I spent a few days in Vancouver, staying in the magnificent house of the Bhorgesi's. This was surprisingly peaceful, considering I never left the city. I spent a day wandering around downtown, including a visit to Grandville Island (a great little island in the middle of vancouver, with a public market, small shops and a guy playing calming guitar music in a little square with birds everywhere). I also visited the brewery there and tasted some of their beers: conclusion? I've tasted better! While in Vancouver I also went to the aquarium in Stanley Park - this was very nice because they had Beluga Whales, and a trio of dolphins which put on a show (no thanks to a cheeky seagull that stole one of their reward fish!). It also had a great little room where you can stand with butterflies circling you and big orange birds strolling between your feet, with a sloth hanging from the tree above your head. Good times!
From Vancouver I took a greyhound bus (I decided this had to be tried at least once!) to Seattle, where I only stayed one night. This was probably a mistake, as I arrived later than expected and so the main thing I wanted to do (an underground tour in the city) was already closed. However, I had a nice chat with a random person in a whiskey bar, and watched a film in the hostel's private theater. Sadly, I decided not to sit in the hostel's hot tub, since I felt I would look quite ridiculous outside in an alleyway, in a hot tub, on my own!
From Seattle I took the Amtrak train straight to Los Angeles. This was quite an ordeal! 36 hours in total from start to finish, and at no point leaving the confines of the train. It was reasonably luxurious - the seats reclined slightly, footrests came out a bit, there was a cafe, a restaurant and an observation car with big windows. However, it was just so SLOW. It is quicker to drive the distance, by several hours. To give you an idea of the slowness of the train, there was a point where we had to wait an unexpected 50 minutes because.... wait for it.... the engine wasn't powerful enough to pull the train up the next hill. They had to wait for another engine to come along, attach on the front, and pull it up. Let's not linger on considering why they didn't foresee this problem on a route that they do twice a day.
One of the plus sides of the train journey was that I had a chance to see some changing scenery. Theoretically. In practice, it was pretty much industrial sites the entire way (i've probably never seen so many scaffold bars in storage in my entire life). There was a brilliant sunrise though, and some spectacular moments where the train is passing through empty, desert-like hills and then suddenly you are surrounded by a giant field of cabbage or some such vegetable. The wonders of modern irrigation!
Arriving into Los Angeles, a mere 1 hour later than expected (frankly amazing considering the problems, and the length of the journey - take note london midlands!), I was met unexpectedly by my parents at the station. I was expecting to meet them of course, but not until the hotel. This made it far easier for me to travel from the station (I had vague directions written down and I was manfully planning to walk the whole 45mins or so). And what hotel are my parents hosting me at? Why it's the J W Marriott of course! Only a 5* hotel in downtown Los Angeles! Thank you UCL funding! Of course, I am sharing my parents' room, but that's fine since there are 2 double beds.
Being here truly made me feel out of place with my unkempt beard and dirty clothes, so I have made some efforts to improve my appearance - even going so far as to brush my hair for the first time in 3 weeks!
Alas, I must hurry off now. Having spent the morning walking along the sandy beaches of Malibu up to my ankles in the gentle surf, and the afternoon luxuriating in the rooftop pool, it's time now to go to the bar to meet my parents and have a nice evening meal.
Change of scenery indeed!
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