I think I have made this clear in the past.
It's a necessary evil as a means of getting to somewhere. Otherwise it's a craphole.
And then, a couple of trips ago, we discovered the trolley from the airport hotels to Manhattan Beach.
I liked Manhattan Beach.
I didn't want to.
I tried not to.
But I liked it.
Now we have done the tour of L. A.
There are a range of tour routes, all colour coded.
Orange, from The airport hotels to Marina del Rey.
Green from Marina del Rey through Venice Beach to Santa Monica.
Remember the story of the time we stayed at the Holiday Inn in Santa Monica. It was a crappy hotel in a crappy suburb. It was the most expensive hotel we have ever stayed in, and we have stayed at some expensive hotels in our travels. It was also the crappiest hotel we have stayed in.
Anyway, it has been repainted, and it's a Wyndam Hotel. And they have cut the room rates in half.
And the whole neighbourhood has been refreshed. It's really looking good. Bastards!
Yellow route from Santa Monica through Brentwood to Beverly Hills.
Red route from Beverly Hills to Hollywood.
Purple line from Hollywood to Downtown LA.
On the first day, we took the bus from the hotel to Del Rey. Stopped for a while there at a mall. Sarah discovered the "Ralphs" supermarket chain, and we bought some brunch.
Then jumped on green to the pier, and onto yellow and red to Hollywood. Had lunch at the farmers market, and then retraced our steps back to the hotel. Took all day.
The next day we did the whole thing, through to the purple line. This finished just before 6pm, and did not give us time to get all the way back to the pier before the last buss back. As luck would have it, the bus company has a service at 7pm going directly back to the LAX airport hotels.
The only suggestion we would make, is that there should be bust direct from the airport hotels to Hollywood in the morning. Otherwise, by taking the first bus and not stopping, it takes till after 2pm to get to Hollywood.
Los Angeles is a massive city. Actually, its 88 cities. Crazy huge.
Doing 5 circuits in one day was a hard ask, but illuminating.
I won't even pretend that I have seen the city. I have seen bits of it. Mostly on he upper deck of a double-decker, roofless bus. It gives a great perspective. I must say, though, that a short stretch on the Hollywood freeway on the purple route, on the top floor of a double-decker bus without a roof, is, lets say "challenging". I was holding onto anything that could blow away.
Sheesh! Sarah wasn't best impressed.
While on Hollywood Boulevard, we say a red carpet arrival at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
Also, on the final run back to the hotel after dark, we travelled the length of La Brea. We travelled through suburbs that are probably best viewed from the top floor of a very tall bus.
Quite a range of experiences in one day.
It's a necessary evil as a means of getting to somewhere. Otherwise it's a craphole.
And then, a couple of trips ago, we discovered the trolley from the airport hotels to Manhattan Beach.
I liked Manhattan Beach.
I didn't want to.
I tried not to.
But I liked it.
Now we have done the tour of L. A.
There are a range of tour routes, all colour coded.
Orange, from The airport hotels to Marina del Rey.
Green from Marina del Rey through Venice Beach to Santa Monica.
Remember the story of the time we stayed at the Holiday Inn in Santa Monica. It was a crappy hotel in a crappy suburb. It was the most expensive hotel we have ever stayed in, and we have stayed at some expensive hotels in our travels. It was also the crappiest hotel we have stayed in.
Anyway, it has been repainted, and it's a Wyndam Hotel. And they have cut the room rates in half.
And the whole neighbourhood has been refreshed. It's really looking good. Bastards!
Yellow route from Santa Monica through Brentwood to Beverly Hills.
Red route from Beverly Hills to Hollywood.
Purple line from Hollywood to Downtown LA.
On the first day, we took the bus from the hotel to Del Rey. Stopped for a while there at a mall. Sarah discovered the "Ralphs" supermarket chain, and we bought some brunch.
Then jumped on green to the pier, and onto yellow and red to Hollywood. Had lunch at the farmers market, and then retraced our steps back to the hotel. Took all day.
The next day we did the whole thing, through to the purple line. This finished just before 6pm, and did not give us time to get all the way back to the pier before the last buss back. As luck would have it, the bus company has a service at 7pm going directly back to the LAX airport hotels.
The only suggestion we would make, is that there should be bust direct from the airport hotels to Hollywood in the morning. Otherwise, by taking the first bus and not stopping, it takes till after 2pm to get to Hollywood.
Los Angeles is a massive city. Actually, its 88 cities. Crazy huge.
Doing 5 circuits in one day was a hard ask, but illuminating.
I won't even pretend that I have seen the city. I have seen bits of it. Mostly on he upper deck of a double-decker, roofless bus. It gives a great perspective. I must say, though, that a short stretch on the Hollywood freeway on the purple route, on the top floor of a double-decker bus without a roof, is, lets say "challenging". I was holding onto anything that could blow away.
Sheesh! Sarah wasn't best impressed.
While on Hollywood Boulevard, we say a red carpet arrival at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
Also, on the final run back to the hotel after dark, we travelled the length of La Brea. We travelled through suburbs that are probably best viewed from the top floor of a very tall bus.
Quite a range of experiences in one day.
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