Day 3 (3/12/09) - Los Angeles (There's something in the air in Hollywood)

Ah, poor Nik. He thought he had regained control of the blog, but alas, I am back. I haven't used my SLR camera much (as you can probably tell) due to the activities we have been taking part in - clubbing and thrill-seeking rides are not exactly the environments I like subjecting my expensive equipment to. You can get ready to enjoy some nicer photos as soon this adventurous leg of the trip is over.

If you've read Nik's post on our first day, you'll know I'm picking up where he left off. You may also have read some damaging statements about my conduct at the pub crawl. Please pay them no mind, I am convinced Nik dreamed it all up after discovering $3 Buds. In the immortal words of Madonna, "There's something in the air in Hollywood/I lost my reputation, bad and good".

Today started off surprisingly well, previous night's antics considered. Although the first words out of my mouth were "I am such a trash-bag" (upon catching sight of myself in our full-length mirror - seriously, who puts these things in a HOSTEL??), I made a quick recovery of both my dignity and some clean clothes, after which Nik and I set off for our day at Universal Studios, Hollywood.

Getting there was easy enough. Our hostel is located close to a Metro station, and Universal City is one stop up the line. From there, Universal provides a free shuttle service up to the theme park. We have been fortunate enough to have sunny, clear days (albeit cold nights), and today was no exception. Having booked our tickets online, we surpassed the queue and jumped right in.


It's hard not to get taken up with the cheesy glitz Universal Studios serves up the minute you pass through those iconic gates. We made all the mandatory photo stops...




...visited movie and television sets on the studio tour (pictured below are sets from Desperate Housewives and War of the Worlds)...



...and I even braved some of the rides: The Simpsons Ride (our favourite) and The Jurassic Park Ride. We also experienced Terminator 2 in 4-D, which was pretty cool.



We had to pack everything in before 1pm, as we had managed to score tickets to a screening of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. Although the email instructions sent to us had advised us to arrive by 3.30pm, we had read on various net forums that to get good seats (that is, in the first three rows), one should turn up between 1pm and 1.30pm. So the better part of the afternoon was spent waiting in line, but it was completely worth it when 4pm rolled around and we were ushered into the studio.


The guests were John Travolta and Rod Stewart, and as usual Conan was ridiculous. He reminds me of an awkward, ginger daddy-long-legs spider. A HILARIOUS spider! I will refrain from giving a minute-by-minute recap of the episode, but if you get the chance to watch the episode please do so. You may see our starry-eyes peering out at you.

The filming finished around 6pm, after which we made our way back to Hollywood Blvd.


We wandered around, did some shopping, and were lucky enough to catch a small band - Vinyl Soul - performing in the street. You should listen to some of their music on their MySpace page; it's a fusion of latin, R&B, hip-hop and jazz. But I was so impressed with them - and the homeless man dancing next to them - that I have posted a short clip here (apologies for the shoddy quality):



All in all, a fantastic day, and a great Hollywood experience! Tomorrow we finish up our whirlwind stop in LA with the happiest place on earth, Disneyland, so make sure you check back soon.