Small stories – my walk home in Los Angeles

We are on day 10 of a Level 4 lockdown in Auckland because of the outbreak of the Delta variant. By now, a Covid-19 lockdown is a familiar routine. Huddle down, set up the home office and sort out things to do to keep the mind occupied.

Treelined streets of Burbank

Walking seems to be an activity that calms everyone down, and I was thinking back to my walk home from work in Los Angeles.  Hardly anyone walks in LA – everyone drives, but I was wary of driving there. In fact, I was downright terrified. Negotiating the DMV to get my license, switching to Left Hand Drive, the traffic on the freeways, the crazy drivers and the drama and complications of insurance if you had an accident.

So I walked everywhere and took the Metro and buses. LA actually has a pretty good public transport system, although half the city doesn’t know about it. When I finally got a job, amazingly it was in nearby Burbank, only about 4kms from my home in North Hollywood. However, it was an awkward location as I lived in LA county, but Burbank is its own city, so the public transport didn’t link up.

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The time I won a green card and moved to Los Angeles

Los Angeles – city of dreams?

Los Angeles is a town where everyone is always pitching – their screenplay, tv show, movie, music – you name it, so here’s my pitch: a middle-aged New Zealand woman wins a green card and moves to Los Angeles to chase her dream of becoming a screenwriter.

Things to do and see in Los Angeles

This may not be the best time in history to be writing about travelling to the US, but my recent trip to Los Angeles was great – I had a fantastic holiday. I spent two weeks in LA and one week travelling around.

Before I left, heaps of people told me I’d only need two or three days in LA, as it turned out I ran out of time to do all the things I wanted to do. The biggest surprise was the outstanding art museums and architecture. LA is so much more than theme parks and Disneyland, although I had fun there too – so here is my list of things to do in LA.

Take the road less travelled – Why it’s good to scare ourselves

I got back from a holiday in the US a few days ago and it was one of those trips with a before and after –  I left as one person and returned another.

It was a bucket trip list; over my 53 years I’ve traveled widely but every time I had plans to go to the USA something always seemed to happen. But there is nothing as persuasive as a cold Wellington winter’s night, with the wind smashing against the walls like a berserk toddler while the rain pounds sideways against the windows.

Beautiful, magical Aitutaki

Magical Aitutaki

It was my sixth visit to Aitutaki, but it had been six years since my last one and I was feeling nervous that it wouldn’t be as I remembered it. But I needed a break – sometimes you just have to get out of Dodge to realign, restore, reboot, and Aitutaki beckoned with its white sandy beaches, turquoise lagoon and calm, peaceful atmosphere. More importantly, as a solo female traveler it is very safe destination to go to on my own.