After spending a week in California, Sukh and I were relieved to come home this past Saturday.

It was difficult enduring the scorching, hot California sun (47C on the day we left) when you’re used to life in good ol’ Canada!? Naturally being brown, I think I gained a few darker shades of brown. No, seriously. Half of my arms are a light shade of brown and rest are, well.. dark brown!

Aside from the excessive tanning, we had a good trip for the most part. We spent a couple of days in West Hollywood, Dublin (family) and Sacramento (attended a wedding).

A summary of our one week trip:

- Upon arrival, we spent half a day shopping the four main (Level 1, Levels 6-8) floors of Beverly Center. The remaining floors contain covered parking stalls, with the bottom-most floor containing valet parking. I have never seen so many luxury cars and exotic cars on the road in my life — Mercedes, BMW’s, Infiniti’s, Bentley’s, Lamborghini’s, Ferraris… you name it, it was there. Eye candy for car enthusiasts. On another note, the Blue Shuttle service from the airport took an unprecedented one-and-a-half hours to arrive at our hotel in West Hollywood (one block from Beverly Center). I asked myself, why do we always get stuck with new drivers? Especially when you end up telling the driver the directions. The return trip took all of 40 minutes — I guess it helps when everyone is going to the same destination.

- Universal Studios Hollywood took most of a day to see, even with Front of Line passes (a good investment to avoid long lines and excessive sun exposure). Nothing special if you’ve been there before. Mummy – The Ride was a disappointment after experiencing the same ride in Orlando (they have a longer version). You essentially ride a roller coaster forward, come to a complete stop and then accelerate backwards at high velocity. Fun. Just don’t lose your eyewear. In Orlando, they stop in the middle of the track and dart out sideways for an unexpected effect (complete with projected visuals). In contrast, Universal Orlando was a much better experience.

- More shopping on the third day, including The Grove, Farmer’s Market (good, cheap?souvenirs) and Venice Beach. The most interesting of the three was Venice Beach. It’s essentially where people go to shop and stare. The Boardwalk contains plenty of shops with cheap clothing and basic beach essentials. There’s plenty of street entertainment (mostly weird people) and artists. There was nothing exciting along the entire 3 mile strip except for wannabe stand-up comedians (who scared away bystanders).? Oh, there was a movie shoot occurring on the Venice Pier on the day we went — something out of the 80′s.

- Grauman’s Chinese Theater‘s forecourt contains footprints and handprints of major Hollywood stars. I was glancing at one when a Chinese man whizzed by me and stopped short of Samuel Jackson’s footprints. He pointed at the ground and exclaimed ‘Samoooel Jackshun!’. I was startled for a second, but continued glancing around at the other footprints. Be careful where you step, that’s all I can say.

- We took two tours of Los Angeles — one touring the city (tour guide didn’t know her stuff) and one touring the Stars’ homes (tour guide knew her stuff). Rodeo Drive — don’t go there unless you have very deep pockets. An example: at Bijan’s, a hankerchief costs $1400 USD. Wasting their time will also cost you $1500 USD (tour guide provided details). As you walk along Hollywood Blvd, home to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, be prepared to stare at the ground for a very long time. Don’t worry, you’ll fit in. Everyone is doing it.

- Sukh lost one of her bags on the flight from LAX to SFO. Our bags arrived on an earlier flight and her bag disappeared (most likely taken by someone). The airport nor the airline has been of much assistance to date. Hopefully, the lost bag will turn up soon. If you know anyone that works at the SFO airport that can provide access to security tapes, that would be great — please leave a comment.

- The rest of our trip was family-related (visiting relatives and a wedding), so I’ll make no attempt at boring you with those details.

California was nice to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. Canada is much friendlier, cooler and cleaner.