August 5th. Burbank.

Last day of the trip and all that remains is to send the last few post cards and find a place where I can upload the blog. The local library has all the facilities but no bar. We had arranged to take Huy out to lunch as a small token of appreciation and he had decided on a place called ‘The Farmers Market’ in The Grove. A curious place, The Grove, a spanking new Shopping Centre has been built to resemble a cosmopolitan European pedestrian street, all very pleasant and expensive. The Farmers Market, on the other hand dates back much further to the time when the area was agricultural and this was where the local farmers sold their produce. Apart from the shops, there are all kinds of excellent, cheap restaurants ranging from fish and seafood through bar-b-qued beef, sushi and Kosher as well as a New York diner complete with the all-day breakfast menu and the famous pastrami sandwich. The Brazilian meat stall sold by weight – not mine – but you just loaded up your plate and they weighed it and charged accordingly, a beautifully simple idea. I tried a couple of grilled sausages, salad and veg, total cost - $3.50. We then took the scenic route back, through Melrose and points Hollywood. Huy then dropped us off at the dream shop, the place where I could happily spend days as well as ‘000’s of loot. It’s called Soap Planet/Wacko and it’s on 4633 Hollywood Boulevard. It was packed with all manner of art books and the largest selection of kitsch I’ve ever seen, absolutely everything from Obama action dolls to Mexican wrestling masks. I picked up a few things but I’ll have to goback with a truck. We then headed for a bar/restaurant called ‘Dresden’, where part of the film ‘Swingers’ was filmed. This used to be a haunt of Frank Sinatra and the décor is pure cocktail lounge, you’d expect to see Dean Martin crooning at the grand piano. To ‘Ye Olde Rustic’ for the last few beers and early home (for me anyway, Willy was under orders to keep the flag flying until last orders) as we leave for the airport at 02:30 on another phase of the trip.