The flight was looong. One of the disadvantages of living in Australia (and I don't think there are many of them) is the distance and cost required to travel to overseas destinations.

It was a 3 flight journey and I think we were over it by the time we arrived in Honolulu. Adelaide - Sydney was 2 hours, followed by a 3 hour 40 minute layover. The flight to Honolulu was a tick under 10 hours, followed by a 5.5 hour wait. Then another 5 odd hours to LA - enough already!

Honolulu Airport was interesting. I think we should have spent more time back at the main part, but we headed to the gate almost immediately.

It was very quiet and serene. You could feel the laid-back vibe of the place. Probably helped by the fact there was only one or two other passengers at the gate at that time. There was a cleaner asleep in one of the lounges and another drove her buggy all the way inside the building to park in front of the toilet.

What we thought a little strange in this day and age of security and anti-terrorism, was how open the gates were to the rest of the airport. We weren't inside a secure building like other airports, but freely walked inside and out to get to our gate at the end.

The sight of LA twinkling in the night was one of relief after the long flight, squashed into Economy (better referred to as "cattle class".

We took Primetime Shuttle, which we had pre-booked, to our hotel in Hollywood. It took forever to get a shuttle, even though it had been booked and we were on time. I reckon it was about half an hour and we were tired, hot and cranky and just wanted to get to our hotel. It then took about half hour more to get out of the airport as it stopped about every 100-200 metres to check for passenger pick-ups. Fortunately, there were only 3 parties on board and once we got out of the airport it didn't take overly long to reach Hollywood.

We stayed at the Hollywood Roosevelt. It has a very dark and brooding atmosphere, but is nice. My biggest complaint was the bathroom. The toilet was too close to the wall, requiring one to swivel around somewhat. I really hate that! DF didn't have a problem, but she is 5 foot and I am 5'8". The manager said it was due to the age of the hotel that the bathrooms were so small. However, we had other small bathrooms on the trip, but the toilets were better placed in the bathrooms so as not to cause this problem.

The bed was comfortable (most important) and the room okay in size.

There is apparently a pool and bar in the Hollywood Roosevelt. We didn't get to it during our 3 night stay. We did, however, sit in the lounge area, which has a nice atmosphere. DF tried to take some photos, but it was just too dark for them to come out very well. I did love the glossy, decorative floor tiles that run from the front entrance.

The hotel is literally just across the road from the Hollywood & Highland Center, Mann's Chinese Theater, the Redline subway and the Hop-on Hop-off (HoHo) Bus.

As usual I had too many things on my to-see list and a number were culled before the trip and some during it.

Day 1 -
DF took the Starline HoHo tour. My plan was to go to the Petersen Automotive Museum followed by Venice Beach & Santa Monica.

I had planned out my route by public transport, but had trouble finding the right bus stop for the #780 Metro Rapid. An elderly local woman very kindly helped me by giving me other bus options, but then I realised I had left my map in the hotel room.

Take 2 - this time I found the bus-stop. It was in the other direction to the hotel and was currently blocked off as a large crane was installing an iconic palm tree on the Boulevard. The sun was hot (about 28C/82F) and it seemed like forever until the bus came. I think it was LA where they have bike racks on the front of the bus - a novel idea.

The bus was quite full and an old guy sat next to me and started talking to me about how he likes to drive, but had to give up his licence last year. He was spitting all over me and it was then I knew why I didn't catch public transport at home. On the up-sie, using public transport when overseas gives you a better sense of mixing with the locals and seeing how they go about their lives.

I like old cars, especially from around the 1930s and 1940s, so I went to the Petersen Automotive Museum ($10). I couldn't believe how big a lot of the cars were back then. They are huge, magnificant, steel beasts, which would have owned the road. The Museum was showing the "Treasures of the Vault" collection which included a beautiful 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom I and former Prince of Persia's 1939 Bugatti 57C.

The Museum also holds such vehicles as a Batmobile, Herbie (I am a Volkswagen fan) and some hotrods. The vehicles are generally laid out in chronological order and some with relevant props and scenery to set the mood of the era.

Back on the bus..

I got back on the #780 Metro Rapid and headed to Fairfax Ave/Venice Blvd. Jumped on the #333 and set off towards Venice Beach. The bus stops all seem to be set on the corner of major intersections in LA, which makes them easy to find (except in Hollywood!).

Alex from TripAdvisor had suggested Abbott Kinney Blvd as an interesting street to visit. I was a bit disappointed with it. Maybe I didn't make it to the right section, or maybe it just wasn't for me. There were a number of clothing boutiques, which don't interest me and some homewares shops, which aren't much good to international travellers just starting out on their trip.

I headed off the Boulevard and down a side street towards the beach. A young guy went whizzing past on a skateboard with his surfboard tucked under his arm - now that was more like the LA I was expecting to see.

The Venice Beach Boardwalk is lined with tourist tatt shops, tattooists, pipe shops and food vendors on one side and palm trees and stall holders plying their wares on the other. Many of them have signs asking you to either not take their photo or to pay if you do.

I first headed south, past the bike rentals and the famous "Venice" sign, to Muscle Beach and the sports courts. There was no action at Muscle Beach. I then headed back north and walked my way to Santa Monica. I reached the Pier, but didn't go out there. It was getting on a bit in the day and my feet were killing me, so I headed up towards 3rd Street Promenade.

The Promenade was a nice little shopping area and I only wished my feet weren't so tired. I remember buying a baseball cap to keep the sun off my face - I was a few hours too late.

I took the #704 Metro Rapid along Santa Monica Blvd back towards Hollywood. This trip took forever. It was probably about peak hour for traffic and the whole trip back to Hollywood took over 1.5 hours. I managed to get the last #780 Metro Rapid bus from Santa Monica/Fairfax at 7.30pm.

I got back to the hotel to realise that I was rather sunburnt. I have very fair skin and should have known to put suncream on, but I will never learn. DF gave me some Aloe Vera gel and then I went and bought a large bottle, which I would need for some time to come.

There is a drug store (more like a mini supermarket to Australians) and a supermarket just up from the hotel which was handy. Not only did I buy aloe vera gel, but bunion pads for the many blisters which had formed during my long walk.

In hindsight, I would have been better to have caught a bus between Venice Beach and Santa Monica. This would have saved me more time to look at the Pier and 3rd Street Promenade. It would also have saved some sunburn, blisters and aching feet.

We grabbed some dinner from a cafe at the Hollywood & Highland Center.

Mate, I gotta hand it to you, you're a brave man. Staying in Hollywood, and taking buses all over LA. - that's not for wimps. I just spent two weeks in L.A. (for the umpteenth time, used to live there and now visit often) and I know what you mean when you say you shouldn't have walked from Venice Beach to 3rd St. Promenade. (Shame it wasn't on a weekend or Muscle Beach would have been busy, and the roller girls - did you not see any?) Like I said, you're brave.

Thanks for the report! I'll be in Sunny Sinny in 4 weeks from now (also for the umpteenth time, used to live there and now visit often) and I hope to remember your lesson to get the sunscreen despite the jetlag-induced forgetfulness.

I'm keen to read more about your trip!

I'm linking your preamble.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=35178668

Denise, thanks for the linking, but I thought I'd do each city in a separate thread as not everyone is interested in all cities, especially when searching for information, as opposed to reading trip reports.

DalaiLlama, I'm a "brave woman", not man. Can't say I took any notice of roller girls, although I don't really recall anything like that.

Speckles, you would have noticed the roller girls, trust me... What about the knuckle-fisted honky-tonk goanna player with the old upright on a dolly? Or Harry the turbaned guitarist on roller skates? The cops on horseback? Was anybody home at all? Sounds like you happened to be there at a lame time. Better luck next time, it can be quite the amusing place.

Sorry about the gender assumption (I think it's the car thing that did it...).

speckles, me too. I thought you were a dude, liking cars an all.

If you want to see some daddy mac cars come on over to my state, Michigan. And your right, some of those old cars you could play tennis in em.

I laughed out loud about your spitting bus seat partner. Been there done that. I too love to do the public trans. when on vacation.

Can't wait to hear more...

Theresa in Detroit.

It was a Tuesday the day I went to Venice and I think it was probably a bit "lame" as you suggest in relation to the regular crowd.

You're not the first to assume I am male, but I would have thought the name "Speckles" was a bit girly for a bloke.

