A Guide To ... Los Angeles

As there was no Law lecture this week I thought that I would indulge in a little travel writing. I love to travel and although i have all ready travelled quite a bit for someone of my age there are still many places I would still like to experience.

I have travelled most of England and a few places in Europe but by far my favourite holiday destinations are Los Angeles, New York and Egypt. I have all ready written a guide to Egypt and New York which you can find linked to their names.

Los Angeles, home of Hollywood, Venice Beach and The Dodgers. I stayed on Venice beach at a hostel owned by Britney Spears father, Jamie. It is called Cotel and was my first hostel I have ever stayed in. I am a girl that loves her creature comforts, good food, a bell boy to carry my suitcase to my room and a comfortable bed. I am not made of money but I do prefer to spend most of my money on my hotel. So... imagine my horror when I first arrived, three flights of stairs, an 18KG suitcase and no bell boy.

Cotel is right on the beach, you walk out of the front door and you are there. There is a huge atmosphere on the beach with people cycling, jogging, rollerblading and even people on Segways. One side of the street is lined with restaurants, hire stores, books stores and the normal beach shops with spades, buckets and bikinis. The other side is lined with little stalls with people from every background on. They sell henna, face painting, food, spices, paintings, anything you can imagine.

The homeless people even have style on Venice beach with sarcastic signs about what they will do with your money and how they deserve it too. This is one of the only bad points of Los Angeles, the line between rich and poor is very fine. At one end of Venice Beach is Santa Monica Pier which caters for the standard family with their amusements and the other end is Muscle beach where ripped men work out all day. However, in between these two ends of the beach it is lined with homeless people in doorways, slumped against lamps and sleeping on a cloth on the floor.

Whilst I was there I saw a phone commercial filmed for AT&T, on the street of our hostel. This was exciting and just what I wanted to see in LA. I also visited Universal and Paramount studios in which I saw a film being filmed. I am not sure what the film was but it was outside with a typical New York cab. These are must see places to visit in LA. You can not visit the land of the rich and famous without popping in to a studio for a tour. I am a huge fan of films and television shows and being on the set of some of them was amazing.

I visited the Farmers Market which I was told was where I would find many celebrities doing their shopping but this was not for me. It was smelly, cramped and very big. I made a de-tour from the smelly stalls of foreign food and came across a little place called, The Grove; and I loved it. I can only describe it as a mini disney land. The streets are lined with designer boutiques, music in the perfect flower beds and trams that you can hop on and off. I walked around here with my friends on an early evening and it really felt very surreal.

The Hollywood sign was a huge disappointment, we could not get very close to it and so only saw it on the streets of Hollywood and it was teeny tiny. i did feel a little warm nuzzle in my heart that I was seeing one of the worlds most famous landmarks but it was a disappointment. Be warned of this when visiting.

My highs of my holiday were: playing volleyball and cycling/rollerblading on Venice Beach, sitting in the audience of the Jay Leno Show and sitting on the couch in Central Perk, (FRIENDS).

I had the most amazing eight days in Los Angeles and I think the fact that I went with a huge group of friends really added to my enjoyment of my time there. We could literally hang loose and do whatever we wanted. The bus is only one dollar so we could go wherever we wanted too. The fact that I stayed in a hostel has actually made me see that I do not need to spend an absolute fortune on my room for the length of my stay. The hostel was clean, friendly and safe. I guess that is all the really matters and I do not need a four star hotel to make my holiday.

A Guide To... Egypt

There are many guides, all over the Internet about what you should take, how you should act and horror stories about the food, people and illnesses. After spending two gloriously hot weeks in Egypt earlier this year I thought I would give a first hand account of what to look out for and take with you.

Before You Leave:

- Inoculations. If you are staying in Sharm El Sheik there is no need for malaria jabs as there is only one, tiny section in the middle of Egypt across the Nile that is a hot spot for malaria. Just make sure you take repellent spray and try to have it included in your sun lotion too. Everyone needs to have Hepatitis A and B and Typhoid. Most people that have already been abroad will only need a booster of Hepatitis A or B or not need them at all. There is no cure for Rabies so don't touch any animals whilst your out there.

-Hotels. I stayed in The Sierra Hotel which is an English 4/5 star Hotel. In Egypt there ratings are about 1 or 2 stars less than our rating. Which means that if a hotel is rated 3 stars in Egypt it is about a 1 star in an English equivalent. I definitely recommend going all inclusive as there aren't many places to buy food in Sharm, just make sure you go for a high star hotel.

Whilst You're Out There:

-Food. I was warned not to eat ice cream, don't have ice in my drinks, don't have fruit or salad that hasn't been washed etc but after three days I did all of those things and felt fine. No matter what you eat or drink in Egypt you will have a jippy stomach. Everyone will go through it and it should last more than a day. True you wont have too good a day but you can still lie by the pool, just make sure you're close to a bathroom or your room. Also there is a miracle pill that I swore by. Its a little yellow packet that will cost you 5 Egyptian Pounds. Of course this will be after haggling as it can be as much as 80 or 90 Egyptian Pounds which is about 15 English Pounds.

-Haggling. I tried this once. I haggled a bottle of sand down to 300 LE from 1500LE. I thought I had done extremely well. That was until I walked away and realised that I had just spent £40 on a tiny bottle of sand. If you're going to haggle make sure you know the exchange rate and what is a fair price of what you are going to buy. Always think about your purchase before you go ahead and enter into a haggling war.

-Natives. They're all very friendly, some a tad over friendly. They will all try and shake your hand, give you a hug. Maybe even a kiss or two but just be careful. When we went to Naama Bay we were frequently being hassled and shouted at to come in to shops, to stop and talk and this left me with an angry feeling, of which meant we never went back to Naama Bay but I'm told that if you go in groups you should be fine.

-Trips. We did a few trips whilst out there and I recommend them all. The Ultimate Desert Experience was amazing. Quad biking through the desert, camel riding as the sun went down and then a Bedouin dinner before returning to base in the dark, in the desert on our quad bikes. There was also Cairo. You can travel there by coach or by plane. We went by plane and by 5pm we were shattered with all the travelling which was nothing compared to the people that went by coach. We visited The Citadel, The Pyramids of Giza, The Sphinx, The Egyptian Museum and T.G.I. Fridays. The Museum was amazing, holding Tutankhamen and many other spectacular, historical pieces of Egyptian History. You're tour guide will be with you from the minute you arrive in Cairo until the minute you leave at the airport. Ours was called Wally and snaps to him for making the day memorable, funny and informational.

Overall, an amazing holiday, an amazing country and amazing people. I will definitely be going again and I recommend to everyone that you should see the Pyramids at least once in your life.