After all the excitement and worry of last night we ended up having a great flight. The plane was only about a third full and we had the space to completely lie down. I subsequently took a sleeping tablet and zonked out for the night only waking up about 6 hours later. We have our breakfast, I swap my hot stuff for yogurt and fresh fruit and before much longer we’re due to land. Coming in over LA I can’t believe how flat, brown, heavily populated and massive it looks. I start crying a bit with the relief and excitement of finally arriving here. It feels like a dream really.

We clear immigration and collect our gear before setting of on the free shuttle bus to Thrifty car rental. We have booked a salon type car but when we go towards the car park Simon steers us towards some big beast of a car. Oh my god – how cool!! I’m shrieking at this point! For the next 10 days we will be driving a Ford Mustang Convertible! It is awesome!

We head out kind of North West towards Santa Monica, on the way passing legends such as UCLA, The Getty Museum, Sunset Blvd and Beverley Hills. We will be spending some time in LA when we come back here prior to our flight to New York but for now our plan is to get out and drive up the coast towards San Francisco where we will be spending the next few days.

Its just awesome- driving along the freeway with the roof down and some hip hop music blasting out I feel like we’ve been thrown into a scene of a film and everything feels very familiar and comfortable. We drive for a about 3hours passing Ventura and Santa Barbara on the way. This is Californian Wine country and we are tempted to stop at one of the vineyards and buy a couple of bottles but keep going. Due to time restraints we know we will have some heavy driving ahead over the next few days and are going to have to concentrate on seeing the places we want to see the most.

We stop off at a Best Western Motel for the night and pay 115 dollars for a big room. Its luxury to have a bath and although we don’t want to watch any TV whilst we’re here the kids are pleased to see about a million different channels.

Well we’re fairly exhausted now its 11pm and we’ve so far managed to eat McDonalds and Taco Bell. Tomorrow we are going to be driving the rest of the way to San Francisco- about another 4 hours; we have booked accommodation there and also 2 nights at Circus Circus in Las Vegas later on in the week.

Up until we booked our trip I never wanted to go America. The reason being that I knew once I got there I would fall in love with it and despite all my adventurous spirit might never go anywhere else. Having been here for 2 days I think it was definitely the right thing to do as we have been seduced by America in a way that hasn’t happened with anywhere else we’ve ever been and we have had the best day today.

We head north along HWY 101 for about 4 hours, stopping a few times for some lunch and to stretch our legs on the way. (I pinch some flowers out of the pot pourri in the restroom so Maisie and I can put them in our hair and we sing the song about going to San Francisco)We keep passing things that look so familiar and yet we’ve never been here, from small, tall thin windmills, to rusty “nodding donkey” oil pumps, to massive trucks that dominate the roads and completely dwarf us in our Mustang. The landscape is green and scrubby brown, it’s hot, with a dusty blue sky and we zip along with the roof down, my hair blowing everywhere.

As we come into San Francisco it looks exactly as I knew it would, the beautiful bay on our right and the busy narrow streets of “Little Saigon” as we head for Chinatown where we are staying. We check in the hotel, a decent enough Chinese run place (For 100 dollars) and park the car. A quick coffee and we head off out to buy a guide book. We reach the most amazing bookshop, full of arty titles and reading tables, its dark and trendy and we end up with The Rough Guide to USA. We wander all through Chinatown and then head towards Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s quite a long walk, up and down steep hills but so much to look at I don’t know where to start.

We pass through the Italian district of North Beach and gaze around at the numerous pavement cafes, the food looks just awesome and we decide we will eat here later. Past an emporium of American symbols and memorabilia , licence plates, Coca Cola stuff, a life-size Elvis, Harley badges, Route 66 anything’s ( Bottle openers, fridge magnets etc) its like stepping into America heaven!

At Fisherman’s Wharf we have a quick look at the boats before getting a drink next to the hawker food stalls, with a huge choice of seafood including clam chowder, fresh crab and shrimps it’s a lively, noisy area with crowds of people. We see a saxophonist playing jazz, the quintessential cable cars and horse and carriages.

We catch the cable car back up a few blocks and hang off the sides of it like in the movies! I wanted to just jump off but we had to tell the guy so he could stop and we make our way to a gorgeous Italian cafe where we have some amazing food. Ali and I had salmon with aubergine relish and Simon and I shared a bottle of red wine.