As for the cars, I'm not a rev-head, nor would I want to be messing about under the hood getting my hands greasy. I just like the look of some of the old cars. I get dazzled by their beauty.

Day 2 -
I awoke with my skin red, tight and radiating heat from the sun damage I had sustained the day before. I had been wearing a t-shirt, shorts and sandals. It would be more than 3 weeks before I would be game to wear shorts and sandals again.

My feet had what I described as "tiger stripes" from the sunburn through the sandal straps. And, believe it or not, 6 months on, they are still vaguely visible. The water flow of the shower hurt my skin and I had to lather myself well in aloe vera gel.

I had planned out a bus route to get us from Hollywood to Warner Bros Studio, but we decided to take a taxi instead (app $23). The hotel has them on stand-by, which is very handy. The bus was supposed to take 22 minutes to get there, but based on the taxi ride I don't think we would have made it on time if we had caught the bus. Did the taxi driver take us via the "scenic route"? - I don't know, but we made it with a few minutes to spare. It would have been a bit of a walk from the bus stop on Riverside Drive.

At Warner Bros, you are greeted by giant bronze statues of their timeless icons, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. You enter the visitor centre via the standard security check. Inside you watch a short film showing snippets of all WBs best known movies and shows. Afterwards, you climb aboard over-sized golf carts (max. 12 in a group) and head off into the studio with your tour-guide. Tour $48.

You get driven around various outdoor sets and start to realise how often you've been "duped" by Hollywood in thinking a movie or tv show was filmed in New York or Chicago etc, to find it was really filmed on a realistic looking set. There were a lot of set builders out and about changing the shop fronts for new shows.

Some of the sets we saw included: the hospital entrance, ambulance bay and helipad for ER; city buildings from Ghost Whisperer; "anywhere park" used regularly by sitcoms as a general park; Star Hollow from the Gilmore Girls (DF was so excited as she had been a fan, whereas I couldn't stand the show, so never watched it). We were taken into a house at one stage to see what it is like inside. They also have the set of Central Perk from Friends. You can look, but you can't touch (or sit on the sofa). There are some areas where you can't use your camera, but they lock your items in an underseat storage compartment for safe-keeping.

We were taken inside their largest set which has been used for ocean shots. We were also the first group to walk onto the set of the office in the Mentalist, which was yet to premier at that time.

At the end is a museum, which I found a bit boring, but DF was excited as they had a Harry Potter exhibition going at the time.

We again decided on taking a taxi to our next stop, Universal Studios, rather than mess around with catching 2 buses and the Universal shuttle. It cost $17 and was mucher easier, especially with the heat and my sunburn.

First stop - obligatory photos of the Universal Studios globe and entrance gates flanked by palm trees. We had pre-purchased Front-of-Line passes on-line ($120) and it was worth it in our opinion as neither of us like queues.

Universal is very much a theme park, compared to the sedateness of Warner Bros. We went on the trolley tour first up. The line was long, but under cover and had misting sprays to keep the crowds cool. We jumped the queue with our passes and got straight on.

The trolleys hold about 40 people and 2 or 3 are linked together for each tour. This makes it far less intimate than the WB tour. There is a tour guide giving a run down on the tour, but it is hard to hear, given the size of the trolleys and number of people aboard. We went through a number of back lots, including an old Western town. They were in the process of rebuilding the New York set, which had recently been burnt down. You get to see a stunt man in action as well as some stunt cars. You go past Jaws, Psycho, a 747 crash site and down Wisteria Lane.

I'm enjoying your report, speckles - thankyou!

I'm enjoying your report Speckles. I remember reading some of your planning posts, and it is nice to see the results!

Thanks Denise for doing the links, I wouldn't have realized about the separate threads!

Universal Studios is built in a very hilly area. About half of the theme park is at the top of a hill and half at the bottom. But don't worry, there is a multi-part escalator to take you between the two areas. They also have misting fans scattered around the park which help cool the crowds on a hot day - a great idea.

Now, I'm not a thrill seeker in the slightest, so I was hesitant to say the least, about going on any rides. DF convinced me that the Jurassic Park ride was relatively tame and I agreed, not having noticed the last part of the ride - a long, steep drop into water!

