So, all good things come to an end and sadly it was time for our little trip to end too. It had been amazing five days really! On Saturday we headed to Venice Beach and Santa Monica. The sun was shining and it was around 25 degrees (C) so it was really hot (for us anyway). We started at Venice, where I unfortunately lost my pretty flower crown :( I think the wind caught it somewhere before we hit the beach.
I took my shoes off and went straight to the ocean. Well, I only got wet to my calves, but some waves were big enough to wet my dress' hem. But as said, it was really hot so it dried out pretty quickly. It was pretty chilly but at the same time it was just so refreshing. There were surfers all around and it looked so much fun! Maybe some day I'll get to test it too! I certainly want to.
After we had had our fun in the sun at Venice, we continued to Santa Monica and we walked there. It was about 3km one way and walking in the sun without a hat wasn't probably the best idea. I didn't get a sunstroke and I remembered to put sunblock on my arms and chest, but I forgot to put it on my face so hello a little bit burnt forehead! But hey - at least I got some tan? Wohoo. Also I think I made my first and only celebrity sight at Venice - I'm pretty sure I saw Maisie Williams sitting in a cafe at Venice Beach! I didn't bother to check but either it was her or she has a long lost identical twin.
Santa Monica Pier was great. We actually went to the Ferris Wheel to see the absolutely beautiful landscapes. And we ate some pizza there. After that we walked back to Venice and went to see the Venice Canals. Oh lordy they were quite pretty. I'd love to live in those houses beside them. They had such a cute little boats - one house had this duck boat and another had a self-made gingerbread house boat. That was pretty awesome!
On our last day we drove to see the Hollywood Sign. We drove through Hollywood Hills to see the iconic sight and took photos of course. After that we drove to the Grove and I bought myself a very nice wallet/purse from Michael Kors (it was so friggin cheap compared to Europe!). The salesman (I think his name was Rodrigo or something) was just so super nice and super sunny, god it was like the best service I had ever got! Also Sprinkles Cupcakes, noms! They were so good. I've wanted to try them ever since I heard about them. Besides, I've always wanted to try these "REAL" American cupcakes since I'm a cupcakerer myself and I'm always looking for new inspiration.
While we were shopping at the Grove we got a text telling us that our flight to London was going to be delayed by two hours. We didn't have any plans after Grove/Farmer's Market so we just made up a plan to drive to see Malibu. We didn't really stay there, we just drove around and then headed to the airport.
The trip was great, the flights back home... Not so much. I've got to be honest with you and tell a little secret. We had bought the flight with our own cards but we went to the check-in desk together (I prefer the machines but there wasn't any for Norwegian) and thought that of course we'd be sitting together. But NO! It had never occurred to me that the person who did our check-in didn't even ask if we wanted to sit together.
I, as a person who has a terrible social anxiety when it comes to sitting next to strangers, was pretty much on the verge of panic attack but we thought that it'd cost to change places. Another thing is that on a plane or train or bus I always sit on a window seat. So pretty much the worst thing ever happened to me on the plane to London - I got seated in the middle row, in the middle seat AND I had strangers on both of my sides. Later at night when I went to the toilet, I saw rows that had only ONE person in them so I was seriously pissed off. It's nothing personal but I'm just so uncomfortable sitting next to a person I don't know so it was literally the flight from Hell.
It would've been worse if I didn't get any sleep. So I kind of got a bit drunk before the flight by drinking a small bottle of sparkling wine and a glass of long island ice tea (THANK GOD FOR THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL IN THOSE IN AMERICA) and it helped me relax a bit. Now usually I don't rely on alcohol but this time I kinda knew that listening to music or anything wouldn't help so the couple of drinks took the edge of. I don't usually drink wines so sparkly wine did it's thing for me, haha. It was seriously funny because usually I require at least like 6-7 drinks to get even a bit tipsy. We ate at a restaurant because due to the delay we got $13 meal voucher from Norwegian. The food was really good (I ate a chicken sandwich) and our waitress was really awesome. I actually left her a message on the receipt because I work at customer service myself and I know good service really deserves a praise. And she certainly did (of course on top of the tip).
So I slept like a wee baby the whole 10 hours flight back and only woke up to go to the toilet. I'm currently working on this little problem of mine though so it was also kinda... good that I got put there but I was certainly so pissed off. But I won't bother writing to the airline about this cause I know they're going to appeal to the fact that we should've known cause we bought the tickets separately (like seriously, HOW are we even supposed to know that?!).
But main thing, I'm still alive. The flight from London to Helsinki was a bit better because haha, I got seated in the front row (THE LEG SPACE, GDI!) and on top of that the person who was supposed to occupy the window seat had accidentally taken my aisle seat. I asked him about it and he said that if I didn't mind, I could take the window seat! I was just like "NO, I DON'T MIND AT ALL!" and sat my tushie down. Haha, he was a real British gentleman, he was really nice when we talked a little. Funny enough I've always found it very easy to start a conversation with British people? I don't know what it is but I'm not as anxious with them. Maybe it's because I've lived in Ireland and visited London and met a lot of British people in my life? Go figure.
All in all it was a great trip even though my spirit was a bit ruined by the flight mix up and everything. But I got home alive and well, maybe a few mental scars but they'll heal. Now I've got my first touch of America and I. WANT. MORE. So what's next? New York? Florida (actually Haja promised to go with me one day and we'll do a amusement park run - Disney, Universal, Harry Potter etc.)? Chicago? Seattle? Texas? Las Vegas? Who knows, I'm open minded and ready to go! These boots were made for walkin' (even though resting is also good)!
Last but not least, before I left for my trip, I made a Facebook page for PPD! Go like it ->> HERE
xoxo,
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