Thursday, 3 July 2014

Leaving Las Vegas going to Los Angeles - Wednesday 25th June

Leaving Las Vegas arriving in Los Angeles

Wednesday 25th June

 
 
Here we are all ready to get going to catch a taxi to the airport.  A taxi is going to cost us just as much as the airport shuttle but the shuttle will drop off and pick up at various hotels so makes sense for us to get a taxi.  So Amy has Millie and Yorkie plus her free blanket she got from Icelandair with her plus her rucksack!!!  Nothing like travelling light!!!

 
Here we are in the taxi queue, all of us looking forward to LA as we are all Vegas’d out!!

 
Here is our cab now!

 
Even in the cab’s they have interactive screens for you to watch things about Las Vegas I just had to be careful what we were watching as some things appeared a bit risky especially with little beadie eyes with me in the back of the cab!!

 
Colin checking us in for the flight and paying for the suitcases, rip off ron again $25 each bag!!  Not that you can tell from this photo but the place was manic so Amy and I stayed with the suitcases to save us fighting our way through the crowds!!

 
Poor Colly joined the very long queue whilst Amy and I sat down and waited for him to come to the front of the queue, Amy was tired out after all our late nights and busy days!  Trooper Daddy!!

 
Here is the last glimpse of slot machines at the gates phew!!  Let’s get out of this zany city, it has been good, glad we have been and experience Vegas but don’t think we would go back.  Amy says she is coming back when she is 21 so she can go in the casinos and go to the bars but funnily enough Colin isn’t keen on her doing that wonder why?!?!?!

 
Woop woop!!!!

 
Back in the classroom again, doing reading this time!!

 
I have great company on the aeroplane!!

 
Yes everyone is sleeping!!

 
Here is cheeky face awake again and eating skittles that have made her tongue change colour!! 

 
Here we are arriving into LA

 
Wow look at that road structure glad we are not driving that would be a tense moment driving around those roads to get into LA

 
 
 
We arrive in the airport and our trusty google maps has directed us to a bus stop but we have arrived at a terminal and our directions start from the main terminal building, oh dear we didn’t think about that at massive airports!  So we look around and spy a shuttle to take us to the City Bus Centre so that sounds right let’s jump on and ask the bus driver.  Yes we are on the right bus for public transportation transfer.  LAX Shuttle to take people between terminals and it is FREE!!

 
 
Look this is the way buses should be to take suitcases not putting them on your knee or such like!!
 

 
Now we need to get the 117 bus, Colin checking the times!!

 
All set here is our bus!

 
Come on Col the girls are up the back to get out of the way of everyone coming on and getting off!
 
Now google maps tells us to get off at a stop so we get off but it is at a random crossroads with nothing around so we start doubting ourselves what has google directed us to.  It says on the directions to get Bus number 212/213 and then we spy just round the corner from us is the bus stop 212/213, phew!
 
 
Colin pops into the chicken place behind Amy (Colin is the customer in the shop!) to get a bottle of water to try and get change for the bus but they don’t sell water so he ends up with a large soda!!  Now how is this going to work Col 3 suitcases, 3 backpacks, 1 Amy’s hand luggage suitcase, Yorkie, Millie and now a juice carton?!?!?!  And when Colin is in the fast food outlet I see a bus coming so I start waving for him to come out so he quickly pays and bombs out but it isn’t our bus!!  But within a few minutes our bus arrives.  The bus driver is really sweet lady as our fare is supposed to be $4.50 but we only had $5 note or not enough change so she doesn’t want us to lose out on 50cents so she charges us $3 instead, sweet lady!!  We park our cases and ourselves in the wheelchair section of the bus as in the UK this section is hardly ever used.  Well how wrong were we to think that we were hiding ourselves away as at one stop 2 wheelchairs are waiting for the bus, holy moly and the bus is full with only standing room only so I end up in the corridor of the bus with a suitcase and Colin ……
 
ends up making his own seat!!!  Thankfully only one wheelchair gets on as the other one waits for the next bus which is just behind us!!  Now on this bus it feels like we are well aware of what district we are in as each stop there are different nationalities or religions coming on and as we go some neighbourhoods every window has metal bars on them!!  Google maps didn’t suggest we needed body armour ha ha only joking it wasn’t that bad!!  But then a few stops along the way Colin sees a sign saying no food or drink allowed on the bus or a $250 fine!!  So next stop Colin nips off the bus to get rid of the pop he has just bought I wasn’t really thirsty anyway ha ha!!!  That would have been an expensive sip of Sprite!!

 
Amy seems quite happy playing with her iPad though oblivious to what is going on around her!!

 
After 60 stops and about an hour and a half on the bus we get off at our stop Hollywood and Highland, which is clever as we are at the intersection of Highland Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard, now we know how they name the stops!!
 
We get off the bus and just LOOK WHERE WE ARE???  We are on Hollywood Boulevard with our first star we have stepped onto Ozzy Osbourne!!  No sign of Sharon around though ha ha!! 
 
Our hotel is only 5 minute walk from the Walk of Fame, walk up Highland Avenue and then we see……………………
 
 
I will give you a clue with a close up on the next photo!

 
WOW it is the famous Hollywood sign up on the hill!!!
Oh yeah baby – sing along Welcome to Hollywood - and sorry don't know anymore of the words!!
 

 
Through a little tunnel next to a hotel, here we are now that was the easiest directions ever, we are so close to the Walk of Fame, wow!!

 
We are checked in, 2 queen beds, Amy is pleased a bed to herself

 
Balcony

 
Dining area and

 
Kitchen, cool we can do some home cooking we have missed it!!
 
 
And a heated outdoor pool, cool!!

 
We went out for tea as we had spied a guess what a Hard Rock Café just round the corner, yippee we know what we are going to get so let’s go there!!  This is the shopping area next to our suite with the water fountains!!

 
Now we are back on the Walk of Fame and look who it is our good old friend Donald Trump, didn’t think he would have a star, famous for the world’s largest comb-over!!

 
BeeGees - Manxie’s on the Walk of Fame too!

 
So we get sat supposedly on the last table in the Hard Rock Café but there are large amounts of tables sitting empty!!  Wow we have never been to a Hard Rock where there is live music and it is LOUD and a wannabe not someone famous!!!  So our waitress keeps on making random comments to us about our eyes, our accents and then talks about herself, whatever as we can’t hear you anyway!!  So we get our food and drink and we are ¾ way through our food when we are offered Desert menu, mmmm if I finish my main course I might be able to tell you!!  As you can tell the waitress wasn’t really winning my vote for a big tip which is customary in the US.  So we can’t wait to get out of there but when the bill comes it shows that she has charged $12 for Colin’s beer which she asked would you like a small or large beer so Colin had asked for large beer but she didn’t say that it came with a souvenier glass, eh our weight allowance won’t allow it.  So we say that we don’t want a souvenier glass so don’t want a $12 beer so she goes off in a huff then comes back and challenges Colin again, just get the bill sorted Missy!!  This has not been our best Hard Rock Café experience so at the bottom of every receipt it informs you that the USA has a tipping culture and recommended tip is about 15-20% but I am afraid we left with NO TIP!!!

 
 
Our hotel has a rooftop garden, sweet!!
It is night night from us as we are having an early-ish night to be able to be ready for our lazy day tomorrow to recharge our batteries!!

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