Home Time

I'm definitely not ready to go home, but our bags are full and we need to earn the funds for our next adventure. And check our lotto tickets! 

Last night we walked back up to Sunset Boulevard and ate dinner at an Italian restaurant. All of the eateries in the area were bustling, with people waiting for tables. It's perfect weather for outdoor dining in LA. 

This morning we set off via Laurel Canyon Boulevard to cross the hills into North Hollywood. I love driving through these canyons, smelling the flowers and trees and admiring the houses. The architecture ranges from 1950's square, brown buildings to Swiss chalet inspired mansions. They are all cleverly engineered into the hillside, as the canyons are quite narrow - sometimes there is only room for one house. 

The sky is blue again, and there's been no smog. 

Over 37 million people live in this city. Apart from Downtown, most buildings are not higher than four or five stories, giving the city it's sprawling reputation. 

The weekend is definitely not the smartest time to go to the beach or the shops - it's very crowded and the traffic is bumper to bumper on the highways (and that's six or seven lanes each way). 

We arrived in Santa Monica around 10am, and wandered the 3rd Street Promenade before it became too busy. 

The flights back to Australia generally depart late at night. Sometimes we are lucky enough to get a checkout as late as 4pm, but today we've elected to get a room at one of the airport hotels so that we can reorganize our luggage, have a rest and a shower. 

The Four Points by Sheraton was adequate, but extremely busy. Parking was limited. It served the purpose of a place to rest, but next time we'll try something less frantic, I think. 

Dom dropped me off at Tom Bradley with our gear, then returned the hire car. It's only about a 15-20 minute wait, all going well. There's a fast line for Qantas Club members both at check in and security (money well spent!), but the Qantas Club is under renovation. We were given $100 in vouchers, and luckily there are some nice establishments to spend them in. We thought we still had to depart via Terminal 4, so we're pretty excited to be here in the new one. 

We've had a great holiday, and all went well. Flights, hire car, accommodation, weather. We were very lucky. We're happy to be going home, but more excited that we'll be coming back. 

Thanks for reading.

X

Shopping in LA

I'm not an expert, but we've been here a few times now and have found some favourite places to shop. 

Number one on my list in the USA is Macy's, a department store of the calibre of Myer. Macy's has excellent sales, as well as carrying some of my favourite labels. You can always get 10% off for being a visitor, but at the moment they have a 25% off the lowest price sale, which is great. 

We like shopping at the outlet malls. We visited the Citadel Outlets at Commerce, at the confluence of the I5 and the 710 highways. It was only 14 miles from our hotel, but in true LA style, the traffic made it an hour trip! 

The outlet shops often have further discounts on the already reduced, out-of-season gear. Coach has a 50% off the marked down price, meaning some items are around 75% - 80% off the original price. 

It was hot out there today - perhaps 35 degrees. Strange to have been in sub zero temperatures earlier in the trip, and now in such furnace-like heat. It's dry, though. Pleasant in short doses. 

Dom went to Petersens Automotive Museum this morning, and enjoyed the displays, lots of cool cars from years ago.   Plenty of different mustangs on display as they were getting ready for a 50th anniversary bash! They also had a display of various peoples favorite sports cars, including Brian Johnston from ACDC, the lead singer from Metallica, Bobby Rahall and others, all very cool. 

Lunch was at Five Guys Burger and Fries. We've eaten there before and enjoyed it, but after visits to several other noteworthy chains, these are the best burgers by far! So juicy and tasty. 

Death Valley

We could easily have spent more time in Vegas. There's so much to see and do, that I was sad to leave this morning. 

We set off south then west into Death Valley National Park. It's an enormous park of wildly varying elevations. Snow on the peaks, and high temperatures at the parks lowest point, 200 plus feet below sea level! 

Windflowers lined the highway, and there were grass tussocks throughout much of the desert. Some areas were huge expanses of nothing but rock and sand and dirt. All different colours. A sight worth seeing. 

We left Death Valley pointing straight at the impressive Sierra Nevadas, and the highest peak in the lower 48 states, Mt Whitney, 14,494 feet, and still covered in snow. We turned south and drove along the eastern side of the range, dropping into LA from the north. 

