The very beginning

Two days in and there already seems so much to write about. I will start this blog post with an apology for any typos - I am extremely hungover this morning after an indulgent night in LA.

On picking up our car we opted for an upgrade - we are driving around the US in a white Toyota Rav4 - it's pretty awesome. I wanted to drive it from the rental place to our hostel as we'd spent so much making sure I would be insured on the damn thing that it seemed like good sense to put this to use. Of course, after around 5 minutes I was pulled over by the police for not using the 'turning lane' to turn left. Just like in all the movies, that short whirring siren was switched on, I checked my mirrors, swore, pulled over and gave my best smile.

'I know you're out of town, lady, but you can't drive like that here'.
'Thanks, officer. I'm ever so sorry and I'll know for next time'.

Trying to cure ourselves from jetlag we walked out of our place, and round the corner to Hollywood walk of fame and saw all the stars. It was around midnight to our bodies, but everyone around us was at 2pm so we soldiered on and grabbed a few beers, crashing out around 10.

Yesterday, our first full day here, we spent.. shopping! Maybe it's this place, but everything we seem to do here feels like it's straight from a TV show/movie. Putting all the (many) bags in the 'trunk' felt rather 'Clueless' to me, although I'm sure Ben wouldn't agree.. I think he probably felt more 'penniless' after the spree!

Last night we went out on a tour around Hollywood, organised by our hostel. They put on two massive 4x4 limos (one Hummer) and gave us bottles and bottles of peach and strawberry champagne, plus a couple of cases of beer, then drove us to Rodeo Drive (we saw the balcony of the hotel room that much of Pretty Woman was filmed in - a cool $11k for one night in that suite), Sunset Strip and on to a club. Luckily, this was right next door to the hostel, or I wouldn't have made it home.

Today we're off to Universal Studios and hooking up with our friend Ben Hill (or Bath-famous DJ Dick Stroker). Oh, and heading for the obligatory tour of the guitar shops on Sunset...