Alastair and Laleinia have been itching for a new adventure. After many hours of working throughout June, a weekend getaway was much needed. Bags were packed and off they went!
Laleinia and Alastair haven't been to Hollywood, and they've been wanting to go to a beautiful beach, so Los Angeles was perfect. Down south is just a blur of cities, so we're going to call it all Los Angeles.
We arrived pretty late and headed straight to the Hollywood walk of fame. Even at a late hour there were many clubs and shops meeting the demands of the many people. Sirens from cop cars kept blaring every few minutes and many heads turned when a very fancy car sped by. It seemed as if we were in Las Vegas all over again. After walking down the strip, we headed back to our hotel.
Breakfast was to be eaten at the very cute OP cafe in Santa Monica. It was rather crowded, so we ate outside. The weather was fine, so we didn't mind. Alastair ordered a breakfast burrito and Laleinia had the French toast. The best part of the meal, Alastair would say, were the bottles of apple juice. And because they were so cool, we took them home. Alastair's will be a piggy bank and Laleinia's will be a flower vase.
The afternoon was spent walking on the pier in Santa Monica. We played in the arcade, of course, and finally got our cartoon drawing.
Our drawing was rather inaccurate (the Dolly Parton balloon boobs), but we can check it off our bucket list! The weather was starting to get warm, and so we hit the beach. The water was cold (the Pacific will always be cold) but we checked off another task from our bucket list!
After all the fun in the sun, Alastair and Laleinia needed to find a buffet. They found the best Mediterranean buffet in Glendale, Levy's Kitchen. Tasty assortment of meats, soups, and pastries satisfied bellies!
We crossed the street and did a little window shopping before heading to the observatory. While driving up to the observatory, we started to see cars....cars....and more cars! Cars were lined up for miles! We didn't want to hike all the way up to the observatory so we drove down the hill in search for a view of the Hollywood sign.
As we were driving past multi-million dollar houses, we spotted the letters "WOOD." Then another block we saw "HOLLY." We were close. The next block, "HOLLYWOOD." We had made it! We parked and snapped a few photos just before the sun had set. We spent the rest of the night driving around the neighborhoods of Los Angeles. We grabbed some shakes and chatted with some sheriffs in Inglewood. They repeatedly informed us that we were not in the right town. We didn't need another reminder that we were sleeping in the hood.
Sunday was the most anticipated day for Alastair. Sunday was when England would be playing against Italy in the quarterfinals. Laleinia found a pub for Alastair to be surrounded by fellow mates of England. We arrived an hour before kickoff. We should have known better and arrived two hours before! The pub was filled with drunkards adorned in the Union Jack.
The fish and chips were tasty, and the excitement of the crowd was enjoyable. If only England gave us a better show. England inevitably lost in penalties. Immediately after the last kick, we left.
