Santa Monica July 2013

Today I went to Santa Monica with my aunt, cousin and little cousins. There were 6 of us altogether. I'd been to Santa Monica before but it was a long time ago. First we went to the pier which has a combination of restaurants, Starline tours of famous Malibu homes, souvenir stalls, rides and other eateries. The pier is pretty big and if you've got kids its great for them and even if you haven't its still pretty fun. All the rides are pretty tame, a mixture of bumper cars, mini roller coasters,  ferris wheel and other rides. Certain rides are $3/£2/€2.30 each and others are $5/£3.20/€3.80 and for unlimited use of rides its $15/£10/€11 per person. My cousins went on the rides, I just sat and watched the joy and happiness in their faces whilst on the rides. 

After that we went to the beach, it was a relatively hot day but because of the sea I guess it was a bit more windy and chilly than other parts of the city. The water wasn't anything like Thailand and I'm sure it wasn't warm but for some it will do. There were a lot of people sunbathing also even though I didn't think it was hot enough. But for California it's a nice beach. 

Santa Monica is quite modern and metropolitan and has all you need in a small area. A large shopping area with several stores and department stores, the pier, hotels, restaurants and bars. It's like a nicer version of Hollywood with a beach :D. I really like Santa Monica and would recommend staying here as its a cute area as long as you don't mind being away from Hollywood. 

We had lunch at Santa Monica Pier Seafood which was delicious. They have an extensive seafood menu including choosing your own live crabs and lobsters. There is also an extensive drinks menu and the option to sit outside or inside. I had a clam chowder which is amazing if its done well which this one was. Mine was also presented in a huge bread roll with the centre cut out and the chowder inside. My aunt had fish and chips, there was a pretty large portion of chips and the fish was in about 5 small battered pieces but still filling. 

As we left the pier we noticed a man with 2 snakes selling photos of you with the snakes and another group doing a dance type show but they weren't that good. But I'm sure the acts vary on a daily basis. 

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