Solo USA IV Hiking Hollywood Hills & bike riding Venice Beach at Sunset

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.

https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/3616218

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. 

Solo USA II Tati Compton Tattoo, Downtown LA, Santa Monica Farmer's Market & Aura Reading at Venice Beach

The blank canvas. I had booked in a tattoo with Tati Compton, my ultimate favourite tattoo artist of all time. She specialises in stick and poke tattoos and you may have seen the huge blanket with her artworks I have hanging in my room. This was a big deal for me because she just happened to be available for a single day that matched with my schedule. I am a big believer in the universe putting you where you need to be at the right time. I feel the stars aligned for me to get tattooed by my bucket list tattoo artist whilst I was in LA.

What I came to her with was a snake in the above position, the phases of the moon and horoscopes. This is the masterpiece she put together for me. I was in awe as soon as I saw it. It was absolutely perfect. She added the stars pointing down my hand in three seperate rows. They are there to emulate the traditional Thai Buddhist tattoo Sak Yant designs. 

This was my first ever proper stick and poke tattoo and I honestly couldn't recommend it enough. The whole process was an almost meditative and spiritual experience. I didn't feel any pain, it was more calming then anything else. I still can't get over how fine and detailed the lines are.

Ticked another another item off my bucket list, got a stick & poke by @taticompton 🐍 to me the snake represents growth and the ability to evolve, to shed your old self. Listen to the world around you and let yourself be guided by the signs of the universe ✨🔮✨ 

To celebrate my beautiful new work of art, I went next door to Salt & Straw for a couple of scoops. It was actually boiling hot this day so this ice-cream went down an absolute treat! There are heaps of locations all around the States and the gelato is to die for. My favourite part is that they get guest creators in to develop new and fun flavours. One of these scoops was unicorn themed and it involved lollies and blueberries, and quite frankly it was delicious. The main thing that drove me into the store though was the scent. The waffle cones are freshly made and if you can avoid being tempted by that smell, then you are a much stronger person then I am.

Speaker goals

After my tattoo I took an UBER back to my Airbnb in Venice, grabbed my bike and spent the rest of the day riding up and down Main Street. My first stop was Buffalo Exchange. I bought a cute New Orleans vintage travel jumper but nothing else really caught my eye in this particular store. This pin was pretty great though. If only it was a patch I would have purchased it in a quick minute.

I spent a lot of time in the Aura Shop. Not only did I purchase the most beautiful holographic Angel Aura Quartz, but I also had my Aura read. This was a really fun and revealing experience. I didn't immediately read the full break down that I was emailed because I preferred the analysis she gave me in store. Below is the simple break down of my Aura and Chakra reading, the rest of the PDF is 14 pages of in-depth analysis and TBH it's all quite accurate.

Still upset with myself that I didn't buy that super cute pink cactus patch. 

There was a food truck congregation nearby so I of course stocked up on some lobster tacos.

This became my absolute favourite bar in Venice Beach, its called Bareburger and I cannot reccomend it enough. The staff were legends and always chatted with me and gave me awesome recommendations. I drank alcoholic kombucha every-time I went and also tried some of the local ales. During my time here I had the Bison Burger and the American. Obviously the American was far superior because you can't really go wrong with that. The Bison was delicious but not as much as the beef. Bison meat is a lot more lean. I also enjoyed that I could order a side of pickles by itself.

This Mexican place was right next door and I always wanted to eat there, but I could never go past having a Bareburger. I settled with having a look inside and taking some photos of the decor.

There are these whole stores where you can go and buy cigar then sit on an extremely comfy lounge chair and smoke it inside the shop. I tried a vanilla cigar. I was the only person under the age of 50 and the only female. Everyone was sitting in their own silences. No one was on their phones, we were all just thinking.

I was a little tipsy and had only eaten pickles this particular night so I was a little hungry. Note to self, never food shop drunk. The irony was that I went in just wanting some 2min noodles. Mini review time!

Red vines are trash. I do not understand the appeal. Flavourless with a horrible texture.

Cool Ranch Doritos were everything you would expect them to be, delicious.

