Norma Triangle

Today was a comparatively short drive from one hotel to another with it being only a couple of hours.

We grabbed a continental breakfast under a foggy Pismo Beach sky from the uber relaxed SeaCrest Ocean hotel before setting off for LA.

We wanted to stop off at Malibu and Santa Monica on the way but weren't sure about the best places to eat or things to do so drove to the area and had a bit of a wander.

At Santa Barbara, we walked out along the wharf and soaked up the atmosphere before heading to Moby Dick's restaurant and sharing a fabulous seafood platter! Shrimp, calamari and fish fillets accompanied by fries, coleslaw, tartare sauce and pickles (my beloved gherkins!)

Bellies full. Back in the car, this time off to Malibu, except we got there and there didn't actually seem to be much to see or do except look at massive houses or sit on the beach. Don't get me wrong, lovely area, but not much to actually 'do'.

We carried on to Santa Monica and spotted the pier, so came off the freeway in search of ice cream. We all know America does things 'bigger' - Santa Monica Pier is a classic case of 'bigger-but-not-always-better' imagine Blackpool. On steroids. Not fun.

Anyway, we walked up and down the pier grabbing an ice cream on the way. I had salted caramel (because I'm a grown-up) Adam had "cookie monster" as in the cookie monster from Sesame Street. Vivid blue ice cream with Oreos in it. Looked amazing on the cone. Not so amazing around the chops of a 34-year-old.

Onto LA, we got stuck in a small traffic jam which delayed us by about 15 minutes (I gather this is light for LA)

We arrived at our hotel at approximately 8:30pm and jeez, is this hotel nice or what?! Like super fancy! Beautiful 1920s elegance and glamour - absolutely stunning. I am in my element.

The staff gave us some vouchers for a free drink each as we had to wait a few minutes for our room to be inspected (not sure why,they just said it was to make sure everything was perfect.)

Room: wow. Really wow.
The view looks out onto Sunset Blvd and isn't much to write home about but the room is the nuts. Huge bed. Big Tv. The bathroom is enormous and has separate rainforest shower head AND powershower head and a separate tub! All beautiful white marble mosaic. I. Want. This. Bathroom.

We wanted to check out the view from.the rooftop bar so put our gladrags on and headed up there. Very swish, all the furniture white leather and glass. The barman was making my Blue Eyes (Stoli Blueberry, mint leaves, fresh lime and ice) when this guy leans over the bar and asks the barman for a Red Bull.

Now, at this point, my brain is in rapid -fire mode. I knew this dude was famous but I couldn't place him. Half Scottish/half American accent. Older. Salt and pepper coloured hair. Adam had been getting some cash from the ATM when this guy walked in, so as soon as he was back I quietly explained and we fired up Google. Good Ol' Google! It was only bloody David OHara!

Absolutely couldn't believe it. He was in the later Harry Potter films, Braveheart and The Departed (which we only watched a few weeks ago!)

Needless to say, we were very happy spotting our first celeb! :)Read more