3rd August 2016

We packed up the car this morning, and had one final breakfast in Ventura.

We headed straight for the Premium Outlet Mall in Camarillo, around 20 minutes south of Ventura. These outlets were the same as those I visited with girlfriends when visiting New York a few years ago, so I was prepared for the size of the place, and the bargains to be had. We had planned to spend a few hours there - that turned into many hours there, and we finally left there at 5pm! We bought lots of great bargains - I bought three handbags (I know, I know, I don't need more handbags), some jeans and Converse; Andrew bought some jeans and tee shirts and Oliver bought himself two pairs of trainers with money he'd saved up, and money he'd received as a gift. Even he had a spring in his step after that!

We headed for Los Angeles, and for only the second time in the last two weeks we hit traffic. Five miles of crawling lanes going south and five miles of crawling lanes travelling north. We had planned to watch the sunset at Griffith Observatory in Hollywood - they have the best vantage point for the Hollywood sign, so we thought it would be a good start. The traffic put paid to that idea. Oliver was the first to spot the Hollywood sign on the way in. Brilliant!

We made straight for our motel, which is in the Chinatown area of Hollywood. After the surfer 50s style Ventura, Hollywood was a rather stark contrast. I last visited Hollywood 25 years ago, when my sister was a nanny in Laguna Beach, and it was pretty dirty and seedy then. From what I've seen so far, not much has changed. But you know, that's what makes it quite charming and interesting. It's like some parts of London that are a bit edgy and you don't feel 100% safe.

The motel is perfectly fine, no frills, but then we paid no frills money - so it's what we expected. We had originally planned a rather chic hotel in the main part of Hollywood, but decided to try and save a little and take the motel option. I'm not disappointed with the choice - it's another experience. After planning tomorrow's trip into the main Hollywood area (Hollywood Boulevard and Beverley Hills), we decided that we should probably take public transport, and ditch the car. We took a walk down to the Metro station nearby to see where it was and how easy it was to buy tickets. Even the Metro station is Chinese style.

The area surrounding the motel is FULL of Chinese restaurants, banks, shops and cafes. We really are in the thick of it. We eventually found a nice little restaurant and ordered 'take-out', and took it back to our room, and watched the second part of Finding Nemo (which we had started a few nights ago).

Looking forward to tomorrow - a busy day ahead, and for once, we are setting our alarm clocks.

Incidentally, I am actually morphing into a Californian beach bum. My hair now has beautiful grey roots, the blonde ends look as though I've been surfing for years. i can't think of the last time I opened my make up bag, and I've taken to wearing flip flops all the time. So apart from the new handbags, there's little of my former self recognisable. I even have chipped nail varnish - oh the shame.