USA Trip. Part 5. Hollywood.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 9:49PM I was talking about my amazing overseas holiday the other day, and it occurred to me that I still hadn't blogged about the last leg of our 3 week trip. Ooops!
You can read the other parts here:
After the blissful 8 days in Kansas, we begun the looong trip back home to Australia. By now, I was almost 32 weeks pregnant and feeling it. Ella had well & truly recovered from the virus she picked up in Canada, but it was becoming obvious that she was missing home...and missing Daddy!
The last day in the USA started early, with yet another super silly flight time, meaning we had to be up & on our way to the airport at 5am {again}. It was sad saying goodbye to Spen, Heidi & the kids, but also exciting that we were soon to be back at home. However, we still had a whole day to fill in LA, as our connecting International flight wasn't leaving until 10pm!
During the last few days in Kansas, I realised I had better make a decision on how the heck I was going to fill a whole day & evening in LA. I toyed with a few ideas. I considered getting a cheap hotel room for the day so we could at least store our luggage, swim, play, eat etc. But I thought that would be a waste of a chance to explore :) So I considered going all out & getting a limo or silver service car to drive us around all day to see the sights, but in the end I booked a day-long bus tour, which not only took us to all the main LA hot spots, but also stored our luggage...AND we weren't alone...a good chance to mingle with some other 'tourists'.
A few hours on the plane got us to LAX {and due to time differences....we gained some hours....making the day even longer haaa!}
Where I then juggled our 2 suitcases, 2 backpacks, 1 handbag, 1 extra carry-on, 1 stroller, a 3yr old & a big belly through one of the world's busiest airports to find the tour bus :)
Once we {finally} found the correct bus and loaded on.... the day officially begun! And what an amazing day it was.....
First stop....VENICE BEACH:
Where we cruised some cheap nic-nac stores and absorbed the crazy yet chilled lifestyle....
And headed to the beach for a quick sand play....and so we could say "Yeah, I've been on Venice Beach!". It was an overcast day but that didn't matter...the place was still buzzing....and I was happy to see the lifeguard towers in person....wish we had them here....very cool!
Ella pulling a "hey dude, I'm in America" pose :)
The basketball court in the background of the above photo.....the exact one where the movie "White Men Can't Jump!" was filmed.
We then hopped back on the bus, and headed to Santa Monica. Very cool. Another quick tick of my bucket list of places I want to see :)
And again, on this hectic day of travel & schedules & being ridiculously busy; Ella amazed me. Just shy of 3 and a half years old and this little lady of ours was being such a trooper. She was the only kid on the tour bus, and the day contained a lot of sitting, on again, off again, waiting, walking, rushing, looking, learning, listening & shopping. Yet, my little pal continued being the most amazing little travel buddy. She was interested in everything we saw and everywhere we went. She was polite & calm. She listened & followed instructions. She absorbed it all. And basically lived big....in true Ella style. At the end of the day, a few groups of people came up to me & complimented me on Ella's behaviour & attitude. They were shocked to learn she was only 3, and had been living out of a suitcase & traveling the world for the past 3 weeks. I felt so proud of my little Angel that day. Again, she made me LOVE being a Mumma.....HER mumma!
Ok...back to the day of cruising LA.....
After Santa Monica, we headed to Downtown LA and spent about 45minutes walking around a Latino Village. The markets were absolutely amazing! Full of life. Full of colour!
I'm pinching myself now that I didn't buy more that day from those markets....as everything was SO cheap yet mainly handmade! However, being the end of our trip I was scared our suitcases were nearing their weight limit, so only bought a beautiful handmade dress for Ella. And I gave her the option to buy 'anything' she wanted. And what does one buy in Downtown LA when given the chance??? A crappy pink toy dog that yaps annoyingly when you squeeze it's tummy. {and we probably could've bought the exact one here in the $2 shops.....but hey, that's ALL she wanted!!!}.
And a ride on a toy donkey / pony...I'm not quite sure what it was LOL.....
Back on the bus, and we headed into Hollywood :) We spent about an hour or so walking up the Hollywood Blvd and browsing the shops. Wow....I thought New York was hectic.....but this street was really hectic. Loud & fast & busy. Everyone seemed in a hurry. It seemed full of tourists though, more than locals or workers. Photos were snapping madly. Car horns beeping constantly. People & crowds EVERYWHERE!
We had pizza for lunch! And when I say pizza....OMG....a slice was HUGE! Like bigger than my head....for one slice hehehe!!!
A terrible 'selfie' but you can get the gist of how BIG these slices were!!!