DF purchased one of the silly looking $2 yellow ponchos as she doesn't like to get her hair wet. She was the only one on our ride wearing one, but as silly as she looked, she was to have the last laugh. As luck would have it, we scored front row seats on our ride, with me on the outside. Most of the ride was reasonably tame, with little more than whip-lash type effects, but that last bit was a doosie! I hung on for dear life as we pelted towards the water at an angle and speed that I was not at all comfortable. With a mighty splash, I got absolutely drenched, as did the others in the first few rows - all except DF in her little yellow poncho. However, being a hot day the drenching was actually well received.

You would think that would have been enough thrills for me, but no, I agreed to go on the Mummy ride, but only after I confirmed that it didn't go upside down. Again, I think I somehow managed to get a front row seat too. Oh, my god, I thought I was going to die! It was so fast and went backwards at one stage. Well, that was it. No more roller coasters for me.

I avoided Backdraft due to my sunburn. We saw Terminator 3D - which is a bit of a mind bender. Other than that, we just strolled around a bit. Universal City Walk was a little disappointing in my opinion.

We caught a taxi back to the hotel ($35). We hit traffic as soon as we left Universal. Carpark attendants down the hill kept stopping traffic to allow the carpark users to get out. It was good for carpark users, but most annoying for everyone else, especially when you're in a taxi. The driver was getting quite annoyed with the situation, but actually turned his meter off for a while, which was a kind gesture. He also offered to take us via Mulholland Drive to see the Hollywood sign. While this sounded like a bit of a tourist scam, we decided to do it as we hadn't seen the sign at all. Hence the higher cost of the taxi fare.

For dinner, we headed over to the Hollywood & Highland Center to Johnny Rockets. I had what I labelled a "grease burger". It sounded good on the menu, but in reality was a recipe for a heart attack. While I like my food, I tend not to splurge while on holidays. It is where I make my savings. So don't expect any real foodie tips or restaurant recommendations from this trip report.

This trip report is getting a little long and I'm only up to Day 3 of 28.

My original plan for this day was to go to Olvera Street on the Redline and then take a bus to Rodeo Drive area. However, after my experiences of the long bus ride on the first day I decided it was too far to go to both places via public transport in one day. Instead DF and I took the Starline HoHo bus. This was her second time on the tour, but my first.

It started at Graumann's Theater, opposite our hotel. It wasn't full so we decided to sit on either side of the bus so we could maximise our photo opportunities. It went down Sunset Blvd, through West Hollywood and along Santa Monica Blvd to Beverly Hills.

We got off and walked along Rodeo Drive. It really is a world of its own around there. Even the hotel (Regent Beverly Wilshire) had its own Rolls-Royce. I felt such a dag in my tourist garb of cargos, t-shirt and baseball cap.

Second stop for us was the Beverly Center, where we could actually afford to shop. We would have liked to have visited the Farmers' Market and The Grove, but ran out of time.

I found the HoHo buses to be rather unreliable. We waited far more than the quoted half hour at both stops. I think one was more like an hour. Some others gave up and caught a taxi instead. We (finally) got back on at the Beverly Center and rode the rest of the journey back to Hollywood.

We were heading to Anaheim that evening and chose to use a car service, A+ Transportation, which had been recommended on this site. It was the priciest option at $132 inc tip (= $66 each). However, it was also the most convenient. Public transport was the cheapest option, but way too much hassle. The Lux Bus was $25, but neither departure time (7.30am or 3.00pm) was convenient. Anyway, the car service worked well and I'd recommend it if the cost is not prohibitive.

There were a number of things I would have liked to have seen in LA, but just didn't have the time. These include: The Fahey-Klein Gallery (photography); The Getty Center; The Farmers' Market; Olvera Street; and the LACMA. I am glad I didn't drive though.

In Anaheim we stayed at the Howard Johnson for 3 nights (US$139/night + tax). It was one of our cheapest hotels, but was quite adequate. The beds were soft and comfortable, the room a good size and the bathroom was big in comparison to other hotels we stayed at. The air con worked well, but was noisy at night. The room had a fridge.

There was no food outlet on site, but there were drinking vending machines and a small, but well stocked gift/convenience shop which sold a few snacks. Next door was Mimi's Cafe and along the highway a number of food outlets and other hotel convenience stores. We lived on Quiznos Sub, which also had an ATM inside.