It was an 8 hour drive, with only short stops during the day. The traffic outbound was bumper to bumper with people leaving the city for home, but luckily it was breezy inbound. 

Los Angeles

IHave I mentioned before how good LA smells?

I know that many people don't like it here, but I do. I love the heady fragrance of the jasmine and roses and other flowers that grow on the median strip of major roads, in the gardens and in large freestanding pots outside shops. The whole city smells much nicer than you'd imagine it should. 

We decided to stay in West Hollywood this time, in order to investigate a new area of LA. I'd booked the Chamberlain West Hollywood before we left home, which made it very easy to roll up this afternoon and check in.

The staff were all pleasant and helpful, guiding us an easy walk up to the Sunset Strip for dinner. We ate at 'Cravings', and watched the world (read 'fabulous cars') go by. 

Our room is spacious, with a lounge room and mezzanine bedroom. There's a balcony, which is nice. I think this hotel was an old apartment block, judging by its size and location, and crooked hallways. The pool on the roof is a pleasant way to cool off, whilst enjoying the view. 

Las Vegas

It was another perfect blue sky day today, albeit a little windy. We'd booked to go to the Neon Boneyard, an outdoor museum of old signs from Las Vegas. (Thanks to Mandy for telling me about this) 

There were only 4 others on the tour with us, and Beverley, a volunteer, gave us an hour's worth of Vegas history and stories. 

From there we went in search of boots, but found the selection disappointing again at Sheplers. Onto the Fashion Show Mall at Trump Tower.  Macy's can always be counted on for great shoes and clothes for bargain prices. I then found a cool shop with handmade boots, called Pinto Ranch. Success! A pair of Luccheses in hand.  

Valet parking was free at the mall - who'd park themselves? Ever? 

We parked back at the Bellagio, and dressed for dinner. A short taxi ride down the Strip to Mandalay Bay, where Aureole is located. 

I found this restaurant on Trip Advisor, and booked on the internet last night. We were given a table with a view to the fountain, complete with resident swans. The service was exemplary and the food fantastic. They even brought me a cupcake and candle for my birthday. Very impressed. 

We walked back to the hotel via the Strip, checking out the people and other amazing buildings as we went. 

Just a note on noise. No one ever refers to the Strip as 'quiet and restful'. We were 25 floors up but the loud, pumping music from the demur looking Paris casino across the road didn't stop til 4am. You can clearly hear the fountain from here too, so if you want quiet, a room away from the Strip side would be a start. 

The view was worth it to me - incredible, artistic structures with a backdrop of colourful, ancient mountains, all housed under a huge blue sky. 

West on I40

Leaving Flagstaff early, we drove west under a perfect blue sky. After passing Williams, the other gate city to the Grand Canyon (Flagstaff is much nicer), we steadily descended from the 7000 foot plain where we've spent the past few days. 

The countryside of western Arizona seems much older than the north eastern section. The hills are more rounded, less craggy. As though they've been weathered for many more millennia. 

The drive took four hours, via a stop at Hoover Dam. The facilities are much improved since either of us passed by before. 

We started off our Vegas visit at the outlet mall, allowing 2.5 hours to shop. It was very busy, despite being a weekday (Vegas is a holiday town, I guess) and it took all of that time just to get to my essential stops! The prices are excellent, and because the USA is a season ahead of us, the outlet is the perfect place to shop. 

We also stopped at a boot shop, looking for new boots for Dom. Sadly, no boot shop since has measured up to Kleinschmidt's Boot Barn east of Kansas City. That was a magic place. 

Still winging it accommodation wise, we pulled into the Bellagio on the Strip. Free valet, easy check in and a beautifully furnished king room on the 25th floor, overlooking the fountain, all for $229 a night. Plus resort fee. 

As it was the first hot moment we've had since arrival, we headed to the pool area, which was surrounded by headily perfumed jasmine flowers. 

I'd read about Mon Ami Gabi, a French restaurant across the road at the Paris Casino. Without a booking, the wait was 45 minutes for an inside table (it has a great outdoor eating area). It was well worth it. The staff were excellent, the food, wines and service all wonderful.