Thur 28th May - hot n sticky!

Well, after vowing to get up early and hit the sandy beach that failed miserably and we all end up surfacing around 10am. We tell the boys about our various escapades with the locals in the dodgy clubs from last night and set about getting ready to hit the beach. Lady V and I get our asses down there and within 15minutes it starts to rain…….argh!!!!!! We even lie there despite the rain to try and score some cloud tan….but it really isn’t working, so we have a scout about the souvenir shops and the hundreds of tattoo parlours. What a place this is!? Everyone has got a tattoo and the parlours are oh so plush inside, not seedy at all. I can’t decide what design to get –oh and apparently Dave would divorce me if I get one – bah humbug!!
It’s really hot n sticky so we decide to get changed and then get the cheap bus up to Lincoln Mall. It’s a really nice promenade part of the city, with lots of expensive shops! Unfortunately, there are a number of dull, annoying Americans who have wads of cash and are very loud in the shops – bugging my happiness! We stop in an ‘Irish’ pub for lunch….which was about as Irish as I am……sooooooo not Irish! A few shamrocks on the wall and call yourself an Irish pub!
After picking up a few bits n bobs and Vanstone manages to buy a phone charger, we head back and start to pack up again. We’re up oh so early tomoz, but I don’t care people – BARBADOS BABY!!!!!!!!

Hayley

Wed 27th May - Rubbish weather

Everyone has a decent sleep and wakes up to…..Stormy weather!!!!!! It is blimming chucking it down – I am not amused!! Aaron tells us he’s ran out of money so has to leave on the 1st June instead of with us on the 7th….can’t actually believe it’s finally happened…he looks pretty gutted but says at least he gets to see Barbados for a couple of days…poor bloke.
We waste some time doing laundry and go on the internet at the hostel. The weather is so pants, just so humid with major bouts of rain – you just can’t do anything…..however, we hit Miami beach just for a walk. Vanstone and Aaron have a dip! It’s so much warmer than Venice beach sea! Don’t ask me which sea/ocean it is – not good at that schizz!! We all head back and get changed and go out for some grub on the sea front. This place is so much more happening than Venice Beach! So many swanky restaurants and bars, with uber posh cars outside! I’ve seen Rolls, Jags all lined up on the street – this place is spilling over with money and posers…..great to watch! We have dinner in this crazy Latino place with scantily clad dancers on the bar and a live band. It’s such a good atmosphere and the mojitos are flowing!
The boys are being good and head home early so Vanstone and I hunt for a club, to make some shapes on the dance floor! However, we get told its $20 to get in?!? Er hello – it’s a Wednesday nite!! So we haggle with this bloke and get in for $2 each – yes, $2 each – read it and weep suckas!! But….. it’s…..dead!!!! think Subway Cowgate but with white walls as opposed to black walls. There aren’t many peeps in here apart from a load of drunken American kids and some big woman dancing on a block, shoving her large bottom in some bloke’s face….he’s loving it actually….I have an experience with the barman….he decides to squirt lemon ALL over me by accident – he was so worried bless him – no tip for him though!!
We have a boogie then head along the street and get stopped by a crowd of P.R peeps, that just put on loads of wristbands on you. It looks like you get in for VIP but the truth, is they don’t! You rock up to the door and they still charge you $20, cos it’s now after ‘such n such’ a time - yeah yeah – I aint paying £15 to get in a club midweek people!!!! Oh and apparently a smart black, shirt-dress n flipflops is not suitable attire – but jeans and heels is best!! PAH!! Jog on matey!
We head down to the seafront and find this nice bar and have good girlie chats over some vino. It’s about 2am and they’re closing so decide to go home, until we get stopped by some dude outside a lively bit – he says its 2 4 1 and free to get in – whoohoo we say and in we go….…..big mistake!!! Hmmm….as soon as our butts hit the chair, we get chatted up by some dodgy individuals who want to take us for a walk along the beach – er hello?!?!?! What is that?! So we leave there pretty sharpish! Such a random night and all I can think is ‘Crazy Americans!’

Hayley

Tue 26th May - Welcome To Miami!

