Sunday 5th July

Checkout isn't until 12pm so there is no rush but I am still up at 8am. I attempt to have a shower but the drain is blocked so move to another one. There is no hot water so I wash my hair in a tepid temperature and curse the hotel. It's like a Fawlty Towers here with blocked toilets, drains, 1 elevator for 15 floors and rude reception staff but it has free internet so I have been able to do my blogs for you. Thankfully it is summer so I will warm up soon after my shower. When I get back to the room I put my watch on and it says 8am. I hit a time warp and wonder what the hell is going on. It's then I remember the room clock is set forward an hour and we didn't change it so I really got up at 7m and didn't have the sleep in I thought I had. It doesn't make much difference as I am a bit hungover. Thought I would slip that one in there! The 2 mornings I have been hungover have been flying days, silly girl!

I go back to Bottega Louie for breakfast and savour my cup of tea and individual banana and marscapone bread. Yum! A man at the next table asks me if I know who the large group of men are nearby. Of course I don't know but looking at this man, I know he knows and is about to tell me. They are a bunch of retired policemen and this is their regular Sunday morning motorcycle ride breakfast. This piece of information gives the man licence to continue talking to me which I don't want. It is early, I am eating breakfast, I am reading - 3 sure signs I do not want to be disturbed. It only takes 1 or 2 words from me before he notices my accent so the obvious questions follow. He goes on to show me the cartoon he drew for todays' paper and I don't understand the gist of his ensuing conversation with it's political tones. I tell him this but it doesn't stop him from continuing. He introduces me to his friend who speaks at a level 2 below that of a whisper so I keep saying "sorry?" which they in turn don't understand as "pardon?" In the end I just nod and say "mm" a lot and I don't care if I seem a bit dumb because it works.

Back at the hotel I continue with my blogs, I am really cracking along with them now and hope you are all reading. Once my photos are up for your viewing pleasure the 2 go hand in hand, mostly. With still another hour before checkout I just put my feet up on the bed and we watch Big Daddy's House. Big Daddy is cooking some meditteranean food and ooh, they look yummy. He is incredibly excited about the dishes too.

As I mentioned earlier there is only 1 elevator working so it's a good 10 minute wait for us to get in with our luggage as we watch 2 men in wheelchairs go up and down!!! There are a lot of wheelchair bound people in this city, quite a number with no legs, it's very noticeable. We take the stairs and store our luggage. We still have 10 hours before take off.

First stop is the Bradbury Building famous for it's cage elevators and stunning architecture. Next is the Walt Disney Centre where we take an audio tour. It's a gorgeous building inside and out, although the designers etc keep referring to it as a warm and inviting place. I don't really feel the warmth but the garden is most definitely inviting. The tour lasts for about an hour and at the end I leave my Disney biography on the bar. This is a book that I found a few months ago. It is registered on www.bookcrossing.com and hopefully it will travel across the world.

Across the road a bit is City Hall, a building so grand and beautiful it is famous for appearing in many films/tv shows.

Starving, I have my hunger pangs set on a famous French Dip Sandwich from Coles around the corner from the hotel. It is basically a meat baguette with au jus. You dip your sandwich into the warm meat juices and it melts in your mouth. Delicious!!!

Last stop is Godiva chocolate store but it is closed. Oh well, I have a small stash already but do buy a few more bars from a shop nearby. I cave in and get a coffee from Louie which I think is going to be pretty good but I am wrong. Should have known better. When I get home I am going to try this no coffee business as the calories in milk are very high and are the major contributor to my battle of the bulge. It is NOT the cakes, alcohol or lack of ab crunches - oh, I know that!!

We don't want to walk around anymore so collect our bags and go to the airport. I buy myself some of my 2nd favourite perfume, J'adore (I know you want to know and why not my 1st favourite? Well I have almost a full bottle of Paris at home). I spy the Godiva chocolates but refrain as they are tres expensive.

We settle in for a 13 hour flight to Auckland and I don't feel like concentrating on much so I watch "I Love You, Man". Dinner is roast beef and vegies and I limit myself to 1 glass of wine, how good am I? Then I watch the classic "In The Heat Of The Night" and sleep afterwards. My sleep is fitful with a sore coccyx and about 5am I give up and watch 2 episodes of CSI, the one where Grissom leaves, for all the fans. Breakfast arrives and I have time for 1 episode of The Simpsons before we land.