Well, seeing as we are there...

As I said from the beginning, the biggest advantage of a holiday such as this is the flexibility to deal with whatever ideas arise and make spontaneous changes to the original plan.

Much as San Diego is a lovely place, it did seem a shame to be in California and not take a trip to visit one of the most well-known places in the world - Los Angeles. It was about a three hour drive from where we were but I was genuinely excited at the prospect of touring Hollywood and the surrounding districts, although it turned out to be remarkably different from my expectations.

First we went through to Beverly Hills and found a bargain parking spot at only $1 an hour, then set about looking around the shopping area in Rodeo Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard before taking a drive around to look at the hugely extravagant dwellings that apparently pass as homes for some people.

From there on we drove into the areas where I expected to see a more traditional Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood Boulevard, but I was surprised to see a complete contrast to our previous location. Sure, we got pictures of the Chinese Theatre and Kodak Theatre and waded through the multitude of souvenir shops in the area. Unfortunately, I was completely taken aback by how run down the surrounding area was and the number of people who were literally rummaging through litter bins apparently looking for food. Talk about how the other half lives.

To end on a more positive note, I finally got to dip my toes in the Pacific, polished off another excellent meal in the same restaurant as last night and finished off the evening with another set of photos of that incredible sunset.

And to think everyone complained about the number of arch photos I took last time I was across here...