Santa Monica, in the wintertime, the lazy streets so undemanding...

We had one last free day in LA before flying home so Sandra, Carla & I took the public bus to Santa Monica.  This was an experience in itself and gave us a view of the less glamorous side of life in LA, with some interesting characters, and also an acceptance by the driver that a certain percentage of struggling passengers just weren't going to pay the fare, which was only $1.25 (or 55c concession) anyway.  We are staying in Hollywood itself and there is certainly a seedy side to life here which is pretty close to the surface.  The bus left from Hollywood Boulevard so we had a wander along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, past Kodak and Grauman's Chinese Theatres, and there were plenty of hustlers out and about. 
After a fairly long ride we inspected Santa Monica beach and pier then walked back to the Broadway for some final shopping and a late lunch.  The MAC store was an experience in itself with two if not three drag queens working as somewhat intimidating but very well made-up store assistants, who were rather over-the-top but very LA!  I'm not sure if Melbourne would be quite ready for that but nobody seemed to bat an eyelid here.
The bus trip home was even more of an experience with some complete space cadets alternatively ranting & raving at people, trying to convert them to bizarro religions or blowing raspberries at them.  It was hard to know where to look at times and also difficult to suppress the giggles.
Before we knew it, it was time for pre-dinner drinks in the Simons' room as hosted by Simon G in his bathrobe in true Hugh Hefner style, followed by our final group dinner at Malo, as recommended by Mischa Barton's bestie.  It was a fun night but sad to say good-bye to everyone after a fantastic three and a half weeks.