Venice Beach, Santa Monica and sleeping with my back pack!

Day 33: I'm back in America...1 bus, 2 sky trains, 1 delayed flight and a shuttle bus later!!!!! Of course I love travelling (and would do it everyday for the rest of my life if I could) but I HATE transport!!! I am waiting for the day that they invent travel portals- ones that transport you from one country to another in a matter of seconds...I'm sure they will be invented soon enough.

After my delayed flight, I arrived at my Hostel in Venice Beach at about 1.00am. This was the first time that I have ever stayed in a shared room, and to be honest I was a little bit nervous about it, just because I am travelling by myself. Once I checked in, I went into the dorm to find it full of sleeping bodies (of course, at 1.00am). This was a problem because I didn't want to turn the light on to go through my bag to find my lock, incase I woke anyone up! So on my first night in Venice Beach, I slept on a top bunk spooning all of my worldly possessions, in fear that they would be stolen! Not the most comfortable sleep ever, but once again my advanced sleeping skills saved me in a rather awkward situation! 

The next morning I woke up to find that all of the sleeping bodies around me were males, and I was the only female in the room. This didn't bother me, although it was definitely confronting for a dorm-first-timer! 

Once I had waited in line for a shower, which was definitely the worst shower I have ever taken due to the crappy plumbing, I ventured into the kitchen to score a free cup of tea. There was a girl standing in there looking a bit dazed, and I asked her where the mugs were. 'I'm really not sure, I was thinking the same thing,' she said. We ended up finding a couple of mugs and then chatted while we drank our teas. Her name was Steph and she was from Sydney, she told me. She had only just arrived from Australia THAT morning at 6.00am- no wonder she looked a bit dazed! After talking for a little bit, another girl joined in on our conversation. Her name was Sarah and she was from London, which was cool because I got to ask her about Sunderland, where I will be studying later this year. 

Just from this experience, chatting with some girls in the kitchen, I can safely say that I will ALWAYS stay in shared hostel dorms from now on. I have found that it is the easiest way to make friends, because not having your own private room forces you to go out and socialise. 

I made friends with Steph pretty quickly, and for the last couple of days we have hung out the whole time going for bike rides, walks, shopping trips etc, etc... She is a nice girl and I am glad I met her at the hostel kettle!

View of Santa Monica Pier when walking from Venice Beach

Santa Monica Pier

I wanted to do this so bad! But have run out of time...and am running out of money!

I LOVE BIKES! Especially this little gangsta number!
Definitely the best way to see things!

So much beach!

View from the hostel common room window

I like these words...

So far I have stuck to my travel budget pretty well, although I know I will go over my America budget a bit. I am not too worried though, because I was well under my Canada budget. Even so, I can never resist a vintage shop! Steph and I found this one somewhere in Venice...very cool stuff but a bit out of my price range. Plus, I am waiting until I get to the UK to do any clothes shopping...

I would have bought this dress! If only it would zip up over my..*ahem* 'assets!' It seems
my boobs saved my budget! ;)Oh well...very pretty polka-dots!

Steph hadn't eaten in a diner yet, so we went to this one to get milkshakes...

...and yam fries (sweet potato chips)...maybe this is why the polka-dot dress didn't fit..?

I have enjoyed being back in LA- I was actually really looking forward to coming back to America in general. Mainly because I want to see Tom and Gabby again before I leave for Oslo next week. I am going to stay in Hollywood friday night and Tom might come to see me there. Then on Saturday night we are both going to meet up with Gabby and her boyfriend to go camping on Catalina Island! I am really looking forward to that, so I hope it works out!

I am really looking forward to Oslo, too! I am excited to see Malin, my friend that I will be staying with for 3 weeks! I haven't seen Malin since I first met her in Bali a couple of years ago, but we have always stayed in contact and I am really REALLY excited to see her and spend some time with her!

I am getting to the point now where I am looking forward to being able to settle down once I get to the UK. I love travelling around to all different places, but it does become tiring! I can't wait to be able to do my own grocery shopping, go to the gym, relax a bit...I am even looking forward to studying again!

But I'm sure that once I am actually studying and back into routine I will probably miss travelling straight away! So I will enjoy it while I can! Which is easy now that I am staying in shared rooms and meeting lots of people to see and enjoy things with!!!

Steph, myself and some random guy who jumped into our photo...in front of just one of the awesome murals to be found in Venice Beach

Another mate I made at the Hostel in Venice Beach- Renatta from Brazil!