Reese's snack mix, I ate all the cups, then the pieces then the popcorn. I don't think I finished this one so there were a lot of pretzels left over.

That jerky stick was spicy af. I love a good jerky but this was some over processed nonsense. I didn't finish that one.

The apples were good but over after a handful.

Pocky is delicious, strawberry is the best flavour hands down, fight me.

The 'taffy' was absolute garbage. I was so excited for some salt water taffy, this was not that.

One of the Airbnb's I was really looking forward to staying in had to unfortunately cancel on me because of a plumbing issue. The host was such a gem and reached out to me about it. Was mostly upset because I was looking forward to meeting her and her pupper.

My face knowing that I had to now find a new Airbnb for less then a week away.

The better way to ride was through the beach. On this day I rode the other way via the streets. It was good because Los Angeles is very bike friendly and there were paths everywhere, but I am very unfit and there were a lot of small hills that really took it out of me. Between sorting out my new Airbnb and figuring out how to get to and from Coachella, I did a bit of window shopping. I did need to find at least one outfit for Coachella as well. When I was looking around Forever 21 the guy who I hung out with the day before came in and said hi. I was about to try clothing on so I bailed to the dressing room. He was nice but I just wasn't in the mood to hang out with anyone that day. I just wanted to have a bit of erica time shopping. Still can't believe I ran into the same guy twice in two days in Santa Monica.

Mother's Day was coming up.

This diffuser is so perfect.

Got myself a phone number for Coachella from T Mobile. If you are travelling the states I would definetely reccomend T Mobile. I did the $30 deal which has only 2gb of data for a month but there are higher amounts you can do. I was just poor. I ended up doing this deal twice though if that is any indication of how worthwhile it was having a phone number during my two months of travel.

Spent my morning at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market. I didn't buy anything but I tried a lot of different fruits, some of which I had never even heard of before. Californians really love their mandarin hybrids.

In case you couldn't already tell, I had a lot of fun taking photos at the markets. I tried some raw milk, which hands down was one of the most delicious milks I have ever tasted. I know it has gross things in it but at the end of the day, it really was quite delicious.

Some of these eggs were so expensive! The prices you can see are per egg! I am curious to know if they taste different.

• I eventually rode my bike back to Venice Beach. I wanted to check out the stores on the boardwalk before they closed/ the area got too dodgy to hang around. I love Venice Beach but it was a bit creepy at night. I had to ride through there a couple of times in the dark and the beach is basically pitch black. There is a huge homeless population that are settled in on the boardwalk. Riding home in the dark is terrifying because you can't see them but they can see you.

Every second guy: "hey girl how you going"

I nearly bought this $45 Hello Kitty weed pipe. I was in the store looking at it and the two men in there were so desperate for me to buy it they kept reducing the price and throwing other random things in for free. They got it down to $15 because "you are so beautiful". By the time I pried myself away from that store I had one of the guys numbers in my phone as 'Ziggy Snowflake' with a promise that he would see me at Coachella. I did not see him at Coachella, but I still have him saved in my phone.

This vintage store was one of my favourites in the States! I got my first patches from here. It's called Boardwalk Vintage. It is quite a cosy little shop, emphasis on the little, but there are some seriously cool, unique vintage threads in here.

While I was window shopping I had another fool try to hit me up. This one was persistent to the point that I honestly felt I couldn't get away from him unless I have him my number. He was the type that would call it straight away to make sure it wasn't a fake (which he totally did). This guy proceeded to call me and text me non-stop. He even called while I was at Coachella. I answered and he was just chatting as if we had known eachother for years. I told him I would hang out with him when I got back but instantly deleted his and blocked his number as soon as I hung up. This guy was next level creeper. LA guys are a lot more forward, but this was too much.

erica

#soloUSA

*Please note, this is my first blog post where majority of the photos have been edited with Lightroom. I am still learning and have taken a few creative liberties because this is my blog and I can post what I like. I hope that by the end of these posts you will be able to see a clear progression of how my skills have improved in Lightroom, well here's hoping.