Day 1 in LA - Hollywood (about a half day...)
Went on the customary "Stars" Homes Tour that pretty much encapsulates what people go to Hollywood for (yah! big generalization). This took me a little bit about the place in a minivan with some real crazy star-stalker-types who would Ooo and Ahhh at gates and front shrub-age. I think we drove through the Hollywood Hills, Beverly Hills and some of Bel Air where the price of the cheapest homes go for about $25 milion. I honestly can't recall which houses we drove by or momentarily stopped at (just long enough for some to take happy snaps, but not long enough to get shoo-ed off by security). The guy that owns Guess definitely has some quirky (ick) displays of opulence in his front courtyard. Oh, and I think I recall us driving by the houses and apartments of the cast of Friends, Tom and Katie Cruises' fortress and Madonna's tall bushes. I'm sure there were heaps of other "homes" that we drove by, but seriously I don't think my brain cared to remember where they were or what they looked like.

Also wandered Hollywood Boulevard and chanced upon day one of the sale at Victoria's Secret - I'm proud at how much I didn't buy! Visited the famed Graumann's Chinese Theatre with the hand and foot prints of the rich and famous, and I took heaps of photos of those.. hahahahaha The Wax Museum was a bit of a downer, the wax figures where very obviously waxed, waned and worn. Ooo and I had my first and only giant pizza slice in LA - some little place called Grecos or something, of course I had ham and pineapple!

Day 2 in LA - Magic Mountain
Went on the USA Hostel shuttle to Six Flag' Magic Mountain in Los Angeles. It was a decent deal, USD$45 for transportation to and from the hostel and admission to the theme park. I wandered the park with german girl from my dorm room - Silvke (I can't remember how she spelt it). She was pretty cool, reserved but friendly enough; she kept worrying about how scary the rides would be.

Truth be told, it was my first time in a long time on a rollercoaster of any sort, I was pretty excited. Oooh, and I got a photo with Porky Pig and his girlfriend! I don't recall the names of all the rides I went on; if only they all lasted longer. My head started to hurt like all buggery (I'm guessing buggery would hurt) about halfway through the day, I'm not sure if it was the very hot weather or just the tossing of my head like a balloon loosely attached to a stick every time I went on a ride. I might have done some serious damage given I feel even less intelligent now than I did in San Francisco.

The only really bummer about my visit to Magic Mountain was the monstrous queues for heaps of the larger rides; the longest wait we had was for "X2" the newest attraction. It was worth the wait, but obviously the ride would have been heaps more awesome if it was longer. There is a possibility that I suffered some whiplash on that ride, but it was evilly good! In the words of the ninja turtles.. Cowabunga!

And food at Magic Mountain was "Chinese Gourmet" takeaway from Panda Express - Silvke and I shared a "Combo 2 of Orange Chicken and Mandarin Chicken with Chow Mien and Fried Rice"; which proved to me that bad chinese takeaway is similar the world over (hahahaha)

Got back to the hostel feeling totally exhausted, I think I dozed on the bus back.. Ooo and had my first serve of Mexican takeaway, all $8.10 of it for a little of everything. It was from a small Mexican place that had a good crowd of Mexican in it..I'm not sure what everything is called, but there was a beef taco, a cheese pancake thingy, an enchilada with pepper and a whole heap of cheese, mexican yellow rice, stewed beans and corn chips with really good salsa. It was a huge serve - it was dinner for two nights. All good, but sooooo much cheeeese!

It became apparent to me on day 2 in LA that I need more time in each location so I can do and see all the stuff I want to.. but cest la vie - next time I suppose. I'm a little bummed about having had to skip going to Universal Studios in LA because of the lack of time. It would have taken a whole day, just like Magic Mountain and I would have to skip seeing places like the Farmer's Market (LA), the La Brea Tar Pits (which I didn't end up bothering with), and of course Rodeo Drive.

Hollywood Boulevard and surrounds is teaming with tattoo parlours and stores with trashy clubbing garb - think Lil Kim and Christina Aguillera during her "Dirrty" day. People in LA all seem to have at least one tattoo.. I was tempted, but good sense conquered once again.

Ended the day with the Comedy Show at the hostel - some of them were good value, but the host (bald guy with bad jeans) was appallingly crass and unfunny.

Day 3 in LA - The mini tour, Rodeo Drive, Farmer's Market LA, Hollywood Memorial Park (read: cemetery), wandering Sunset Boulevard and the "gay" best friend for the day.

Day 4 in LA - Disneyland

I'm outta time. I should be exploring. TTYL