With Huntington Beach and Santa Barbara done, the next leg of my journey was Santa Monica and although it meant another three hour train journey, it was entirely worth it.
Santa Monica
Santa Monica seems to have it all: the chilled, fun beach culture, and the lively atmosphere of a trendy city. This blend of vibes means Santa Monica is a place for everyone! Families, couples and friends - it'd be hard for someone to not like Santa Monica. The pier offers its own amusement park for children (and adults if you like), plus shops and eateries with plenty of tourist novelties thrown in. Santa Monica also plays host to the original Muscle Beach. While the more recent one down at nearby Venice Beach is well worth a look, besides the beach itself with the skateboarders, gym fanatics and general bizarre and eccentric characters, Santa Monica's muscle beach is a toned down version. Though people are surely still here to be seen like the Venice Beach gym, the family tone present at Santa Monica's gym creates a more relaxed feel. Other close attractions include Disneyland, Universal Studios, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Los Angeles so there's always plenty to get up to! Furthermore, Downtown Santa Monica is where you will find the 3rd Street Promenade: 'an alfresco shopping experience'. Wide streets with trendy shops and restaurants will greet you here, but what adds that something special is the talented buskers dotted along the boulevard. Here you will not be hassled by annoying, money grabbing types you may find in other cities. Instead, you are presented with college students, retirees - anyone you can imagine and what's more, they're pretty good! The mixture of city and beach life forms something quite magical in Santa Monica. That relaxed setting of the beach travels into Downtown creating a relaxed city feel, making it a fun, friendly, must-see place to stay.
LA and Hollywood
If you don't have a car, public transport will get you around the LA area with buses and metro services travelling into Hollywood - the known tourist attraction to visit. People fill the streets of Hollywood Boulevard, Melrose Avenue and the Sunset Strip with their digital cameras posing left, right and centre. Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Walk of Fame, and seeing the Hollywood sign are just a few things to do while you're here and while it does feel like an exciting place, there is also a very strong sense of superficiality with the countless amount of tourist shops and promoters. For this reasons I would suggest that Hollywood is good for a day visit, to see, but no longer is needed. On the other hand, Los Angeles is a sprawling city with many different neighbourhoods to keep you entertained, including the authentic Chinatown and Koreatown. Simply walking around will keep you busy as there are plenty of incredible sights to see; the architecture being the most startling aspect. Skyscrapers and towers soar into the sky; from financial offices to cultural buildings, LA's skyline is most impressive. Just as lots of business takes place in LA, cultural and artistic events are also always happening. The Walt Disney Concert Hall plus many galleries, including Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), reside in this bustling city, whilst shopping is taken care of at The Grove mall with all the main brands covered. Yet even with all this action, Los Angeles is not a hyperactive city like New York. In LA a bus driver will pull over mid journey to grab himself a snack - a deed which would cause turmoil with Londoners, but in LA, no-one bats an eyelid. The cosmopolitan city of Los Angeles doesn't lose that calm feel of Southern California, it embraces it.
Southern California really does have so much to offer. Whether it's for family fun, a romantic holiday or a break with friends, this part of the world caters for everyone. That's what is so brilliant about a Californian vacation - the place is very much user friendly; everything can be done with ease and enjoyment. This alongside the 300+ days of sunshine a year guarantees you will love that cool and laidback SoCal vibe.
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