Sara, Eliza and I arrived in Hollywood as the sun was setting. It was annoyingly chilly, but that didn't bother us after Coachella. We just wanted to get to my Airbnb, have showers, wash our clothes and relax for a quick minute.
My Airbnb was horrible. This is in no way Airbnb's fault at all. The host was just scamming me. Basically I thought I had paid for a whole apartment to myself for the few days I was there. I had the apartment to myself for the first night. For the rest of my stay the host was in the apartment. Watching tv every night so I barely left my room. I had booked this after Coachella as I knew I would need a bit of alone time to recharge. I was in no mood to socialise with a lying Airbnb host. To make matters worse ON THE DAY I CHECKED IN she texted me to let me know that I couldn't cook anything non-vegan in the kitchen...Look there is nothing wrong with vegans, I'm all for it, each to their own BUT don't impose your food values on others. Not everyone can afford to eat vegan while they are travelling. I had booked this place to relax by myself and cook some home meals so I could save some money. This awful host ruined all of that for me.
I ALMOST FORGOT TO MENTION THE AIRBED INCIDENT! When I first got to my room I jumped on the bed excited to be back sleeping in a "REAL" bed. Turns out it was an air mattress that WASN'T EVEN INFLATED! The first night of my stay I slept on the lounge as there was no pump in site..
This is what I sent to Airbnb. The person who responded to me was also called Erica, which made for a fun back and forth. At the end of the day, the host was forced to change her accommodation type from "Whole apartment" to "Private Room in Apartment". She still hasn't mentioned the vegan kitchen rules on her page though. I am linking and including a photo of this Airbnb profile as a WARNING. Please do not read this as any sort of endorsement. Her reviews are 1000000% fake and written by her friends. If you ever stay in Hollywood, avoid this scammer.
The next day we felt more like actual humans after some sleep (even it was on a lounge). We ate our last trailer breakfast, which consisted of peanut butter on toast, mushrooms, avocado, beans, tomato, egg and onion. That day we attempted to hike up to the Hollywood Sign.
We went up a different way, which apparently tourists aren't meant to do because it's a residential area, probably also because it's an impossible way to get to the Hollywood sign. But we didn't know that at the time so we tried anyway.
I wish these photos could convey how truly impossible this was was. This was as far as we got and honestly I am so proud of us. What we thought would be a chill little hike up ended up being a vertical wall of slippery dust and shrubs. Us trying to do this in our Nike's was pretty hilarious though. We didn't hurt anything except maybe a little of our dignity. We had some very ungraceful falls, but it made for a pretty hilarious afternoon.
We walked down (or up?) the Hollywood 'Walk of Fame', which in all honesty is just a glorified slab of concrete. This was the only photo I took because it was just that boring and not noteworthy in any sense.
Took my girls back to my favourite LA spot, Venice Beach and I FINALLY got a photo (or 30) riding a bike along the boardwalk. But this time I got to do it with my friends and it was so much more fun.
I have never met two best friends closer than these two girls. They are each other's be all and end all. There is nothing quite like it. Screw wanting a Boyfriend. I want a friendship that can even come close to these two, because you will never beat it. It makes me so happy to write about. I love them both so much and I am so happy they have each other in this world. One day I hope to know a friendship as real and loving as this one.
Yes, my leggings say Santa Monica. I changed out of my dress because it was just too damn cold on the pier. TBH they are actually great leggings and I wear them all the time. BUT wearing them with my Coachella jumper AND a Venice Beach shirt was maybe a bit much souvenir on souvenir... or was it?
Hollywood was really delivering punch after punch. This was without a doubt the worst Thai we had ever eaten. Not only did they take forever to come out, the meals were cold and generally just did not taste right. We tried to resolve the issues but these meals were blatantly microwaved. I didn't want to go full Gordon Ramsay but we were pissed. We were cold, exhausted from a big day and Coachella, and starving. We just wanted a decent meal! The place is called Siamese Garden. It is closer to Marina Del Rey. DO NOT GO WASTE YOUR MONEY.
Ending the ridiculous of LA with a UBER back home because you can't go wrong with UBER. At this point I was pretty over LA and keen to start my Contiki BUT I had booked a dog rescue walk for the next day so I was keeping my hopes high.
