'who's afraid of the big, bad wolf?' (the thursday)
Last full day and night in Los Angeles, and we want to end on a high.
First stop. Bus stop! Seriously. Our last day in Los Angeles and we decided to take a bus ride out to Manhattan Beach, it was a blast. I've never been on public transport in Los Angeles before and it was just the coolest thing in the world sitting on the bench under a beautiful blue sky and waiting for the Ocean Trolley Express to arrive... I didn't even mind that it was late! So completely different to crowding under the shelter in the pouring rain on a grey day in London, where the bus will not only be late but will often drive right by you and splash you with dirty gutter water!
It was a fantastic ride. Once we cleared Los Angeles International we turned left and suddenly we have the Pacific Ocean on our right, absolutely glorious. By the time we were riding through the residential area of Manhattan Beach we were all pointing out which beach house we wanted to hire for a couple of months, in a few years, when we're all earning much more money than we are now and can afford to bum around on the beach for an extended vacation. I think I'd spend most of my days body boarding and my hair would hate me for it.
After buying a suitcase (because I appear to have infinitely more stuff going home than I did coming here) and eating a chocolate chip bagel (it's good to try new things while you're on holiday so I'm told) we found the bus stop to take us back to the hotel. This time when the Ocean Trolley Express arrives it is actually a trolley, an old style tram with wooden benches and a audio track to explain all the things we're driving by. I remember passing a United States Airforce base, but then my suitcase decided to make full use of its four wheels and move freely about the cabin so I don't remember much else.
I mentioned that we had plans for our final night out... The Den of Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard. It's not an exclusive entry, high profile Hollywood hangout, in fact the only reason we know about it is because the wife of the owner played a baddie in our favourite television show twelve years ago. (That's Claire Stansfield for anyone trying to follow the last sentence.) So we called Elton and booked the car, we called The Den and booked a table and prepared ourselves to try out the 'Bacon and Cheese Doughnuts' (I kid you not!)
'We want you to feel like it is your den, if you lived on the Sunset Strip ... and if the Sunset Strip were in Aspen.' And that is exactly what this place is like, a cross between your living room and a ski lodge. We passed a few wonderful hours talking about all the good parts of the holiday while eating some absolutely amazing food (the bacon and cheese doughnuts are fantastic) and drink (though Deb had to order a pint of coke to go with her Southern Comfort and coke because it was so strong), all while chilling in our booth in front of an open fire... now that's how to finish your holiday.
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