The hotel had a small pool and 2 free internet terminals. It was a five minute walk to the Disney main gate in the mornings, but a 10 minute straggle back in the evenings, with aching feet.

DF and I prepurchased 3 day Park Hopper tickets for Disneyland and California Adventure Park for US$169.

Day 4 ( 8 Aug) -
I was supposed to go on the "OC Beach Bus Tour" today, but received an early morning phone call to advise the bus driver was sick and the back-up driver away. So, instead I went to Disneyland with DF.

As a six year old in 1979, my family lived in Florida for a year. We visited Disney World back then and part of this trip would serve as a reminder of that.

Cue "Way We Were" - Barbara Streisand.

In Disneyland we went on the Jungle Cruise, Mad Tea Party, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pirate's Lair, Indiana Jones Adventure and Winnie the Pooh ride. Yes, two 30 year old childless women on the Winnie the Pooh ride - the Mummy ride at Universal had put me off anything remotely thrill-seeking in nature. DF also went on Space Mountain and the submarine voyage. We were too stuffed to climb Tarzan's Treehouse (do it first thing) and Davy Crockett's Canoes looked like complete torture - who goes to Disneyland to row themselves around a lake?

After leaving Disney we went to check out Downtown Disney. I wanted to see the Lego shop but was disappointed with it. By now, it was hot, we were hot and all we wanted was to sit and have a drink in the shade. We spotted a cafe sign, the only one we could see, and headed over.

It was called "Rainforest Cafe". We had never heard of it. We were taken upstairs to be surrounded by plastic trees, artificial animals and the occasional crack of a fake thuderstorm. We were seated next to Bamba the giant, stuffed gorilla and warned that he makes a noise every now and then. As soon as the waitress left, we both cracked up laughing. We couldn't believe where we were and immediately started texting friends. Being in the Disney precinct, we should have expected it would be aimed at children's entertainment.

We returned to our hotel in the late afternoon and then headed back to Disney for the fireworks that evening. Unfortunately, they were cancelled due to high winds.

Day 5 (9 Aug) -
There was some confusion by me as to whether the OC Beach Bus Tour would be running this day and I was knackered, so I slept in. The call came that the bus was there but I asked for them to come back on the next leg.

The OC Beach Bus Tour http://www.anaheim411.com/oc_beach_tours.html (US$39) is run using "Woody" style buses (for that SoCal effect) and visits 3 main areas of the OC coast, of which you can choose two places to stop for about 3 hours each: Huntington Beach, Newport Beach & Laguna Beach. It picks you up from your Anaheim hotel.

As the original tour on the Friday had been cancelled only 4 parties were on the rescheduled tour - 3 families and me. The Woody buses weren't available, but I was told by Chuck, the driver, that the large van hired for the day was more comfortable and had better air con, even if it didn't have the same atmosphere of the Woody bus. I found Chuck, a Huntington Beach native, to be an interesting tour guide.

Only one family had made the first part of the tour and were in Newport Beach. As none of the rest of us were interested in Huntington and only had time for one stop, we went direct to Newport Beach. The 2 American families got off here and I had about 20 minutes for a quick look along the boardwalk before we headed off towards Laguna.

Along the way, we stopped at Corona del Mar. It has great views of Newport Harbor, the mansions and luxury yachts of those who can afford to live there. Chuck pointed out an old, rundown looking timber framed house, which had views out to sea. He said the asking price was $6m and if they couldn't sell, they would consider rebuilding and selling for $11m. I wish I had taken a photo of it - obviously, the value is all in the view and location.

At Laguna Beach we dropped off the British family who had visited Newport Beach. They commented later, that they thought Newport had been the better of the two beaches. Chuck then dropped me off at the Laguna Sawdust Festival ($7) just up the highway.

The Sawdust Festival is an annual event in the summer of all kinds of artists displaying and selling their creations. http://www.sawdustartfestival.org/su...summershow.htm Artwork includes: paintings, photography, ceramics, jewellery and more. There are a couple of small food outlets within the Festival. Afterwards, I hopped on a trolley (free?) and headed back to Laguna Main Beach for a walk around.