California Dreaming!
We stayed at the J W Marriott in LA Live which is the media and live events area of downtown LA opposite the Staples Centre where all the big acts perform. Beyonce was on the first night and Fleetwood Mac the last and it was interesting to see the different crowds they attracted!
The hotel was brilliant. It's a large and vibrant place with a great roof top pool. We had a lovely corner suite which was huge and very quiet and had great views of the lights at night. The staff were really helpful and it's a great place to sit and people watch!
I was determined to see if it's possible to get around LA without a car! I can report that it IS possible! There are a number of subway stations within easy walking distance of the hotel and we managed to get to Hollywood Boulevard and Venice beach by subway and bus. Given that traffic is usually slow in and around LA I would say it would take around the same amount of time to drive - and we didn't have to worry about trying to park!
We took in all the usual sights which included the Hollywood Walk of Fame to see the stars on the pavement and the Chinese Theatre and gazed up at the Hollywood sign. We also took an open air bus tour of the movie stars homes that also took in Sunset Boulevard and Rodeo Drive and we spent a very pleasant afternoon down at Venice Beach checking out the shops, restaurants and Muscle Beach.
Los Angeles was actually pretty much as I remembered it. We only had 3 days here before we headed off to Florida so we this time we didn't visit Universal Studios or go over to Anaheim to Disney, but I can thoroughly recommend these from previous visits. There are also so many lovely beaches to choose from.
If you are planning a trip to Los Angeles or just want to pass through en route to somewhere else, please feel free to give me a call as I would be more than happy to chat through hotels, restaurants, beaches or things to do.