You can’t visit LA without doing Hollywood, so we had to go up and see the Hollywood sign, of course: finding a sneaky route up through Griffith Park gives you loads of great views. But for us, Hollywood is most resonant because of Fatty Arbuckle the silent comedian, whose career took a nose-dive after a sex scandal in the 1920s. In 2009 we put on a show called “Sweet FA“, which was all about Fatty and the girl who threw herself off the Hollywood sign, Peg Entwistle. So for us, it wasn’t the Hollywood Walk of Fame that called, but instead Fatty’s house on 649 West Adams Boulevard, a mock-tudor mansion that is now an unassuming college home for Bible students (so Dominic’s going in…).

We also took a drive out to Venice Beach. Although we were extremely lucky to find some free parking, you could be looking at about 20-35 dollars to park, the beach and the vibe wasn’t really our cup of tea. A bit too much like Skegness at home – although way busier! Some will love the full-on hectic atmosphere, but we were most impressed by this painted house just before you reach the beach.

This is as close as we got to the centre of L.A. Lots of buildings are going up, it’s interesting how they have bunched all the skyscrapers together. Maybe to make the skyline impressive, or something to do with all the hills around L.A (?)

This pic had to go in the blog: great signs in the US!

Finished up our day with dinner, although we had to leave the Bachi Burger restaurant in Old Pasadena because we didn’t have any I.D with us and they thought Karen was underage (having recently just turned 40!). It would have been flattering if the manager had not been so officious in his manner. So we left. Thankfully, that terrible customer service was balanced by the wonderful reception we found at the California Pizza Kitchen on N. Los Robles Ave. Our hostess Sandi was super, and gave us lots of tips for the rest of our trip. Great food here as well, and really pleasant to be able to dine outside just a stone’s throw from our hotel.