Universal Studios, Hollywood Must-Dos and Santa Monica! / USA and Canada 2024

The last city of my month long trip around the USA and Canada was to Los Angeles. I spent a day at Universal Studios, followed by a day touring LA, Beverley Hills and Santa Monica, before heading back to England!

Click here to watch the vlog or see below. 

My first day in the final city of the trip was Los Angeles, but I decided to spend the first day at a theme park. Universal Studios isn't something I would normally book for myself as I don't love rides, but I was so excited to go after seeing a lot of the less "thrill" rides available, and of course, to see the globe! I didn't really know what to wear because I thought it would be too hot for trainers, but I didn't know if flip flops would be allowed on all the rides, and then I did take a jacket, but I was already sweating, so I decided to run back inside and leave it in the room. 

The journey to Universal Studios Hollywood was a bit of a nightmare. I had originally booked a bus transport but then it got cancelled due to lack of interest and I couldn't find any alternatives from Santa Monica, so I ultimately ended up getting an Uber / Lyft in the morning. He ended up driving past me lack 3 times to pick me up, and then dropped me off at a staff only entrance at the park so I had to walk another 10 minutes back in the direction we'd just been. Once I got to the right entrance, it was better as the shuttle bus service took me right to the front of the queuing to get into the park, and it was there the globe waited for me! It honestly took my breath away a little and felt very surreal to actually be there and see it. 

I'm going to share a full review of Universal Studios Hollywood separately so that this post doesn't get too long, so be sure to check that out here!

It was a shame that my ticket was sold incorrectly because I thought the park opened at 10am, but instead it opened at 8am, which was annoying because I wanted to get there at opening. Then I thought I had a ticket for the Halloween event but I didn't so I got kicked earlier than anticipated. They were really strict about the whole thing and wouldn't even let me go to the toilet. I'd been needing it for the last hour and a half whilst queuing for my last ride so I was busting by the time I got out of the park, and ended up going in a bush because I wasn't going to make it. 

I then didn't really want to go back to the hotel or really into LA or Santa Monica, so I stayed at downtown and went for a meal instead. I walked past a number of Mexican's and decided I was really craving some chicken fajitas. There was a big wait for all the restaurants but luckily, as I was by myself, they let me sit at the bar straight away. It ended up being delicious, but actually quite a shockingly small portion which I was very surprised at. I also met and spoke to a lovely girl who was from Scotland, but had lived kind of all over the world and we chatted for hours, before I got a Lyft back to the hotel. 

The next day was devoted to exploring Los Angeles, Beverley Hills and Santa Monica. I got the last Big Bus Tour of the trip (and hopefully my life, because they've all been pretty poor in general) and started at Santa Monica with a McDonalds breakfast. I drove past Muscle Beach and all the body builders then we made our way to the other tour, around Los Angeles. 

The outskirts of LA has so many studios and film proceedings, but the most exciting part was seeing and trying to spot the Hollywood sign! 

The Hollywood Sign was of course something I wanted to go and see, taking the extra steps to get up. My original plan was to walk up to Griffith Observatory, but with not feeling super well and being short of time, I decided to get transport up. Again I tried to get the bus but it never arrived, so I got a Lyft up instead and then public transport back down. It actually ended up being free so that was an added bonus! 

At the top was lovely. The nature was pretty and it was a great view of the city of LA. The Hollywood Sign looked tiny in pictures, and still looked smaller than I imagined in person, but was much easier to see. If I hadn't been travelling by car, I absolutely would have driven up closer on the other side and done the hike.

The actual observatory itself was actually quite fascinating. I loved looking around and being able to interact with the exhibits. The telescope itself wasn't switched on and apparently they only do it for a short period each day and usually at night. 

I had originally looked into the Sunset Tour which was part of the Big Bus Tour that took you from central LA to Griffith Observatory to see the Hollywood Sign at sunset, but obviously that was my main reason for going up and reviews were mixed as to whether people arrived prior to it being too dark to see. Also, I would then have to pay to get back to Santa Monica as the bus would have finished running, so it would have been a much more expensive option. 

Back down in central LA, I walked along the Hollywood Walk of Fame and to the Chinese Theatre, before getting back on the bus. I thought I would have quite a bit of time, but actually, that brief period off the bus was as long as I had as I only had 15 minutes to spare before catching the last bus back to Santa Monica. 

The change over spot was actually in Beverley Hills and you could immediately tell the difference between the less rundown areas and huge residential properties. They also had a fun art fair on with food stalls. I only had a little bit of a change left, so I asked if they could do a half portion of chips, alongside my drink, and she let me have the full portion for free which was so sweet. 

Back in Santa Monica, I got off at the last stop and then headed up the pier. I was surprised to see the circus, but turns out it was a Cirque du Soleil event which was exciting. The beach was lovely but quite busy when I arrived. 

As I slowly walked along the coastline, it was beautiful and eventually got quieter and quieter. The sea was freezing in comparison to what I had become used to, but nevertheless, it was beautiful, especially as the sun began to set. 

I ended up walking back to Santa Monica Pier afterwards and getting some food. It was actually really tasty warm bread, with pesto chicken pasta. It just felt like a lovely home cooked meal. Surprisingly, the restaurant turned into a karaoke bar following getting served so it became quite the entertainment venue!

It was a late night by the time I got back to the hotel so I took advantage of the late checkout and decided to pack in the morning as I felt I'd already kind of done Santa Monica pier. I woke up late after a lovely lie in, packed and got ready for the long travel day ahead, then headed out for breakfast before going back to the airport. 

The flight was relatively smooth sailing but very frustrating. I decided to treat myself to extra leg room seats but I didn't realise how tight they were. The width of them was actually so much smaller than the others and they had full barriers between them, so there wasn't room for legs to spill underneath. There wasn't a proper television and the food was still nice, but nowhere near as good as on the way. Shortly before landing, I decided to by a toastie as well and that was so awful and tasted so off, I literally couldn't eat. I told the staff and asked for a refund but they declined which was really quite annoying. Landing called for strobe lights in the plane which was fun and then it was smoothly through security and my dad picked me up to take me back to Nottingham!

That's a wrap on my holiday vlogs!