We walk back to the hotel, full of it; our guide book describes San Francisco as the gayest city in the world, once the literary capital of America, a city of hills where poetry meets porn. What a fantastic introduction to the US, today has been everything I dreamed it would be and better.

I woke up feeling very achy this morning something to do with the fact that I slipped over in the bathroom last night and now have a bruise the size of California on my arse. Simon goes off in search of coffee while I catch up on a few emails and gradually the kids come to life.

We go out for breakfast before getting the car and driving down to Pier 39. We have booked a 90 minute tour of the bay which includes a ride under the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. We get on the boat and as we’re first on make a run for the top deck. The first sight of this trip is the famous sea lion colony. These massive, big, fat beasts slob out in the sun and occasionally make a huge splash as they dive into the water. Just at the end of Pier 39, they are huge in comparison to their relatively small New Zealand cousins.

We head out to sea and towards the Golden Gate Bridge, exactly as we have seen it on the TV; we learn from the commentary that it is painted continuously in “International Orange”. When it was completed in 1937 it was the world’s longest suspension bride and has been described as “possible the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed bridge in the world”. Well its definitely one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen, graceful and almost mystic looking with San Francisco’s famed mist swirling around it, its an awesome sight that even has the kids impressed. We spend ages taking photos and are pleased the information on the tour is so interesting and informative. Sadly I read later on the internet that one person every 15 days jumps from the bridge. Most successfully committing suicide.

Next stop is the infamous Alcatraz Prison. I always wanted to go here and although we couldn’t get any trip taking us onto the island we go close enough in the boat. As we near the island the wind picks up and within minutes it is really cold and chilly. Maisie cuddles close and says it’s scary and despite the bright sunshine it is an intimidating looking place.

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary started life as a lighthouse before becoming first a military and then a federal prison. Because of its position in San Francisco bay and the surrounding freezing waters and strong currents “The Rock” came to the notice of the US government as an ideal location for holding criminals. The Great Depression and Prohibition gave rise to increasingly violent and organised crime and Alcatraz was the answer to the problem of where to house well armed gangsters terrorising the law enforcement agencies. The prison housed the nation’s most dangerous men and was genuinely feared by most of them.

We learn the names of some of the more notorious inmates, Al Capone, The Birdman (Robert Stroud) and George “Machine Gun” Kelly. I find it fascinating and it’s a good if gruesome learning opportunity for Ali and Maisie who lap it up!

We’ve seen some crazy things here today- a homeless guy with a sign saying “dollars needed for penis extension”, some mad fool on a skateboard being dragged up one of the steepest hills by a car and some interesting and strange looking characters. Although I haven’t felt unsafe here I have been more safety conscious than in any other city we have visited on our trip.

We check out the area of Russian Hill and drive across the Golden Gate Bridge before getting an early dinner. More delicious Italian food and red wine, we spend the evening sorting ourselves out for tomorrow. We will be driving towards Las Vegas and had hoped to stop off at Sequoia National Park but have realised it will mean two days of about 6.5 -7 hours of driving each day. Too far for the kids (And us) so instead plan to not take that detour and just head straight to Vegas. Hardly an entirely bad thing I think!

We got up early as we have a long drive today and want to get out of San Francisco and on our way. We have, with the help of Dad and Pauline a really good itinerary that will allow us to see something of the states of California, Nevada and Arizona but it does seem like we have planned too much. (As advised!) Still we’re happy enough to have one or two heavy days on the road, after all how bad can it be zipping along in our Mustang with the roof down and our music blasting out!

We leave around 9.30 and drive across the absolutely huge Bay Bridge, skipping Oakland and joining the 580 East towards Stockton. We stop for gas and food and then head inland slightly, driving south through the Central Valley of California. We drive for hours, the kids are so good and don’t complain about anything other than eventually the heat. We have to put the roof up on the car, it’s so so hot, a dry, crisping heat that seems to suck every bit of moisture from the air. I love it but its even way too hot for me and when we stop for lunch at Jack in a Box (More fast food) and I try to sit on the kerb outside, the ground literally burns my bum through my shorts. We have to have our aircon on full and even then the sun fries us through the windows.

After miles of flat, dry and brown land suddenly we reach the Tehachapi Mountains- wow! So beautiful and not even a well known American geological landmark (Not to us anyway), we drive straight through them before entering the Mojave Desert, a burning desolate area that I would love to stay and photograph. We have failed to make it to some (Relatively) close national parks including the famous Yosemite and Sequoia but as we have all fallen completely in love with America over the past few days we’re not too worried as we’ll definitely be back really soon.

