Where bigger is better...

To the land of the free and the home of the brave and the BIG!!! Everything in LA is BIG. To check out just how big, click here for the pics.


Our hostel was a mega complex of activities and hoards of the young, conveniently located just off Sunset Boulevard. We stayed in a dorm just to really ensure that we would be forever grateful for a nice, cosy double bed when we returned home. Believe me when it finally happened - we just lay there sighing in ecstacy.

It was just a whistle stop tour of LA as we only had 2 days to get back to the UK in time for Glastonbury. We decided to indulge in everything LA had to offer which meant pancakes for breakfast, pizza & fries for lunch and burgers for dinner. Every day. Mmmmm.... nice tight pants.

We spent a very entertaining day at Universal studios getting our money's worth by going on every ride we could. We did however stop short of the 'excellent value' all you can eat ticket pass. For just $19 you too can be the lucky recipient of a quadruple bypass. Rides included the palm sweater 'Revenge of the Mummy' where you are hurled backwards at the speed of sound; the very interesting studio tour where we saw the Bates Motel, the Desperate Houswives set and the original JAWS as well as about 10 other rides all amazing and thrilling in different ways. Would highly recommend a visit if you happen to find yourself with a free day in LA.

Being short on time we packed in about 50 movie star homes (Madge, Brad, Paris et al), Rodeo & Mulholland Drive, Bel Air, Hollywood & Beverley Hills and so on. Again a great thing to do when the clock is ticking.

Thankfully managed to get some shopping in (including some much coveted MAC) & of course the famous Chinese & Kodak theatres & the Walk of Fame. Phew.

Our trip had finally come to an end. And in the opposite spirit of being a hippy travelling gypsy I somehow managed to binge about £150 on duty free on the way out. I have been weakened by months of deprivation. What can I say?

Had we really not deepened from this whole experience?

I think we had just re-embraced the fact that we are at heart city-dwelling Westerners who love the odd glass of champagne now and then, but are also happy as muck sleeping in a van on the street. Now and then.