LA Is Massive

Santa Monica, CA

After getting back to our Hollywood base, we sought out the transportation needed and after a 15 minute walk in the midday sun on the hottest day yet, we reached the bus stop where we then had another 1 hour and 15 minutes journey to the coast at Santa Monica. Santa Monica is a world away from Hollywood, for a start it took us so bloody long to reach there, but on another note its surroundings lacked the ‘face lickers’; of course, it’s LA so we saw a few but their numbers dwindled in comparison. Santa Monica is like a little town on the coast with shopping areas, cafes and bars. Hollywood is fake, it’s an area created for tourists to align themselves with the filming world. Santa Monica was real and seem to make you more aware you were in Los Angeles as a whole, rather than in some makeup world. I think Los Angeles is not just about Hollywood and its glamour but about the city as a whole, a massive city. This was only truly realised when we aimed to get back to collect our luggage and go to the airport. We had found out about a handy taxi service called Uber, basically you can call a taxi and even share the costs with others to keep the fare down. As an upside we managed to get our fare across Los Angeles for just 15 dollars, bargain. What we didn’t realise is that we wouldn’t leave Santa Monica for around 20 minutes due to picking someone else up and then finally heading to another area of Los Angeles, named Culver City. We then proceeded to Hollywood to finally end the longest local taxi ride in one city I’ve been on, a total of 1 hour 47 minutes. Los Angeles is truly a massive city and everywhere just takes ages to get to, which is no wonder it hosts several separate areas with their own individual charm. You can have no regret coming to a city like this, even with all its craziness and it puts things into perspective. It’s a shame it showcases so much poverty, but it’s individual charm is certainly directed to those with dreams, most of which will not come true. It offers promise, but no real desire to ever make it happen. Without knowing California as a whole I’m limited to an opinion, but as strong as this city is, it clearly has signs of inner weakness, holding onto a past that will eventually be squandered, time to move on, it’s not just about the Hollywood scene now.