Los Angeles Stopover - 2 nights in Santa Monica

Reaching the Pacific - 25th to 27th September
TW heading for the Beach in Santa Monica
Farmers Market Santa Monica
Santa Monica Pier

LA Confusion
Not sure about the time. TW does not change her watch so she is eight hours ahead of me. So, when I am thinking about breakfast she is planning dinner. Heaven knows what will happen when we have to fly out of here! Getting in was enough of a challenge. They are a bit funny in the US about bringing in food. I had to fill out a form declaring we had none in our possession, which of course was true. After standing in the immigration queue for about an hour TW produced a packet of raisins and then panicked. She attempted to eat them surreptitiously and almost choked. She then said she would hand then in to a Lady guarding the queue who looked marginally less frightening than the Medusa. I suggested that she gave them to me and I put them in my pocket and headed for the loo where they went in the trash. Couldn't help noticing on the packet that they were best Californian! Ho-hum....
Anyway, Santa Monica is a great place to relax between flights. Took a stroll down to the pier for some Fish and Chips. Rented a tandem and pedalled along the beach-side path. Told TW to avert her eyes at muscle beach.
Meet the Fishers on the Pier
Amazing contrasts here though. The poshest of shops and the scruffiest of tramps. Beautifully manicured parks are not enhanced by hobos with all their possessions sprawled on them. One of the nicest street areas smelt like the back staircase of one of our multi-storey car parks. And this was just along from the smartest Apple store I have seen - am sure there is no connection. Had a play with some of the gadgets, feel a bit sad typing this into a battered old Linux pc with 7 inch screen.
We could not find an ordinary Supermarket so we went in to an Organic store on Wiltshire Boulevard to buy breakfast. Must say everyone looked very healthy, felt a bit naked without a yoga mat. Never seen so much variety of food-stuffs in so small a space. Bought some lovely porridge with cinnamon and apple.
A shady spot by the Pool at the Cal Mar
End of Route 66 on the Pier
 Liked and enjoyed Santa Monica overall. Seems very orderly, easy to wander around as there are plenty of pedestrian crossings.
We stayed at the Cal Mar Hotel. It's about 3 blocks from the Ocean and one from Wiltshire Boulevard. Not cheap at 180 dollars a night but we had a nice big Apartment with a kitchen. It has an old-fashioned 'LA Confidential' feel about it. An ideal setting for a fifties or sixties movie. Could imagine Marilyn Monroe splashing in the pool outside our room.
Transfers - Our incoming flight from London had arrived pretty late so we had to take a shared shuttle from the LAX Airport, cost about 35 bucks (as they say). On the way back to LAX we took the Big Blue bus for a Dollar each. Nice and cheap and, as it was rush hour, we had plenty of companions.
Location: Santa Monica, CA, USA

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