We stop off at Walmart and buy some CD’s. We were divided and limited with our choice but eventually settled on James Brown, The Bee Gees, some 60′s compilation thing including The Monkees, The Drifters and Otis Redding and The Police Greatest Hits for good measure. We wanted to get some music to suit our drive and I love it. Especially the Bee Gees album. ( The sound of America I reckon !!!!)

423 miles and 9 hours later and we arrive at Barstow, it’s very close to the ghost town of Calico recommended by our friends Shirley and Ade and we plan to stop off there in the morning before driving the remaining 150 miles to Vegas. We book into a motel and me and the kids strip off and dive into the pool whilst Simon goes in search of a few beers. How fantastic! He returns with a few tinnies and a giant Corona! Yeh!

We make our way next door at 8pm and order some Chinese food. It makes a good change from the junk we have been eating since we arrived here and we wolf it down. We get back to our rooms and the kids go off to watch Mythbusters whilst we crash out. I’m feeling really excited about Vegas, everyone seems to love it and I reckon we’ll have the best time.

10pm just sat chatting together and I said its only 11 days until we go home. Usually it’s me complaining about having to return to the UK but Simon suddenly looks completely gutted. He mutters it feels like a sick joke- I know how he feels.

Simon and I both woke up at 4am this morning and lay there, so excited about driving to Vegas. It’s a bit like waking up early on Christmas morning! We pack up our gear and set off in the Mustang for the Ghost Town of Calico, as we leave we have our photo taken by the road sign. Barstow, where we spent last night is on the historic Route 66 and we see a few people as we travel along living out their dreams, cruising along on their Harleys.

Calico was once a silver mining town established in 1881 and we learn that $86 million worth of silver was mined here until the price of silver collapsed and the town eventually closed. We’re lucky, when we arrive there isn’t anyone else here and the place truly looks as deserted as we would hope and expect. We look around the saddlers, saloon, barbers and small museum before heading up the hill towards the ice creams. We put some Elvis on the Wurlitzer and enjoy a few moments of complete nostalgia.

Back on the road we drive for a couple of hours and suddenly sooner than we expect we have arrived in Vegas. Oh my god! How fantastic! Almost too much to take in we pass the famous casinos that we have read so much about -New York New York, Paris, The Venetian, Flamingo, Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace to name a few. The strip is just completely amazing, far bigger than I imagined and we gaze around drinking it all in, all talking at once as we each spy some new astonishing thing.

We check into Circus Circus where we have reserved two nights and are thrilled when we go to pay to find that Dad and Pauline have paid the remainder of our bill. Thank you so much- what a lovely surprise! Our room is great- quite luxurious and we chuck our gear in before heading downstairs to explore. This place is massive, the huge casino areas almost dwarfed by the Adventuredome and circus area. There are also loads of shops, boutiques, a wedding chapel and restaurants. I think we could probably spend all day in here and never even go anywhere else.

At 7pm we decide we are going to walk along the strip and set off in the still boiling heat. Its dark by now and the lights are nothing short of unreal. Blazing away, the millions of watts light the strip like an overloaded fairy grotto. Although the temperatures are almost unbearable I take my jumper as the air-conditioning in the hotels is fierce. We walk for what seems like miles, passing Treasure Island and MGM Grand as we want to see the famous fountains of Bellagio. Oh wow! It’s absolutely beautiful, the gorgeous fountain display is elegant, moving and really out of this world. Ali and Maisie love it and it makes me cry it’s so good.

We have dinner in the Harley Davidson Restaurant; the Harleys are moving all around the roof on a sort of pulley system- awesome! We get 3 meals between us but should have really only got 2 as they were so big and we didn’t eat everything even though we tried. We get a cab back to Circus Circus around midnight and although I didn’t feel tired we completely flake.

Its 1am and we have just got in after the most amazing day. Nothing I could say could possibly do justice to Vegas and our photographs are hopelessly inadequate at capturing this truly spectacular city. Bearing all that in mind I can honestly say if anyone asked me which one city I would recommend to visit in the world it would be Vegas. We have just loved it, the crazy madness, the heat, the casinos – it really isn’t like anywhere else we’ve ever been or even dreamed of going in our wildest imagination.

