Hollywood or bust

By Gemma Castle on Jul 20, 09 10:20 AM

We arrived in Hollywood after a 10 hour drive from the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, we couldn't afford the Beverly Wiltshire, so we had to settle for our first hostel in a few weeks! It was a big shock to the system after those nice hotels in the OC and Vegas! Luckily, Sarah and I were just in a shared room for one night, then we moved to a 3 bed private room the next morning as Scarlett was joining us.

As we had missed Scarlett's birthday earlier in the month, we bought a bottle of wine and champagne to celebrate her arrival and spent the afternoon on our balcony sipping our drinks and catching up on over six months of gossip!

That evening we visited the Standard Hotel on Sunset Blvd, where the LA episodes of Sex and the City were filmed. We ran around and screamed a little bit, took pictures, and then were kindly asked to p**s off!

We went to a lovely Mexican restaurant just opposite the Standard Hotel, had some good food and a few glasses of wine, before Sarah and I had a go on the very same rodeo bull that Miranda from Sex and the City rode on in one of the episodes!

Somehow, both of us managed to stay on the bull...... I was wearing a short dress so you can imagine how I looked!!

The following day, the three of us, along with two girls we met on the Kiwi Bus, spent the day at Santa Monica beach. We were actually trying to find Manhattan Beach, but after driving round for an hour and a half, we gave up, and headed for the closest beach in Santa Monica.

The weather was really nice but nowhere near as hot as Vegas.
That evening, we went to a club called Hyde. A lot of the clubs in LA are guestlist only..... Luckily, we had Scarlett on hand who knows a few journalists and PR people in LA, who were able to put our names on the list. We all had a really good night, only, all the clubs in LA close at 2am, so we didn't have too long there.

We had another day at the beach the following day, topped off by spending happy hour (4-8pm) at a 2-4-1 Margarita bar on Sunset Blvd.

We had the most amazing strawberry margaritas, before opting for an early night. I would definitely recommend going there if visiting Hollywood. The drinks are fantastic, with a really good atmosphere and great service.

As it was mine and Sarah's last full day in Hollywood, we decided to go shopping. We had a look round the Beverly Centre, where I bought a really nice yellow dress for the evening's night out!

For some reason, I thought I had a lot of money, so I reasoned $85 was a bargain...I then checked my balance and found I definitely did not have a lot of money, meaning, the impending phone call to Dad came sooner than I thought!

We then went to a place called The Grove, which is a gorgeous village with lots of shops, restaurants, and was also playing host to the Farmers' Market. It is amazing, it looks like something from a film set! We had a lovely Italian meal for lunch, accompanied with a bottle of wine...A perfect way to spend the day in Hollywood!

That evening, we had our last night out at a club called Foxtails. It is a brilliant club with great music, however, we managed to annoy the barmaid with our lack of tipping!

First of all we asked how much a glass of wine is, which was $11, then asked how much a bottle was... $300! Suffice to say, we opted for just a glass!

She poured our drinks and handed it to us in a plastic wine glass, and when we recieved our change from a $20 bill, she said to me: "I know you guys are new to this place but in America it is custom to tip the waitress!" I was left speechless...... How rude! We each gave her a dollar tip (I refused to give her any more) which she wasn't happy with so she told the other bar maids not to serve us! I really don't understand why I should tip somebody who simply does their job as a barmaid!

Luckily, we met some guys who had a table full of vodka, so we drank that for free all night and had no reason to go back to the bar!

The following day, Sarah and I were driving to San Luis Obispo for a few nights to the third and last hotel booked as part of Sarah's parents timeshares. San Luis Obispo is about a three hour drive from LA and is between LA and San Francisco.

Before heading off there, me, Sarah and Scarlett went to do a bit of sight seeing and Hollywood souvenir shopping. We walked along Hollywood Blvd to see the avenue of the stars and the Kodak Theatre where the Oscars are filmed, and then headed to the viewing point of the Hollywood sign. We also went to the Beverly Wiltshire where Pretty Woman was filmed!

I had a really great time in LA and would definitely go back. A lot of people beforehand told me I would be disappointed with LA, but I wasn't at all!

Having said that, it won't be everybody's cup of tea! I am so glad we had a car as it would've been so difficult to get around without one. It is definitely worth the hire fee!