Santa Monica

Hello everyone for the last time on this trip!!

Last night I did end up going to a bar with the girls from my room. I dug out a very crinkled dress and away we went. Tali, Zoe and Bec have been travelling together for two months, three weeks of which was a Physio placement in New York. We went to a place called 'Bungalow' which was a bar but it was set up like it was a house party. It had a very cosy vibe! We had some not very nice sangria and then headed back to the hostel as we all agreed we were wrecked and wanted a good night's sleep before we flew home. 

This morning I packed up for the final time and then headed off to the beach. The weather was a complete contrast to yesterday - bright and sunny with not a cloud in sight!! At this stage it was only about 8.30am so there was pretty much nobody around. I walked along the sand to Santa Monica pier. Apparently the original carnival on it was built in 1916 but due to economic difficulties it closed by 1930. Today's theme park on the pier opened in 1996 and has been there ever since. The views of Malibu and the beaches were stunning today!!

I set off down the path towards Venice Beach. The done thing here is to hire a bike and ride the path but due to being alone I decided it was easy to walk because I wouldn't be able to leave my bike anywhere. Also it was $20 and I had no cash left!

I recreated a photo up on a beam that Adam and I were in in 2005. This was a difficult feat being alone, because not only did I have to ask a random person to take my photo, I had to get them to stand in a specific spot and wait until I hoisted myself up onto the beam. It's higher than it was in 2005 so it was a bit tricky!!! But I got there in the end :)

The walk was lovely but once I hit the Venice Beach area it was pretty tacky if I'm honest. Dodgy people everywhere smoking and selling weed, trying to force CDs in your hand and at one point a group of men yelled out to me complimenting me on my backside - how charming. In went the iPod headphones and up went the speed of my walking! 

I walked a little past Muscle Beach and then turned around and came back. When I got to Santa Monica beach again, it was now packed full of people. Apparently there was a beach frisbee tournament on! I sat on the pier and watched for a while until a bird shat on me, but luckily only a tiny bit. I'm hoping it'll be good luck meaning all goes smoothly with my flight this evening!!

I headed up the pier to the street and there were even more people walking around up here. That's when I realised that there was a huge protest against Donald Trump in the city today, so locals and tourists probably came out to Santa Monica to seek refuge from that. 

Then I went to a cafe that mum and dad took us to last time, Cafe Crepe. I had an absolutely delicious crepe with chicken, Mayo, mushroom, bacon and tomato. Afterwards I decided that since I had so much time up my sleeve, I should have a bit of a look in the shops. I went to H & M and Forever 21 and bought two tops and a skirt. 

Now I'm back in the hostel, it's only 3.30pm and I'm not leaving with the other girls for the airport until 5.30ish. But the wind has really picked up so I did another quick walk to the beach before but it's becoming pretty unpleasant! I've had a shower and changed and I'm just going to relax and watch some TV until it's time to leave. 

Thank you so much to all of you for reading my blog while I've been away! I've had such an amazing time and this month has flown by. While I've experienced so many things and really enjoyed myself, truth be told I am absolutely knackered and I am really looking forward to proper fruit and veggies and a cheese and veg sandwich tomorrow! There is a lot to look forward to in 2017 including new challenges at work, but in terms of travel: Indonesia in April and China in July. Catch you all then!

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox