The 'REAL' First Day

So we decided that yesterday was not really a day, more like a day of the zombies .... Had to reread the travel journey to remember what we did.

With a 14hr sleep under our belts, we decided to take on the traffic and the highways to track our way to the notorious "Hollywood" sign and Rodeo Drive in Beverley Hills. We started with a hearty breakfast at Danny's Diner ..... everything (including pancakes) is served with a hash brown, no not a little pocket-size hash brown but a half-plate shredded hash brown! Peter and I enjoyed an omelette with some fresh veggies and a cup of tea ......VERY filling.

It took us a good 30mins to get to the Hollywood sign which we view from the Observatory grounds, which also provided an amazing view of LA. Down the hill and onto Beverley Hills and yes the Beverley Hills police precinct is the same as Beverley Hills cops .... we didn't get to see Eddie Murphy though. Some incredibly expensive shops and yes Gucci just smelt like leather, and no there were no price tags on anything but at least I wasn't asked to leave the shop in my jeans,

boots and T-Shirt. In fact, somebody actually asked if I wanted to look at stuff ..... We did; however, find our first real coffee at a little French-inspired cafe/patisserie - my cafe au late was a strong espresso with half milk but hold the foam. Yay!

So without shopping bags, we loaded the car and headed to Santa Monica Pier for a hot dog. It was busy and then VERY wet. We were able to explore the pier to the end, and even saw a seal swimming but then as we were walking back it started to rain. It stopped, we started walking again to get to the shopping district and then it poured ..... we ran through puddles and more puddles. Thankfully we did have raincoats but we were still a tad wet. A good excuse to spend the afternoon in and around the shops.

The highlight of the evening was having a hot dog and fries at a place called Steak and Shake. Peter ordered our meal then ordered a beer and was promptly asked for ID!!! Made his day really!!!

Thanks to mum for organising Miranda's orthotics, might save her legs and feet.

And no, still no shopping bags...