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Source: Flickr

Source: Flickr

Source: Flickr

Source: Flickr

I had arrived at the Fairmont the day before and was greeted by a concierge amidst a full team of valet drivers, waiting to take my keys and luggage. It is a strange feeling when your luggage is instantly taken out of the boot of the car and magically disappears, only to re appear several minutes later brought straight up to your room. The hotel has that feel that if you sneeze you have to pay for it, for example anything from the mini bar in the room required a minimum purchase of more than 7 dollars. Add to that the mini bar was not without some mild amusement, with the most expensive item at staggering 18 dollars being the couples’ intimacy kit, two condoms and some lubricant, I am sure if your that desperate….. well….

The rest of the hotel was stunning with a great view through palm trees looking towards the beach. A quick refresh at the hotel and I was out again, departing for walk around the local area and some drinks and dinner. Heading towards the end of the pier I was able to get some good shots of the beach and Santa Monica beyond from the piers edge. I strolled up and down the main town centre and stumbled upon a sports bar, the Yankee Doodles. The place was packed due to the Lakers vs. Phoenix basketball playoff game. Once the game had finished the place deserted fast and I mean fast, so much so the place had a happy hour from 10pm onwards. It seems that because LA is so far spread out and everyone has to drive everywhere, late night pubs become a rarity.

The next day I attempted something that not many people would be brave enough to even come close to... I went to a theme park with a hangover. Thankfully the day was with out any major disasters. That morning after what seemed like a long drive, I arrived at Universal Studios, deciding to pay extra for preferred parking which just meant you parked next to the entrance rather than a mile or so away, I entered the park opting to pay the standard fare a whopping $79 rather than pay the jump straight to the front of the line ticket at $129. The VIP ticket I can see is worth it, if it’s a very busy day at the park like a weekend/school holidays or you are short on time and I mean you only have a half day.

I was able to get on nearly all rides only missing the House of Horrors and the Simpsons roller coaster rider. I decided to head for the lower end of the park first, some what by accident which worked out very well as it takes a good 15minutes to travel down the 4 long escalators. The first ride I jumped on was the Jurassic Park the ride, a water log ride where a raft is carried by the water through various set pieces until it comes to 84 foot vertical drop where I almost lost the contents of my stomach, being on the outer side I also got drenched with water as the raft came splashing to a crushing and wet halt at the bottom of the waterfall.

The next terrifying and thrilling experience was the mummy ride, a roller coaster type ride through the darkness with a churning wrenching ride backwards along the same path you went forwards on. Back in the light I made my way to grab some lunch and timed the next showing of the Terminator 2: 3D ride which is part theatre, part cinema and part 3D trickery. That and Shrek 4D were very similar, although traveling in the fourth dimension is time and not as they were describing it; as your chair moving and spraying you with smoke and water.

Then the wait for the universal studio tour, the only time where there was a long queue for anything, but considering that each tram tour lasts almost an hour it is understandable. The tour itself was impressive, impressive in the way that each of the set pieces they showed had to be reset for the next party that went through. The underground section with the large earth quake where the roof cracked open and a lorry almost drops on you and then a train that comes crashing into the station proves to show you as you pull away you see the whole thing reset itself back to the default.

Then mechanical Jaws sticking his head out of the water and actor dressed up as Norman Bates coming after the tram with a knife, its all very well planned out and executed. Since the hiatus in May of TV shows not filming there was a chance for the tram to drive down the set of Desperate House Wife’s, the well named, Wisteria Lane. A very impressive set with many of the interiors of houses used in filming as well, not all filmed on sound stages. The closing event of the day was a full staged and spectacular show of pyrotechnics and thrilling stunts based on the movie Waterworld. A great time is to be had at Universal Studios, just try to pick a day where you feel totally refreshed and do not have a hangover.