Getting through the airport in Los Angeles took awhile to say the least. The quesues were really long and processing of the passports was slow. Each passport controller looked like they had just stepped out of the military....gulp - but I got through okay. I caught the shuttle bus to my hostel in Hollywood. It took about an hour to get there from the airport but it gave me a chance to stare out the window and try and get a feel for the States. The housing kept changing from wealthy to poor but one thing which was consistent was the number of drive-thrus we passed. The houses either had no walls or low walls surrounding their property. I couldn't tell you whether the cars were 'bigger and better' but there were a lot of mini vans and 4x4s, not to mention a couple of limos. The weather when I arrived in LA was about 15 degrees celcius so it was a bit cooler than where I had come from. I ended up having to wear my jumper each day until the end of my holiday while in the States.

Hollywood is a small area in LA, and just as we reached our hostel, I could see the Hollywood sign on the hills. Later, on a tour I took, I learnt that the Hollywood sign had been placed on the hills by realtors who were trying to sell the land in the area (back in the 1920s). The sign originally read "Hollywoodland" but a landslide washed away the LAND part of the sign and that is how the name came about. Since then, people have petitioned to keep the sign and when they paint it, each letter takes 36 gallons of paint!

When I checked into the hostel I discovered that I was just going to miss the Oscars/Academy Awards as I had not booked for a third night. Although I am not a big fan of glitz and glam, I was a bit upset not to have a booking as it would be fun just to say "I was there". Anyway, to cut a long story short, I eventually secured a bed for the Sunday night and was in Hollywood, about 1km away from the Academy Awards ceremony, just off Hollywood Boulevard. Hollywood Boulevard is the street on which the Walk of Fame can be found. This is the street with all the stars and famous peoples' names written in them can be found. At first when I walked along here, I barely recognised any names; it was only when I reached the more commercial part of the street that I recognised more names. Did you know that in order to get your name on the Walk of Fame you have to put forward a petition to a panel of 7 judges and if they approve your application, you pay $17000 to get your name on the pavement. This was set up by the council years ago to make money! Ridiculous really and I thought people earned the right to be there. Your name can appear on the pavement under one of 5 categories e.g. TV or movie, and the only person to have his name under all 5 categories is gene Autry (sorry but I don't know who that is).

In case I have not told you already, LA, and more specifically Hollywood, are only about the movies - famous people and famous places. Here are a few other facts I learnt while on a tour of LA...On Hollywood Boulevard, you can also find the Chinese State Theatre with famous names/handprints written in the cement outside. This was a theatre which used to only show Chinese movies and I believe it is owned by someone famous (but I can't remember who). We also drove passed the Hollywood Bowl which is an outdoor auditorium with near perfect acoustics seating 18000 people, and a landmark for operas and shows by bands such as the Rolling Stones. Downtown LA refers to the CBD and many buildings in the area are actually empty but the reason they are still there is that they are still used in many movie scenes. As we drove through the CBD, we actually saw a car scene being filmed. We drove past the courthouse in downtown LA which is actually one of the most filmed buildings in the world. We drove through Chinatown; LA has the third largest Chinese population in the States. Also, a quarter of the LA population is Hispanic. We drove past Union Station which is one of the oldest train stations in the States and still retains a very grandeure style about it. We took a quick drive through Beverly Hills and were told that only 10% of the people that lived there were actually famous, the rest are just ordinary wealthy people. We drove past the hotel where Pretty Woman was filmed and the shop on Rodeo Drive where she was snubbed when she tried to buy some clothes. In Beverly Hills you can get valet parking at the post office and pawnshops are called 'collateral lenders'.

It was only one stop on the underground to Universal City, home of Universal Studios. I spent a glorious day there. For those of you who don't know, Universal Studios is all about the movies. I started my tour of Universal Studios catching the shuttle that does a tour of the stages and sets/studios. We drove through the set of Desperate Housewives (yes, I was on Wisteria Lane), a set for King Kong, World of War, Jaws, Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift etc.... It is amazing how many closed sets they have all in the same location. Back in the theme park, Fear Factor Live was closed to the public as they were actually busy filming the series there. I had all day at the park and went on all the rides and caught all the shows. It was good fun! I also had my photo taken with a few furry animals which is a must-do for me at every theme park!On my way out, I wandered around the Universal walkway which comrpises shops, restaurants and cafes.

The Oscars actually started in the 1920s with the first ever event held at the Roosevelt Hotel but it was not a success because no one showed up! This year they held the 79th event and it was hosted by Ellen Degeneres.You won't believe it (and neither do I really) but I queued up for an hour to have my photo taken with an actual Oscar award. I was surprised by how heay the little guy was. On the day of the Oscars I stood with several others to try and get a picture of the stars. The only difference was that some of them had been there since 7am and I was only prepared to stand there for about 30 minutes. They saw some famous people and I did not - but I did get to see lots of limosines pull up outside the event - does that count? In fact, I actually expected to see more fans standing on the side of the road but I think this is just an illusion created by the TV. When we watched the Oscars in the hostel that night (with free bubbly), I realised that all the people screaming and shouting around the famous people are not simply people off the street but VIPs (I know this from how the 'set' was laid out). Again, this reality gleemed some of the glamour off the event.

There was also a free comedy night at the hostel with 6 comedians in attendance. They started off really lame but by the end of the evening the comedians were somewhat amusing. The hostel was pretty good with putting on free activities and they also had free pancakes for breakfast...the only catch was that you had to make them yourselves....

Although I saw no famous faces, it was fun knowing it was all happening around the corner from me and with that I was happy to move onto Las Vegas. Before I end this blog, I must tell you the funniest thing I heard an American ask a cop on the streets of Hollywood.

American: "Do you think the Oscars are one of the biggest events in the world?"

Cop: "If you are talking about entertainment then yes"

American: "Would you say it as as big a world event as the superbowl?"

I didn't hang around for anymore of this conversation as I didn't want to hear anymore stupidity but this is when I realised why Americans got stuck with the stigma of being dumb because they seriously do think that things like the superbowl are the bee-all and end-all off the world, when in fact they are the only ones who care about American football!