To the City of Angels...

After work commitments separated us for a few weeks, we reconnected in Los Angeles.  

We were fortunate to find a great place in Santa Monica and felt settled almost immediately.

Although Los Angeles has been suffering from a prolonged drought, we somehow once again got caught with cold and wet weather in California.   The locals could not believe the streak of wet weather.  And neither could we!  This was a far cry from the mid-40 degree weather we had enjoyed in Dubai.

Los Angeles is large.  And very spread out.  Without a car, it can be a tricky city to get around.  And so, we relied on a travel operator we rarely use - the Hop On/Hop Off Bus - to help us see the sites. The bus in Los Angeles has several routes, covering the key areas and it was a great way to see the city.  

We managed to see all the big tourist sites:

• Rodeo Drive
• Mann's Chinese Theater 
• The Walk of Fame
• La Brea Tar Pits
• Melrose Avenue
• Beverly Hills and the Beverly Hilton
• Brentwood
• Westwood...

Although the bus recommend only covering 2 of their main routes in 24 hours, we pushed the envelope (maxing out the full 24 hour ticket!) and actually managed to hit most of the sites.

We enjoyed Los Angeles but Santa Monica was surely the highlight.  This quaint part of the city enjoys a beautiful stretch of beach, a great little shopping street, fun restaurants and a really relaxed and fitness-focused vibe.   It also didn't hurt that our lodgings were located directly above a Starbucks!