We wake up fairly early but don’t go out until late morning; we have to sort out some laundry first. A very boring task but necessary as we’re all running out of underwear!
We take the car and park at The Venetian, the hotel is really beautiful. For anyone who hasn’t visited Las Vegas, the hotels are all basically huge casinos and have been built with increasingly grand architecture. My idea of Vegas as a nostalgic place with loads of Elvis impersonators running around actually couldn’t be farther from the truth. For a start it’s massive, bigger than I thought and ultra modern in many ways.

The Venetian is awesome, with a river and gondolas inside and beautiful Roman figurines and living statues, it’s in a great location and I would definitely think about staying here for a future visit. We spend the afternoon in one hotel after another, we manage to see loads, just too much to describe but my favourite hotels were the city themed ones. New York New York with the Statue of Liberty, skyscrapers and rollercoaster, Paris- So amazing, inside a whole stretch of French Boulevards with an artificial sky that even staged a storm with rain, thunder and lightening at one point. We also visited The Flamingo, a kitsch pink palace and Mirage complete with tigers and a dolphin park.

We do some shopping in the Miracle Mile and buy a few clothes for Maisie. We are all going to need a complete new wardrobe when we get home and I figure we may as well buy some gear here where it’s a bit cheaper than in the UK. The shop assistants are unbelievably helpful and shopping here is a real pleasure in comparison to in England where I always like the idea of it but end up finding it a fairly stressful experience.

In the evening we set off late (1030) to try and spot Britney, she is opening a new club LAX at The Luxor this evening but not a chance! The one thing I have really missed since being here is looking glam. In the evenings lots of people get dressed up in all their best threads and there’s no way that we are going anywhere near a new club with our year old traveller clothes and 2 kids in tow!!

We settle for dinner at Mandalay Bay, another huge casino/hotel. This one is a bit quieter though and we share 2 meals. We have realised that this is more than enough food for us four and although it’s relatively cheap, even with the 18-20% expected tip I don’t want to leave loads of food because we’ve over ordered.

Driving back along the strip we see a few people being arrested and stopped in their cars. Vegas feels like a very safe place, there are too many lights and people to feel unsafe here (On the strip anyway). Despite this though it isn’t really a family destination, primarily of course are the casinos and if we had been on our own we would have undoubtedly spent some time gambling. As it is, Ali and Maisie are exhausted and we decide after such a busy day that 1am is probably late enough.

We woke up a bit earlier today and make some plans to go and see some of the remaining casinos. First we head for Caesars Palace and watch the Atlantis Fountain show and then to the glittering Wynn. This is Las Vegas’ newest hotel and we are expecting something special as Steve Wynn the owner has built it with the proceeds from the sale of Bellagio.

We decide to take the car as it’s so hot here walking around, even a mile, is almost impossible and we are tired from yesterday. Wynn is absolutely beautiful inside; imagine the most ostentatious, gilded palace, full of light and with an artificial lake and waterfall and only the most expensive designer stores alongside a more exclusive looking casino area where the gamblers all sit in rooms with craps, roulette, poker and blackjack being played alongside the rows of fruit machines.

We have lunch there; the food is excellent and then walk back to the car. We were supposed to be leaving this afternoon but we decided to stay. I think 3 days is perhaps perfect for Vegas and will give us time to see a few more things. We go shopping for clothes and get the kids some new stuff. Ali is so pleased to have some new jeans and insists on wearing them in the evening despite the heat. One of the best shops we go in has loads of signed rock memorabilia- the Jimi Hendrix guitar was my favourite, me and Ali just stood looking at it for ages going “wow Jimi signed that- cool!”

Around 8pm we head back out again, this time to TI, the old Treasure Island pirate show has been recommended to us by Shirley and Adrian but when we get there we realise the “swash buckling buccaneers” have been replaced by the “Sirens of Pirates Cove!” We get some dinner first and then manage to snaffle a good spot on the bridge. The show is good, kind of a stripper show really but we enjoyed it anyway!

Back at Circus Circus we get some Krispy Kreme donuts. Pretty bad at midnight I know! The kids have been, at times, completely evil since we have been in the US and I can only think that the deterioration in their behaviour must be due to a combination of such late nights and eating crap. The food is actually really delicious, but although we have ordered salads with every meal they invariably come smothered in some fattening (scrummy dressing) and I am a bit worried about the lack of vegetables and fruit. With so much on offer they have also asked for things non stop- mardigras beads, candy floss, chocolate covered strawberries, snow globes, badges, laser pens, ice creams etc etc – the list just goes on and on!! We have bought them loads of bits and pieces but somehow here what ever you buy wouldn’t be enough!

