Fun and lots to see - very spaced out though - get the bus!! (Los Angeles)

Member Name: emmajt81

Product:	Los Angeles
Date:	21/09/09 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Buses are cheap, lots to do and shopping is cheap

Disadvantages: Very spaced out, Hollywood is a bit dirty!

Had my first trip to Los Angeles recently - didn't manage to do everything I wanted to as was only there for 6 days but managed to cram quite a bit in. I would say the atmosphere is similar to London but everything is much more spread out and so really you need to hire a car to get about. Not much help for me since I don't drive yet - so cabs and buses were our best friends on this trip!

--Getting there--

We flew out with BA - sceptical as always as it was from Heathrow Terminal 5 but had no problems with baggage or check in. The only thing that annoys me about BA is you only get your seats on online check in - other airlines let you choose your seats as soon as you book. We wanted two seats at the back of the plane (as opposed to a row of 3 so we didn't have to sit next to anyone else) but even though I checked in the second it opened, they were gone. So had a fat smelly person next to me for 10 and a half hours. Nice! AM flying to New York soon with Virgin and I have already chosen my seats with them - and got my 2 seats at the back of the plane. Wish BA would do the same. BA are also taking away the 2 bag policy for longhaul from October 6th so will not be flying with them anymore anyway. Also, BA give you a main meal an hour after take off (which was gross) and then afternoon tea an hour before you land. They need to sort their meal times out - we were 8 hours without a meal and considering the first one was gross I was starving by the time afternoon tea (a ham and mustard sandwich) came around. Thank god for McDonalds at LAX. The flight was fine - boring being so long but everything was good and the staff were helpful. We flew straight from LAS to Vegas and then flew back to LAX on a domestic flight with United a few days later. United were brilliant - much better than our cheap airlines like Easyjet. You can even tune into the audio channels and listen to air traffic control throughout the 45 minute flight which I found fascinating.

Arriving in LAX we managed to get a cab pretty easy from the airport concourse - cost us $45 to get to our hotel which was on Sunset Blvd in the thick of things. We had been recommended our hotel by a friend who has had lived in LA for 4 years - and the location could not have been better - central to everything you want to see and do. I would recommend staying on Santa Monica Blvd or Sunset (as we did). Once we'd checked in we went straight out to dinner and the next day started our sightseeing.

--Shopping--

We visited a few shopping places in LA - the first being Westfield at Century City. Similar to the new Westfield centre in London, it has a number of designer shops and high street shops as well as places to eat. The whole complex is open air which is lovely in the 90 degree heat - makes a change than being cooped up indoors. They have a Hollister here which is my new favourite shop so this place went down as my favourite shopping place in LA. They also have Gap, Zara, Macys, Bloomingdales, Abercrombie, Louis Vuitton for those with lots of money to spend and the other usuals. This place is in Century City - you can get the number 4 bus from Santa Monica Blvd all the way down - get off at Avenue of the Stars. Very easy to get to.

The second place we went to was the Beverly Centre. This is indoors and is about the same size as Westfield. Again it has the same shops, no Hollister but it does have a Macys and Bloomingdales. There is a great shop here called Forever 21 - cheap and does great clothes. They have eating places on the top floor but is more 'junk food' than anything else. Westfield had better eating places. The Beverly Centre also had a Claires Accessories and an H&M for anyone missing the British shops. It's on Beverly Blvd and is easy to get to on the bus, or a ten-fifteen minute walk from Sunset.

The final place we went to was The Grove - this is an amazing place. It has all the usual shops - no big department stores like Macys though - and it also has a Forever 21. It has a LOT of eating places and is very pretty - it's like a miniature village. It also has a big cinema and a nice little courtyard with fountains which light up at night. I imagine at Christmas this place is amazing. Across the road from the Grove is a K Mart, a Ross and a farmers market on certain days. This is a bit in the middle of nowhere though so would suggest a cab or to drive there if you have a car. We went there at night to the cinema and for dessert at the Cheesecake Factory (which was amazing!) and had a really nice evening.

We also visited Rodeo Drive and Melrose but these were more for sightseeing than shopping - very expensive shops along these roads!!

--Sightseeing--

Obviously the main thing you'll want to see in LA is the Hollywood sign. You can't get very close to it but the closest you'll get is the observatory in Griffin Park. If you take one of the many sightseeing tours most will take you there for a stop off - which is what we did. We did the Hollywood Homes Tour with Starline Tours - who were very good and reliable and do all the main tours in LA. They pick you up at your hotel, take you to the main terminal where you exchange your hotel confirmation (if you booked through the hotel) for a ticket, then onto the main bus for the tour. It lasted about 2 hours and we saw homes such as Christina Aguilera, Jonas Brothers, Jennifer Lopez, Ben Stiller, Tom Cruise and many more - even the house from Father of the Bride and the street from Nightmare on Elm Street. The homes change from tour to tour so I'm told. It's not just a homes tour either, we stopped off for the look at the Hollywood Sign and view of LA from the hills, and also got excursions around Beverly Hills where we were told the history of LA and shown all the nightspots, and hot restaurants, even about VIP parties that were happening that week. It was a great little tour of LA and told us about things we didn't know about before. Well worth doing!

