Los Angeles.

At LAX our luggage came through quickly and we passed immigration without any problems. I had heard that they were going to start taking prints from all fingers but they were still only taking both index finger prints. We caught the shuttle to the Marriott, same hotel as on the way over. Our room this time was on the lower or pool level and quite a long trek from reception but it was nice enough with the usual big comfortable beds (and really good bed linen – Judy). We purchased 24 hours of internet access for $12.50 (up from $10.00 last time) and checked the email. I also tidied up the blog, moving some photos around and adding some that we did not have time to upload in Paris.

Wednesday 18 July. We breakfasted in the hotel and set out to catch the bus to the Getty Center. This involved a change at Westwood but thanks to Judy’s research and previous experience we made it, arriving at about 11:30 after a 2 hour trip. From the bus stop at road level you take a free “tram”, actually a cable car, up the side of the hill. From the tram stop there is a wide and impressive flight of steps to the main entrance foyer. In the foyer there are information desks with maps, brochures about current exhibitions and audio guides are available. There was also an “installation” in the foyer, a fanciful “Uber Organ” made of ‘found materials’ which was controlled by an amusingly large scale photo-electric paper tape mechanism. This played for 5 minutes each hour, unrecognizable tunes of random notes.

We visited an exhibition of prints (including some works of Toulouse Lautrec) before we lined up for a guided tour of the gardens. The guide turned out to be a bit of an old wind-bag but he did highlight some interesting aspects of the design. We then had a light lunch at one of the cafes and continued our exploration of the gardens and galleries. The architecture is stunning and the location is superb with panoramic views from the Sierras in the east, the metropolis of LA to the south and the Pacific to the west. It was a brilliant day with a moderate sea breeze in the afternoon and hardly a trace of the notorious smog. We did not attempt to see everything but the experience was excellent. The works are displayed mostly in subdued and diffused natural light which is particularly effective for the impressionists. The bus trip home was even longer than the trip out but we eventually made it back to the hotel and ‘dined’ in the sports bar.

Thursday 19 July. In the morning we walked along the road from the hotel for brunch at a Dennys before returning to the hotel and packing our bags yet again. We had arranged for a late check-out at 3:00pm but checked out early and stored the bags with the bell-man. We then caught the bus to Santa Monica, which was another cheap but tedious trip. Santa Monica features an attractive pedestrian area a couple of blocks back from the beach. We were drawn to a toy shop called “The Puzzle Zoo” where we found a new range of “Action Figures”, for example Jane Austen, Sigmund Freud, Oscar Wild and Marie Antoinette (With pop off head action!). I’m sure Barbie and Ken are shaking in their bikinis!

We had a coffee and went walking down to the Santa Monica pier, which was interesting and pleasant in a tacky kind of way. There were plenty of people on the beach and in the water they were confined to roped-off areas by the “Life Guards”. The weather was sunny and warm with a light sea breeze forming condensation clouds around the hills to the north. Back at the promenade we had a drink and pizza while listening to a quite good guitarist busking, then

caught the bus back to the hotel – a trip yet more tedious again! – picked up our bags and caught the shuttle to the airport.

No upgrade available at check-in, but after negotiating security and some time after settling into the lounge we were pleased to hear ourselves paged – and readily accepted sitting apart for the sake of getting upgraded on this leg too. (It really makes very little difference as you’re not side by side anyway.) Enjoyed stretching right out again and the opportunity to get some good rest before arrival in Auckland.

Where, after longish wait at immigration (why don’t they do what everyone else does and have more people for the ‘locals’?) and virtually no wait for the luggage, we put everything through the x-rays for the last time and emerged to be greeted by Rob, Janet, Logan and three very excited grandsons: just great! After a lovely family morning (and a sort of ‘introductory catchup’ with all the children, who had indeed noticeably grown up so much) we gratefully accepted the offer of Heidi’s car to get ourselves back home. And so ended the trip of a lifetimeJ