Ten of 'em get off the bus every day...

Helloooo...

These posts are all being typed as I sit in our San Diego hostel room (we splashed out and got a room rather than just dorm beds). Basically, Molls managed to connect to the free Wi-fi here and so we can comfortably play with pictures and type onto this blog.

So to bring you lovely people up to speed: while Molly winged her way to San Diego from North Carolina on Friday (2nd November), I started my adventure the next day.

So Saturday morning I wake up in my little brother's rather modest "first-year student halls" accommodation in central Manchester. When I talked about the convenience of him going there to study for airport proximity, I was not joking. It was lovely to see him and I believe I have the honour of being the first family member to visit the newly independent baby brother of the Yerrakalva clan.

Anyway, an early start ensured check-in for my 9.30am flight arriving in LAX by 5.30pm via Chicago... I love that I now have a delightful immigration stamp from the Windy City (which is mighty pretty but it ain't got what we got). I cannot be bothered to go into the details of the flight but it was as uneventful and insomnia inducing as usual.

You may notice, if you are enlightened in the ways of a certain wonderful film, my attempt to throw in as many references as possible. Beautifully then I arrived in Los Angeles proper... on the bus (hence the post title) though I'm neither a wannabe actress nor a prospective District Attorney. Law enforcement may be an option however.

I basically spent Sunday, Monday and Tuesday wandering round LA doing various things and using public transport (shock horror). These things included a Couchsurfing picnic in Griffith Park (look up couchsurfing on wikipedia), public transport, wandering round Hollywood and Burbank with a British backpacker named James, spotting Parminder Nagra in a golf buggy right outside the outdoor sets for ER, pictures of myself outside County General and inside and outside Sacred Heart... yes - that Sacred Heart; getting my picture taken with Jimmy Stewart (sort-of), public transport, getting a spa-mani-pedi and eyebrow shaping (for $25) while waiting to walk the hallowed Scrubs paths, shoe-shopping, public transport, City Hall aka home of the LAPD in LAC, Trivial Pursuit with hipsters in mid-town, a black cat called Nero, hotdogs at Pinks and the awesome splendour that is the Standard Downtown rooftop bar (also seen in Entourage, Fracture and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang).

On Wednesday I took a Megabus for the princely sum of $1.50 (that's 75p to those British readers) that took me directly down to San Diego in 2 hours. And Molly picked me up with Gus! That brings us to Wednesday 7th. November (i.e. yesterday). When Molls has done her San Diego solo catch-up, we'll jointly fill you in on yesterday and today and hopefully by the time we hit the road to dreamland on Saturday we'll be giving you daily reports.

Of course, I have skimped on many details and the reasons for that include wanting to leave you 'thirsty for more' and also I'm tired. I shall post pictures of my 4 day solo LA-jaunt and accompany those with anecdotes and details if Molls and I get tine in the busy days ahead.

Remember dear readers, you heard it here first.
Off the record, on the QT and very...

Hush-hush.

Molly's Neuroscience Meeting 2007

Friday, November 2nd

After an early start and a short layover in Salt Lake City, I arrived in sunny San Diego! This is my first visit to California, hence my admiration of the palm tree-lined streets and ocean views. My shuttle dropped me off at Hotel Solamar (which I had booked after exhaustive research). What a beautiful, cozy hotel, just a few blocks from the convention center. One hot shower and nap later, my cold seemed less ominous and the trip more exciting.

I met Gus, Gus's dad, Andreas, Erina, Osceola, Haru, Petra and Lubica in Old Town for Mexican food. I resisted the enormous margaritas and ordered the pollo a la crema; how true is the saying "feed a cold, starve a fever." Standing outside the restaurant in the festively lit street, I was priveleged to observe the most elaborately styled mullet I've ever seen. After pointing it out to the others, Gus informed me that the more accurate term was the "Mulletino". With no time to waste, I subtley snapped a pic of Erina standing in front of said Mulletino. Apparently, it requires large bites of burrito to sustain such an impressive coiffure!

Cramming six neuroscientists in a Chrysler Sebring was not as difficult as one might think; grad student diets and small Japanese frames may have helped a little! Back at the Solamar, we recruited Jen and Margaret to accompany us to the rooftop bar, J6. Wow. What an amazing place. The pictures speak for themselves. My ban on alcohol consumption was promptly lifted after reading the menu; I ordered a delicious "Evolution" and Erina, as a researcher, felt obligated to try the "PBS". Fortunately, this acronym didn't stand for phosphate-buffered saline!

All this drink led to a trip to the men's bathroom, where the guys were met with a surprising reception!

Katie soon joined us and things began to get silly... We formed a crafty plan to come up to the pool in bikinis and the leopard and zebra print bathrobes that came with the room, but were devastated to hear that the pool closed at 9 and the bar at 1. Maybe another time.

Saturday, November 3rd

Craving a tasty brunch, Katie and I walked a few blocks over to Cafe 222 (two tutu? tutu, too? two to two?). While waiting in line, we helped ourselves to the complimentary coffee and banana bread, and dog-watched. The hash browns and granola pancakes hit their respective spots, and we headed back to the hotel to brace ourselves for the conference. After browsing through posters, Katie and I met Amrita and we stopped at some shops on fifth avenue. My cold was getting revenge for the lack of sleep, and I dosed up on Dayquil as a counter-attack, beating it into submission. All shopped-out, we went back to the hotel and selected a dinner spot, the illustrious Chive.