It’s an evil 6am start today, as we’re flying to Miami. We’re all checked out and the taxi gets here at 7am. We think that’s plenty of time as it’s a domestic flight, so we’ve got just under 2hours before we take off……
Oh my god……What a complete FAFF check in was. I actually HATE American Airlines and all their unhelpful, slow as hell staff!! There’s a special bit for all AA passengers to check in with a number of self-service check in points and a number of normal check in desks. However, it seemed that nothing worked and everyone member of staff was telling us different places to check in / put our luggage!! It was a complete stress and I don’t think everyone in our group was coping well with this fiasco.
We had to run up to some random luggage dude and BEG him to take our rucksacks and then run to security. I have a sickening feeling that I’ll never see my rucksack in Miami….however, we manage to get to the departure lounge with no more dramas and can finally chill the hell out. I do a little people-watching and spy this plastic woman who clearly wants to be Pamela Anderson…..and her handbag is moving….oh look, she is taking her pet Chihuahuas to Miami with her…on a plane….in a handbag!!! I don’t think American’s get the idea that that maybe cruel?! Such a dozy mare….
The flight is about 5hours and we get sweet FA in regards to beverages and food – what?! You have to pay over the odds for it – grrr – so needless to say, we starve as Dave is being tight!!! We get to Miami and its uber humid and also looks like its been raining – nooo!!! I need sun and beach time!!!
We get a cab to our hostel and it’s a funky wee place with FREE grub – whoohoo!! They’ve booked us into our own apartment, which is a few blocks away and is really cute. We’ve got cable, 2 double beds and a single bed with a small kitchen. Aaron is on the camp bed, in the servant quarters!!! Vanstone aint feeling too good so she crashes out while the boys go out exploring and I watch the box! They bring back pizza n juice – all good!

Hayley

Mon 25th May: Mr Muscle anywhere?

It’s another beach day and we’re determined to make the most of it…..so we bake all day long…..and all get a tad red by the end of the day! Vanstone and I even attempt a dip in the sea – yikes, it’s a bit fresh though!!!
Later afternoon comes and the boys are getting bored, so we decide to have a mooch along the promenade and spy on all the freaks that are around. We pass a roller skating rink where this huge group are dancing away to Flo-Rida ‘Low’ on roller skates – amazing!!!! We encounter the famous Muscle Beach as well, where Aaron gets his non-existent guns out – haha….there are soooo many Arnie wannabes out here accompanied by their ‘plastic-fantastic’ Barbie doll girlfriends….it’s all rather weird. The apartments on the beach are soooo impressive and full of partying teenagers – damn them and their rich parents!!
After all that excitement, we head back to the hostel and get ready for our last night in Venice Beach. We head over the road for some BBQ food which was sooooooo yummy and far too much of it! Can’t even manage to waddle back to the hostel afterwards, so we end up chatting away to the wee Hispanic waiter. He is rather taken with our Vanstone and is trying to lure her to stay in the States – haha!
We head back to the hostel and everyone is playing cards in the common room area. Aaron gets sucked into the game of Blackjack by the lads – even though he has no money! We just sit and get chatting to the other randoms in the hostel. There’s 2 really sweet girls who Hayley and I get speaking to, they actually work in the hostel so they can ‘make it BIG in LA’ – oh deary me, everyone is the same here – trying to get famous – it’s mental!!

Hayley

Sun 24th May - Beach Day yay!

As our wee hostel room doesn’t have much of a window, our room is pitch black and we end up sleeping in until past midday….must’ve needed it! However, Vanstone and I are gagging on a tan so we get up quickly and slap on the lotion and away we go. It’s a tad windy on the beach which actually gets a wee bitty nippy later on, but we continue onwards trying to get the perfect tan! I spot a dolphin before we head in for the day, which was rather exciting!
It’s a bit of a mission trying to find somewhere to eat for dinner. I cannot believe that this busy hub of a place during the day is so dead after sunset! Crazy times! We walk along the promenade for a good 20minutes before finding a pub type place and end up having some decent nosh. There’s a bit of confusion at the end of the meal though, as the waitress asks Vanstone if she wants a pizza box for her leftovers and then asks if she can keep the change but Aaron doesn’t hear that bit and ends up saying ‘that’s fine’ and ends up tipping the chick $20……which was a lot of our change…..oh dear, cue an insanely angry Dave as we are watching our pennies and Aaron doesn’t got ask the waitress for the change back…..stubborn men! Raaaaaaa!!!
You can cut the atmosphere with a knife, so Dave and I decide to head back to the hostel and leave Hayley and Aaron to explore the rest of the promenade. So a very early night is had by us!