Even though the pizza was ridiculously huge and there was no way in the world Ella could get through 1 slice...it was still gooooood. Perfectly greezy yet doughy. Yumm!!!
One thing I did notice in Hollywood, was how many homeless people there were. On every corner, a person with bags of 'stuff' & sitting with a sign begging for money. I threw in dollar notes whenever possible, to ease my conscious a little. Sounds silly doesn't it? But I felt guilty, that I was here....from overseas.....shopping & living & loving & exploring the world with my healthy, perfect daughter & thriving baby belly....and here they were....with NOTHING....nothing but a look in their eyes of complete hopelessness & pain. We even witnessed a horrible event {well...I did....Ella was too busy looking in the Disney Store window & was oblivious to everything around her....she was too busy admiring 'the real Donald Duck' thankfully} where a homeless man in a wheelchair {which was loaded completely with bags} somehow lost control of his wheelchair & it fell off the edge of the curb onto the busy street of Hollywood Blvd. He laid there in the gutter, as still as stone {out cold}, his wheelchair crumbled next to him, his bags of 'junk' scattered everywhere & blood just pouring from his head & down the drain like water. A lot of people jumped into action.....calling 911, signalling traffic to take care, barricading off the area so he was safe from anymore harm....but noone actually turned him over to see if he was still alive. Was it because he was homeless? And a smell was coming from him....that worse than anything I've ever smelt before! I guess so! Would people have helped me, turned me over, resuscitated me if necessary if I was the one to have fallen??? Probably!!! I don't know!! But we all stood back....scared....yet hoping for the best. An ambulance was there literally within minutes of the call and they started to cut his clothes off with big scissors. Before Ella could see too much, I walked off & took her into the Disney Store. I don't know if that man was dead or alive. I don't know what happened to him after that. But I felt really disturbed & gutted for the rest of the day with that vision etched in my mind. It got me thinking about his family? His story? How he ended up being a beggar on a street corner?
Moving on.....because we have to..... don't we?
We found some of our favourite celebrities in the 'Hollywood walk of fame'. Like Tinkerbell :)
And had cuddles with Mickey :)
We didn't get time to actually go to the Hollywood sign. But we climbed this gorgeous lookout & got beautiful views across the valley to the sign.
hard to see with the blurred background....but the HOLLYWOOD sign is there!
The day had cleared....blue skies had appeared. It was all kinds of lovely....being on what felt like 'on top of the world' in California. I kept pinching myself "Dude, you're in LA!!"
After a tour of the Beverly Hills area & the 'stars homes' {which I secretly found really fascinating}, we headed to Rodeo Drive! Yeeehaah!
We had about an hour to browse here. Ummm....I need to go back here.....an hour just wasn't long enough!
Lots of fabulosity happening here in this street!!!!!!! I didn't see any celebs though....boo!
But I did take a Pregnant Selfie Shot of me & my belly in the window of Louis Vuitton :) I want THOSE shoes!!!
Not so sure if Mr Vuitton would be too impressed with Ella's choice of seat though while she munched on her M & M's hahaha!
Rodeo Drive was basically the finale end to an AMAZING day! After that we started heading back dropping everyone off to their hotels, and our stop...back at the LAX airport. What a day! It was so much fun! I'm really glad we went on the 'bus tour'....it was so worth the money & we managed to cram in so much of LA into the one day! I recommend it if you're traveling over there & need to fill some time but want to do a lot :)
From there, I checked us in into our International Flight. We had dinner at a bar & grill in the airport, and freshened up with a change of clothes & brushed our teeth. We pottered around the airport shops, and I attempted getting wi-fi so I could send Chris one last email before we headed home!! Getting Ella to 10pm was hard. She was EXHAUSTED!! Of course, in a cruel twist of fete....she fell asleep in my arms just minutes before they called us to board our flight. And being heavily pregnant with bags, bags & a few more bags to carry....I could not carry her. So I had to wake her & lead her sleepy little body down the long halls of the plane runways. Once on board, Ella passed out again & slept for a good 10hours :) Me? I ate, watched movies, squirmed with severe un-comfortablness & attempted to sleep...with no luck.
The next day, we had a quick flight change over in New Zealand & landed home in Brisbane fairly early that morning! Seeing Chris, being back on famililar ground & being HOME again was magical. LOVE!
Even the mammoth job of unpacking had me feeling grateful & thankful and full of life!
We came back with all kinds of goodies. USA rocks for shopping!!!!
I truly had the trip of a lifetime. I am so SO glad I took that risk....a leap of faith.....a gutsy decision & did it. Me & My Girl :) Us Chadwick girls took on the world and it was FUN!!!!!!!!!!!
Where to next??
