Had a great three day Christmas break at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, it was great having a little bit of luxury for a little while. It was incredibly strange spending Christmas in a hot, sunny climate, turning the air conditioning on instead of the heating - but a lovely change too!
Was great catching up with our families on Skype...can’t believe we hadn’t tried Skype before this trip, it’s a fantastic way to keep in touch (really cheap for calling landlines and mobiles too from overseas).
Christmas seems to be celebrated very differently over in the states. There doesn’t seem to be the usual back to back Christmas / feature type films on Christmas day or boxing day. Actually, they don’t have a boxing day here. Most people return to work and it is referred to as “the day after Christmas”. Still, we managed to stay in the Christmas mood with Christmas tunes and movies on our laptop (it really can’t be Christmas until I have watched Elf a few times!).
Spent Christmas day watching Christmas movies and then chilling out in the sunshine in Perishing Square, just across from our hotel. We then had a lovely meal in the hotel’s restaurant (without any Christmas crackers though) followed by some drinks in the Cognac Room, it was very a stylish Christmas (and very filling!).
Christmas seems to be celebrated very differently over in the states. There doesn’t seem to be the usual back to back Christmas / feature type films on Christmas day or boxing day. Actually, they don’t have a boxing day here. Most people return to work and it is referred to as “the day after Christmas”. Still, we managed to stay in the Christmas mood with Christmas tunes and movies on our laptop (it really can’t be Christmas until I have watched Elf a few times!).
Spent Christmas day watching Christmas movies and then chilling out in the sunshine in Perishing Square, just across from our hotel. We then had a lovely meal in the hotel’s restaurant (without any Christmas crackers though) followed by some drinks in the Cognac Room, it was very a stylish Christmas (and very filling!).
We checked out of the hotel this morning. We were sad to leave our comfy room, bedside coffee maker and onsite pool but it was time to go on to our next abode – the Venice Beach Hostel.
We took a local bus from Downtown to the beach. It took just over an hour but was dirt cheap at a $1.50 (better than the cab we were originally intending on taking) and dropped us off just outside our hostel. The hostel seems great so far and right around the corner from the beach. We will be calling this place home for the next eight nights. Really looking forward to spending the next few days just soaking up the sun on the white sands of Venice beach!
We took a local bus from Downtown to the beach. It took just over an hour but was dirt cheap at a $1.50 (better than the cab we were originally intending on taking) and dropped us off just outside our hostel. The hostel seems great so far and right around the corner from the beach. We will be calling this place home for the next eight nights. Really looking forward to spending the next few days just soaking up the sun on the white sands of Venice beach!