Tomorrow we have another massive drive ahead, we are going to the Grand Canyon and then onto Flagstaff. Not nearly enough time here but hey better then being in Tahiti any day!!

We wake up and pack up. We now have an extra bag full of stuff as we seem to have bought quite a bit of gear here- mainly clothes for the kids and we have to dump a few things. I give Mum and Paul a quick call to let them know we have survived without gambling absolutely everything. They have been to Plymouth this weekend to clean up our house- thank you so much! We check out and I feel sad, Las Vegas is just complete mayhem really and I’ve loved it. I could have easily stayed a lot longer. (And gambled it all!)

We drive through downtown Las Vegas and look at all the wedding chapels on the way, it is the bank holiday Labor Day weekend and Vegas is packed with brides and grooms. We laugh when we see a drive through wedding- how mad is that -they don’t even get out the car!

We take the 93 out to the Hoover Dam. This huge and famous dam of the Black Canyon on the Colorado River was completed in 1935. It’s a strange, wild, bare and rocky looking place and so hot it’s unreal. We drive over the dam and take a quick photo of the short side, there wasn’t really anywhere to stop and we are in a rush to get onto the freeway. Heading towards Kingman we have the choice of getting on the freeway to Williams or taking Route 66. The longer way is of course on Route 66 and we decide due to lack of time to take the freeway. (Definitely the most sensible option)

10 minutes later and Route 66 it is – getting our kicks-yeh! How could we possibly take the freeway when we have discovered today we can plug our MP3′s straight into the car stereo and listen to all our favourite tunes on the way. It’s amazing, as I always thought it would be- miles of long straight road cutting through the Hualapai Indian Reservation, we pass tiny Peach Springs on the way. Good job Dad told us to fill up with gas before taking this road; we hardly see any other cars let alone anything else. Except the mirages, shimmering across the road, it looks as though there’s water lying across it.

At Williams we take the 64 to Tusayan and The Grand Canyon. Its getting quite late in the afternoon and we’re hoping to catch the sunset here. We pay our park fee- $25 and head in. Parking the car, I feel excited and as we walk towards the South Rim of the Canyon it feels a bit unreal to be here. Sort of unexpected for us over the past couple of months, we didn’t expect to even be in America.

It’s awesome- as amazing as anything I have ever seen and a truly stunning view. Nothing can prepare anyone for the vastness of the canyon in the flesh. Over a mile deep in places, around 277 miles long and ranging from 4-18 miles wide it is known for its overwhelming size and intricate and colourful landscape. Today the rocky outcrops seem to glow a deep, dark red in the late afternoon sun. We take a stack of photographs from every angle, but trying to capture the hugeness of it is impossible.

We walk around the rim and in the end sort of give in to it. There is no way that we will be able to experience even a fraction of what the canyon is so we just sit together, watch the sunset and gaze at what we can see in awe. It is truly an inspiring and beautiful place.

Back in the car, we take the 180 to Flagstaff where we plan to stop for the night. By now it is getting dark and the hour long journey is eerie in the dusk. We put the roof down, turn up Pink Floyd – loud! and watch the nightime drawing in. Behind us the sky is deepest orange, the tall skinny trees silhouetted against the clouds and ahead a scary looking inky blackness. Lightening illuminates the sky completely; every couple of seconds and the electric forks crackle in the distance. It was almost an other worldly experience, partly thrilling, partly nightmare- like some kind of strange hallucination.

At 8.30pm we finally reach Flagstaff, exhausted! Today has been tough but amazing and I know we haven’t spent enough time here. Off to bed now- had some pizza – more junk. Oh god.

Flagstaff has to be one of the noisiest places ever with huge slow trains rattling through the town all night long. Subsequently I didn’t sleep too well and was awake from 4.30am until about 7. When Simon woke me up about 8ish I was feeling tired and not too enthusiastic for the days drive. After some coffee though I perked up a bit and we pack up and head into downtown Flagstaff in search of some breakfast.

