Free & Easy Los Angeles – Chapter 2

This is an over due post which I have taken so much time editing as I was having some problems with WP new image editing function…

The 15 Hours Flight

We checked in pretty early for our LA flight as PiggyBeng found out during the internet check-in that our seating arrangement were not what we have wanted. For this flight (which we found out when we boarded the plane) has only 2 bassinet points in the entire Executive Economy section. There were another couple with a baby who made their booking 3 days earlier than us so they get to have 2 seats together where else I was separated from PiggyBeng as the seats are arranged in 2-3-2 across the plane.

Therefore, we have to take the seats behind without the bassinet. We were quite lucky as the flight was not full (it’s normally full if it’s not a public holiday) so we can have the whole row of seats to ourselves… YES… the entire roll… 7 seats in total! In order to secure Darrius to the seat while he’s sleeping, we came up with the idea of strapping 2 infant seatbelts to the one on the seat so he won’t fall/slide off. The good thing about this executive economy class is that the seat has a leg rest like those on VIP buses. Another plus point is… there is a mini bar at the tail part of the plane where there were lots of snacks and light refreshment served for the entire flight!

Hollywood

We arrived in LA around 6pm so after checking into the hotel we are too tired to go any where… after all it was already so dark outside so we stayed in the hotel and had a light dinner of sandwiches… since we ate a lot in the plane.

The following day off to Hollywood. Bought the day pass ($3 each) and we can board on any Metro (buses or trains). We 1st took a bus to Crenshaw to check out the Wal Mart and have breakfast. Our first meal is Jack In The Box. Burgers in US really taste much better!!! *slurp* Then we board another bus and head to Hollywood. Visited the Walk of Fame, Kodak Theater and etc along Hollywood Boulevard.

Notice a T-Rex in the photo above left?? It is actually on top of Hollywood McDonalds. This McD outlet damn nice. Too bad I forgot to take any pictures of the restaurant interior. After snapping lots of photos we decided to take a train to the nearby Farmer’s Market but we ended up at 3rd Street’s Grand Central Market (pic on the left below). This place was never in our itinerary. Since we were there so decided to go in for a peep. To our surprise, this place is so bustling with people! There were so many food stalls, fruits & vege stalls and spices stalls in this building. The aroma of the food were so tempting and we ended up having our lunch there. We had a Hawaiian BBQ chicken rice with Salmon with King crab legs soup. The rice was good but the soup was a little salthy. The price… very reasonable too… $5 for both! Too bad no photos taken as we were too excited tucking into the yummy food!

After filling up our tummies, we went about looking for the ‘Farmer’s Market’ but ended up in some notorious looking place… we saw many policemen patroling the streets so after about 20 minutes of walking we decided to turn back as we figured it is not a safe place to walk about. We took a Metro bus and saw the sign ‘Farmer’s Market’ after some 25 minutes so quickly press the bell. We ended up at The Grove (picture on top right) which also located at the 3rd Street. The Grove is actually a very hip market & shopping place. They even have tram going around the centre part of the market place. Besides food, fruits and vege stalls, there are quite a numbers of branded goods boutiques too. Saw this shop called American Girl which is actually every little girls’ dream place… it’s a dolls’ boutique… a very exquisite one too! Next to The Grove is the Wholefood Market where they only sell organic food and products… food here look yummy ah!!

After all the walking we are really tired… especially Darrius! He was still suffering from jet-lag and still not able to switch to the new timing.

Look at that cheeky boy in his little cot provided by the hotel…

Universal Studio

On Thursday we woke up early as we are heading to Universal Studio. PiggyBeng thought it opened at 10am but it actually open at 9am! So we were 1 hour late! Luckily we already purchased our tickets online (also can get $10 off) so can skip the Ticket Q. When we are Q-ing up to go in we discovered they do not allow us to bring food and drinks! Aiyah, have to hire a locker to stuff our barang lor! Then PiggyBeng bought the All-You-Can-Eat pass that cost $19.95 each. Unlimited but limited places to use the pass!

Personally I like ‘Revenge of The Mummy’ and ‘Jurrasic Park’ rides… extremely ‘chi-kek’ (thrilling). PiggyBeng enjoyed the ‘Studio Tour’ ride but I find it so-so only. Another attraction not to miss out is the ‘Waterworld’ which has lots of special effects. The light hearted one is ‘Shrek 4-D’ but Darrius fell asleep… I missed out the ‘Fear Factor Live’ as it was closed for some upgrading.

We finished around 5.30pm and the sun has started to set so we quickly go and pick up our stuff from the locker and head off to the Universal Walk which was just outside. This is where HRC (below centre) is located.

Tips for Universal Studio – Start you day from the lower level where all the exciting rides are as the Q will be shorter in the morning.

Related posts:

1. We Survived the 15 Hours Flight!
2. Free & Easy Los Angeles – Chapter 1
3. We Made it Home at Last!
4. Fast-Food??? Why must Q soooooooo long??
5. Aiyoh…