Hayley

Sat 23rd May - Off to Venice Beach!

Everyone manages to get up on time and check out of Sin City with no dramas. Luckily, we hadn’t bumped into Greasy Paul again – and hopefully never again!! We book a taxi but time is ticking away and we start to stress that it’s cutting it a little fine….luckily, the nice hostel owner lets us all hop in his 4x4 and takes us to the Greyhound station. This aint your normal bus station like back home. Oh no, you have to ‘check in’ and of course there’s a sodding queue ahead of us full of Vegas crazies….argh!!! Then of course our ticket might not be accepted, cos Dave has ripped it off thinking we didn’t need a certain part of it – RAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Luckily, the driver didn’t give a rats ass and we all pile on with 1 minute before departure….and the bus is heaving, full of hungover Vegas gamblers – I mean holiday-makers!
We all survive the bus to LA and we get back to Hollywood Boulevard around 4pm. There’s an interesting sight that comes off the bus with us….a very rough looking, ginger haired lady in her early 20’s along with a rough teenager girl carrying a cute Asian baby and they’re all wearing pyjamas….seriously……hmmmm, where did they just run away from!? It’s all so weird here!!
Vanstone and I manage to find out what local buses to get to Venice Beach and it takes blimming ages but we get there without too many dramas. All the different bus rides just emphasises how HUGE from one side of LA is to the other!!
Venice Beach has a totally different vibe to it, compared to downtown LA and I luv it! It’s so BOHO baby with plenty of crazy hippes around!! Heehee!! We check into the hostel – Venice Beach Cotel – but unfortunately, they’ve been having drain problems so our room doesn’t have an ensuite….Vanstone isn’t too happy about it…..welcome to travelling! I’m so used to it now, it’s funny!
We have a mosey on down to the beach and check out the Baywatch beach huts and notice every fecker is on rollerblades or cycling – so it’s true!! Haha! We meet the Stoke lads in the hostel, who are staying just down the corridor! We have dinner on the promenade which dies a death when the sun goes down…all very weird, thought this place would be buzzing! We head for a few drinks in some swanky bar call Nikki’s and then some more in The Townhouse with the lads from Stoke.

Hayley

Fri 22nd May - sore heads anyone??

Well, everyone is hung-over to hell apart from me! I surface around 10am and decide to provide refreshments for the room by going up to the garage. That doesn’t even stir them so I just end up getting showered and heading out for a sunbathe. The boys from Stoke are feeling rough as well but they’re away to the Grand Canyon today! Good on them, but they must be over the limit!
Eventually everyone is up and ready to stagger out at 3pm! However, Aaron decides to stay in bed – ALL DAY!!! Man alive, it’s roasting as hell out here! Not good with all of our sore heads….however, we get the bus into the strip and get off at Caesar’s Palace. We decide to head into Caesar’s palace on the look out for some cheap food. It’s all so massive in here – the shopping centres / the displays of fire / fish tanks in the wall – MENTAL!!! We stop and have a huge salad at one of the many eateries in there and notice that Cher is playing here – she even has her own shop here with Barbie Cher dolls for sale!
After wading through the masses of miles of shopping centre in Caesar’s Palace, we head towards the famous Bellagio….where Oceans 11 was filmed….it’s sooooo cool seeing the Bellagio fountains in action, and just across the road is the Eiffel Tower – mini Paris! We head further down the strip and see New York, New York which has a roller coaster flying in and out of the building along with the Statue of Liberty outside it! Luxor is up next and this is where Will Smith’s video ‘Getting Jiggy with it’ was filmed – it’s like a mini Egypt with the hotel being in a pyramid! We head into Excalibur, which is all medieval style along with scantily clad women dancing on the bars….it’s 5pm!!!!!!!! Deary me…..we’re gutted that we miss the lion cubs in MGM by 10mins – argh!!
After our mammoth trek, we’re all shattered and head back to the hostel where we find Aaron STILL in bed!

Hayley