After porridge and pancakes (Maisie) we set off south towards Phoenix. Our map driving distance thing says it will take us about 1 hour 30 mins but soon it becomes clear that it will in fact take much longer. Today is Labor Day and the road is so busy. As the general speed limit is 60 we’re surprised to see a few people racing along including pops who Simon is getting ready to ram after he cuts us up for a second time!

The road is very beautiful, the town of Sedona is famous for its spectacular red rocks and we pass some wonderful scenery on the way. We have both been awed by the sheer size of Arizona – it’s really massive and although driving here isn’t unpleasant we are all feeling a bit uncomfortable due to the heat. We have our aircon on full, but it makes my eyes so dry we have to stop and buy some eyedrops. A thermometer showed the temperature to be off the scale at over 120 degrees (Not sure what that is in degrees c but damn hot!)

By the time we get to Phoenix its past 1pm and we have to make a decision. Our plan has been to travel further south to the town of Tucson and then back to LA tomorrow. From Tucson to LA will take about 8-9 hours according to our map and we decide we just can’t face another long journey this afternoon and then again tomorrow especially after yesterdays mammoth trip. Arizona has beaten us and we sadly decide that the amazing saguaro cacti of Tucson will have to wait until another time.

Once our decision has been made we can relax a bit and we stop off just outside Phoenix for lunch before heading west towards Los Angeles. It takes us a few hours to reach a halfway point at Blythe and we are all so relieved when we find a lovely Best Western Motel with a gorgeous pool, free wifi and complimentary breakfast for 70 dollars a room. As we are all feeling a bit frazzled we get 2 rooms and I lie on the bed nursing my pounding headache whilst Simon takes the kids swimming.

9.10pm- we’ve just got in from dinner. We had a look around and having discarded the choice of McDonalds, Taco Bell, Mexihitas, Jack in a Box and Wendy’s we decide on Sizzlers. They offer a salad bar dinner for $5 and as we have all noticeably gained weight in the past week we’re desperate for something a bit healthier.

Half way through our salads we are surprised when the waitress appears at our table with a huge plate of thick sliced white bread, soaked in melted butter and grilled and two large plates of fried chicken dinosaurs and fries. We start to tell her we didn’t order it but she explains it’s free and comes complimentary with the kid’s salads! Oh my god- no wonder there is an obesity problem in America. We really have tried to make healthy choices but unless you have exceptional will power its very difficult when food is placed in front of you to refuse it.

With that in mind – I give up!

We set our alarm and went to wake the kids next door who have in the short time we have been in the US adopted Jerry Springer as their favourite show. Tearing them away from it we get some breakfast before continuing west along highway 10 towards LA.

At lunch time we decide to stop off at Palm Springs for something to eat, this desert oasis has been popular with Hollywood stars for years and it is obviously a rich place. Despite the fact that the surrounding desert is almost completely devoid of all colour, a white, rocky barren land, Palm Springs is green and leafy with palm trees and long straight boulevards lined with hotels, golf courses and expensive deli’s.

We get some lunch and get back in the car. We drive past the Joshua Tree National Park where U2 wrote and recorded their album of the same name and try and decide whether or not to make the 3 hour detour around to the park entrance. It is tempting to go and see the Joshua Trees but in the end we decide it’s too late in the afternoon already and carry on to LA as planned.

We arrive in North Hollywood around 7pm and check into the Comfort Inn. The area is ok and the place is nice and we have a quick shower before heading out again. We want to go to Hollywood and Sunset Blvd and after driving round in circles for half an hour eventually find a place to park at the Hollywood and Highland shopping mall. There is a jazz concert taking place and we stand and listen for a while before getting dinner.

Ripleys Believe It Or Not Museum grabs the kid’s attention and we decide to go and have a look around. It’s really good with loads of interesting and weird exhibits that the kids love including a life-size model of Marilyn Monroe made of shredded dollar bills, a shrunken head, part of the Berlin Wall, instruments of torture, a two headed lamb, a human hair bikini and photographs of a double eyed man amongst loads of other crazy stuff!

We walk along Hollywood Blvd and look at all the stars along the pavement. We see loads we have heard of and more we haven’t, it’s a really busy lively place with street entertainers, tourists and homeless people all crowded together. By now its 1130 and I think its time to leave, I don’t feel really unsafe but I’m glad when we get back in the car.

Back at the hotel we plan for tomorrow, we want to have a good look around but another late night means we’re not going to rush out in the morning. Off to bed now.