I'm starting to know my way around Hollywood, having been there twice in the past week. First for the birthday party of the brother of a Young SIETAR friend at Melgard Public House at Melrose Avenue, then - after the week in San Diego - to actually see something of Hollywood itself before flying to Panama. As a Dutchie without car I find public transportation a very good thing, so of course I took the subway and bus 217 to get to the Banana Bungalows in West Hollywood. Apart from the fact that you can't know the exact time at which the bus arrives (even if they run every 20 - 25 minutes), it worked fine. I was surprised by how nice and quiet the metro was - as compared to, say, Paris - and this was accounted for at the party, when there were several exclamations like ‘You took the metro? Really?!? I never did.'

The party brought together a lot of people who work ‘in the industry' - which can only be one here in Hollywood. It was very interesting to see, in a way, the ‘real' Hollywood - the people who work in film and television. I got to talk to an agent who represents writers (and you know, goes to Cannes etc) and next thing you know she'd like me to write a script for her about my travels - no, I'm just kiddin' - although based on the stories you can read in the pavement on Hollywood Boulevard about ‘how people got there', you never know how you might get lucky :-) The party was also a great way to catch up with Melissa, my friend from Young SIETAR. She, her husband and her brother invited me for a brunch the next morning, which we enjoyed in the Black Cat Bakery. I tried out a healthy kind of muffin and brunch stretched to dinner as we chatted about the film industry, living in Poland, and who's going to win the presidential elections here.

I also walked around a good deal - along Melrose Avenue, in Beverly Hills, a big chunk of Sunset Boulevard (including the Sunset Strip) and Hollywood Boulevard itself. I enjoyed most seeing the beautiful houses in Beverly Hills and of course you kind of have to see the Walk of Fame, but other than that I was glad to go to the Farmers' Market another day, around since 1936 (but which didn't beat the Farmer's Market I visited the other day in Hillcrest, San Diego), and the LaBrea Tarpits. These tarpits (‘teerputten') are an important prehistorical site because tar has been bubbling up there for a long time, trapping all kinds of animals over time. These are all displayed in a museum next door, for which I unfortunately did not have time. I did not stay long at the tarpits, because although the park looks nice, it smells like you're at a gas station...

Hollywood was not the only place in LA that I explored, I also went to Santa Monica to walk on the pier and make a bike ride along Venice Beach and towards Marina del Rey - but there is not much fun to tell about that trip. It was cold and grey, which didn't make the beaches nor its surroundings very charming... I also went to a Korean spa on Wilshire Boulevard in Korean Town and that was a unique experience - and very relaxing. The website claims that the spa is not for the prude because bathing suits are not allowed, but they still have separate levels for men and women and on the one level which is communal, everyone has to wear a yellow t-shirt and white shorts provided by the spa. So there I was lying in the clay-room, temperature of 125 degrees Fahrenheit (you do the math), small round clay balls all around me and heaped over my feet (hot!) - in t-shirt and shorts! And even more strange, with a huge television to enjoy Korean news - in the sauna itself... And elsewhere of course (as were computers with internet access), so I've been listening to Korean for the afternoon and watched the end of one episode of the Korean Bold & the Beautiful (same staring in the distance at the end of every scene). I also tried out the salt room and the jade room, both beautifully decorated and not too hot (except for the floor!) and finished off with the ice sauna. Yep, one with ice on the walls, nice and cold. So I'm all cleansed up to fly to Panama, my next stop!