Epic Round The World Trip Adventures! Stunning Photos & Articles - A fascinating gap year travel journal covering every stop of their journey.

Los Angeles City Tour - USA
Gap Year Travel Journal

Text By Jo & Photos By Mike

(23rd August) Los Angeles City
Our day long bus tour took us first to Downtown LA to see the birthplace of the city of angels - Olvera Street, with a hotel and church named after the then Queen of Spain whose name ended with "...de Los Angeles" meaning "... of the angels". We went through the old theatre district, where most of the former theatres are now vacant and run down but such beautiful buildings that they could really benefit from being renovated. Stopped at the Biltmore Hotel where they used to host the Academy Awards Dinners back in the 1930's. Really over-decorated ceilings - amazing architecture and loads of old black and white photos of the dinners. Went up into the Hollywood Hills, passing Paramount Pictures Studios. Drove up Mulholland Drive where Sharon Tate was murdered and James Dean was killed in a motorcycle crash. Arrived at the Hollywood Lookout with a clear view across to the Hollywood sign. It used to say Hollywoodland and was originally an advertisement for a real estate package of land! We had a view across the city from here but as you can see from the photo it was really thick with smog and haze! Next stop was Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with the pink stars and the hand and footprints of celebrities. Just along the street from here is the Kodak Theatre where the Oscar ceremony is held - see photo of Jo stood on the stairs. We went along Sunset Strip - past The Viper Room, owned by Johnny Depp (where River Pheonix died), and past Chateaux Marmont - where John Belushi died (a jolly road this one!). Stopped at Mel's Diner for lunch - an original 1950's diner that was used in the film American Graffiti. Our waitress had served the likes of Paul McCartney and Fergie (the Princess!) but no stars in there whilst we ate! Once revived, we then had the grand tour of Beverly Hills (zip code 90210 for those of you who remember the 80's series!) and Holmby Hills. The names of the stars are too many to mention but let's just say these mansions are HUGE! Saw one with 12 supercars parked out front - Ferarri's, Bentleys and a Rolls Royce Phantom. Saw Aaron Spelling's home which is apparently larger than Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately the Playboy Mansion is set up on a hill and all we could see was the roofline - no playmates on show! Finally we drove along Rodeo Drive, past the most expensive row of shops in the country, onto Willshire Boulevard, past Saks 5th Avenue, where Winona Ryder was arrested for shoplifting and finally out to the coast at Santa Monica. A lovely pier with a funfair on it - the oldest pier in Southern California and was used in films like Starsky and Hutch, Titanic and Knightrider! This was a full on day, led by our driver/tour guide who was obsessed by Hollywood trivia and kept coming out with all the films that various locations had appeared in. Fantastic trip to get a real overview of just what LA is all about, without having to fight through the traffic ourselves!

Highlights of our gap year travel adventure:

Stop 1 - Capetown---> The City | Simonstown Penguins | Table Mountain Cable Car | The Waterfront Seals | Windsurf Action.
Stop 2 - West Australia---> Perth City | Perth Zoo | Cohunu Animal Park | Rottnest Island | Rockingham Penguins | Yanchep Park Koalas | Cervantes Pinnacles | Geraldton Windsurfing | Kalbarri Gorge | The Pink Lake | Coronation Beach Windsurfing | Gero Road to Cervantes | Carnarvon Jetty & Quobba Snorkel | Denham Lagoon | Monkey Mia Dolphins | Coral Bay Termite Hills | Coral Bay Quad Biking The Dunes | Exmouth Kangaroos | Mandurah Canals | Margaret River | Margaret River Wine Tour | Margs Windsurfing | Bunbury Windsurf | Bussleton Pier | Towns near Bussleton | Augusta Nature | Pemberton Camping | Pemberton Tall Trees | Cape D'Entrecasteaux | Walpole Tall Trees.
Stop 3 - East Australia---> Cairns Sky Rail Cable Car Over The Rainforest | Mossman Gorge | Cape Tribulation Rainforest | Port Douglas | Daintree Crocodiles | Captain Cook Highway | Beaches Near Cairns | Atherton Tablelands Fig Trees | Bowen Beaches | Airlie Beach | Whitsunday Islands Boat Tour | Great Barrier Reef Snorkel | Whitsunday Snorkelling | Town of 1770 History | Fraser Island Beach Driving | Tin Can Bay Dolphins | Noosa River | Australia Zoo Wombats | Sunshine Coast | Nanango Bush | Gold Coast Beaches | Byron Bay Beaches | Woolgoolga Beaches | Coffs Harbour | Port Macquarie Cafes | Forster Pelicans | Great Lakes | Nelson Bay Dolphins | Sydney By Day | Sydney By Night | Sydney's Manly Beach.
Stop 4 - New Zealand---> Auckland Revolving Restaurant | Rotorua Volcanic National Park | Lake Taupo & Waitomo Glow Worms.
Stop 5 - French Polynesia---> Tahiti Island Waterfalls | Moorea Island Water Bungalows | Moorea Shark Feeding | Bora Bora Island Buggying.
Stop 6 - Hawaii, Maui---> Maui Snorkel Videos | Maui Snorkel Photography | Maui Windsurfing | Maui East Coast Hana Highway | Maui North Beaches 1 | Maui North Beaches 2 | Maui West Coast Surfing | Maui South West Lava Fields | Haleakala Volcano.
Stop 7 - Hawaii, Oahu---> Kailua Beaches | Round Oahu Island Drive | Honolulu Pearl Harbour | Oahu Snorkel Videos.
Stop 8 - West USA---> Los Angeles City Tour | Venice Beach | Long Beach | Queen Mary Tour | San Onofre Surfing | Route 66 Drive | Las Vegas Casinos | Grand Canyon.
Stop 9 - East USA---> Miami Beach Art Deco.
Stop 10 - UK, HOME---> Back To Heathrow, Bringing To A Close Our Amazing Round The World Trip.