DESTINATIONS THE US LA 3 WAYS
including tour guide and transport in an air-conditioned minibus. Many companies offer walking
tours too. We took Melting Pot Tours’ half-day East LA Latin Flavours trip (£50). The bellyful of South American treats included churros (crisp finger doughnuts with pillow-soft insides) and birria (Mexican goat stew). There was time to browse the indoor market, El Mercado, with a cup of ‘tuna’ (cactus) sorbet, blinking in awe at the array of mole sauces, candied fruits and pinatas in every incarnation from donkeys to SpongeBob SquarePants. Do Something Different has a similar Ethnic Neighbourhoods Food Tour (£51), which takes in cuisines ranging from barbecue in Koreatown to bakeries in Little Armenia. To walk off all those treats, the Arts
District is perfect for a stroll while gawping at the impressive, intricate street murals and tiny motifs.
LA
w CYCLE Hiring a bike makes attractions on and off the beaten path easily accessible. There are decent cycle lanes and it’s permitted to take bikes on the Metro and buses, outside rush hour. Route maps are available from
LA Tourism and LA Metro. Some of the most popular include the coastal path from Pacific Palisades to Redondo Beach, and the San Gabriel River Trail. Or clients can pedal around parks including Griffith Park and Runyon Canyon, where the celebs go jogging. Perry’s Cafe and Rentals has nine
locations in Santa Monica and Venice, with hire from £6.50 an hour. For those who wish to weave along the promenade like a local, rollerblades are available for the same price. Bikes and Hikes on Santa Monica
Boulevard, West Hollywood, has rentals from £5.50 an hour or £95 for the week, with drop-off/pick-up if needed. The company also offers a range of
tours, including LA in a Day (£105) with bike hire and lunch. This involves 32 miles of pedalling, mostly at a leisurely pace. You get to see everything from beautiful Greystone Park, where hundreds of movies, including X-Men, were filmed, to Muscle Beach. It’s a perfect introduction to LA,
allowing clients to get their bearings and adjust to cycling on the roads. On our tour, we pedalled up and
down Beverly Hills before hitting the flat roads and empty riverbeds (where the drag-racing scene in Grease was filmed) towards the sea. The many unscheduled, unexpected
stops included a chat with The Dreamer, a Native American who served in Vietnam and now hands out free haircuts and words of wisdom to veterans from his barber truck. “That’s the beauty of the bike,” said our guide Eric, as we scooted off. “Most people will just drive right past and not even know what’s here.”
SAMPLE PRODUCT
LEFT: Universal Studios Hollywood VIP Experience BELOW LEFT: Palm Springs BELOW: LA in a Day cycle tour
Funway offers five nights at
four-star Hotel Angeleno in West Hollywood from £789, including Virgin Atlantic flights from
Heathrow on January 21. funway4
agents.co.uk
North America Travel Service has seven nights at The Standard Downtown from £1,269, including flights with
Virgin Atlantic from Heathrow in January and February. northamerica
travelservice.co.uk 52
travelweekly.co.uk 5 November 2015
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