive back to my hostel at Venice Beach until around 8 in the end, although instead of cooking I just went to the nearby subway for dinner. Americans seem to have takeaways everywhere which makes it difficult to eat elsewhere as the nearest supermarket to my hostel is half an hour away! When returning to my hostel I was pretty shattered, although I just lay on my bed relaxing for the evening planning what to do for my final day in LA tomorrow.