You can also get a good view of the Hollywood sign from the Hollywood & Highland Centre which is a bit of a shopping centre, but it only has a few shops. It's on Hollywood Blvd though (where all the celebrity stars are) so it's a good place to drop in for a look at the sign and a spot of lunch. We managed to get free tickets to a Kelly Clarkson concert which was at this mall and there was a Megan Fox film premiere the day we left also. So always lots going on here.

Hollywood Blvd as I said is where all the celebrity stars are. If you pay $5 there is a shop inside the H&H Centre which lists the stars in alphabetical order and tells you where on the street they are - if you just wanted to find one or two in particular this is very good as there are over 2000 stars and it can take a while to look through them all! The shop also has lots of free guides to LA including transport - very handy. The H&H Centre is also where the Kodak Theatre is - where the Oscars are held - and there are plaques around it detailing the winner of Best Picture ever since the Oscars started. There's also the Chinese Theatre which you can take tours round, and also has a 6 (I think) screen cinema. So lots of fascinating stuff to look at.

We also went on another tour with Starline - to Disney. It's about an hours drive as it's in Anaheim not Los Angeles. They have two parks - California Adventure Park and Disneyland. Both were OK but nothing like Florida's Disneyworld. Much, much smaller and rather disappointing. Did both the parks (which are side by side so easy to park-hop - no buses) in about 6 hours! Was $97 for a one day park hopper ticket (which I'd advise as you'd be bored in just one park). The High School Musical Parade in the Adventure Park and the main Disney Parade in Disneyland were good though - even if much smaller than Florida. Still magical but on a smaller level.

We didn't manage to do any other tours but I hear Universal is rather good (with a tour around Desperate Housewives Wisteria Lane and the War of the Worlds set). I also heard that the Paramount and Warner Bros tours were rather good too and worth going on. All on the list for my next visit!

Rodeo Drive and Melrose are worth taking a walk/bus ride along - even just to look at. Wiltshire Blvd connects with Rodeo Drive at the point where the Wiltshire Beverly Hilton is located - the hotel from Pretty Woman. And at the end of Rodeo Drive is the shop with the blue shutters from the film too. You may even spot a star along here! At the end of Rodeo Drive turn right and you'll see across the road the big Beverly Hills sign - great for photo ops.

We never made it to the beach but you can get a bus all the way down Santa Monica Blvd to Santa Monica beach and pier - which we are going to do next time - and the bus is only $1.25 - bargain! Would probably take about half an hour so not too bad. The pier has been in lots of films and stuff so would be a good place to check out.

--Food--

There are a lot of cheap places to eat in LA - namely burger places. On most streets you will see either a Wendys, McDonalds, In & Out Burger, I-Hop, or Taco Bell. There must be a lot of Spanish/Mexicans in LA as we found a lot of signs on buses were in Spanish and there are a lot of Mexican eateries. I-Hop is a bit like Little Chef I suppose only much better food. We also ate in a great steak house called STK which was very nice but a bit expensive. You also get free entry to the bar/club next door afterwards if you eat there which was small but rather nice. There's also another great steak place called Boa Steakhouse which is further down Sunset, but again expensive - nice though. Ashton Kutcher also owns a place on Sunset called Ketchup which was fairly cheap and did good food. In the Hollywood & Highland Centre there's a place called U Wink which again sells burgers really, but you order your food on the touch screens and can plays games with other tables while you wait - which was a bit different. We found it quite hard to eat healthily for cheap here - everything cheap mainly involved burgers or nachos. My advice is to research before you go so you don't end up eating burgers every night. I will be next time!

--Overall--

Overall I really liked LA - everything it so spread out so it takes a while to get round to everything and as it's so hot you're always stopping for a drink. You can get a weeks bus pass which is a bit like an Oyster card - it's called TAP - which saves money on the bus. But single fares on the bus are only $1.25 (you can get a day pass for $5 from Metro underground stations) and if you get one of the 3 Hollywood Hoppas they are just 25 cents a ride which is so much cheaper than the UK. We did this rather than cabs as they would have mounted up and cost a fortune. Hollywood Blvd is full of people dressed up as celebrities and characters and beware - if you have your picture done you have to tip them or they'll chase you down the street! Hollywood is probably not the best place to be after dark either! I liked LA and would definitely go back in the next couple of years to do the stuff I didn't do before.

Summary: Fun and lots to see - very spaced out though - get the bus!!