Saturday 31 May – Hollywood & Beverley Hills - Rodeo Drive.

It's hard to believe that we've been away from home for 3 weeks already. We only have one more day in Los Angeles, having changed our travel plans, to give us more time in San Francisco and Yosemite. Tomorrow we travel by train to San Francisco.

There's a lot of Los Angeles we won't be able to see - “downtown”, and Venice beach, for example – but we have to make choices wherever we go.

We feel we can't come to Los Angeles without visiting Hollywood – and I really want to visit Rodeo Drive, in Beverley Hills, the famous upmarket street of “Pretty Woman” fame – the film starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.

We'll be travelling around on public transport again today – we think this is really cheap in Los Angeles. It's $5 (about £3.50) for a day rider, valid on both buses and the Metro – similar to the Oyster Card system in London. We find it frustratingly difficult to understand how to load our day rider cards – but eventually we manage it. First of all we head for the Griffiths Observatory, from where we have a stunning view of Los Angeles, as the smog isn't too bad today; and we can clearly see the white letters of the Hollywood sign on the hill.

Soon we're back on the Metro, on our way to Hollywood. As we exit the Metro, we are approached by numerous different people, wanting to offer us tours around Hollywood and Beverley Hills. However, we've decided to do our own thing, even though Beverley Hills is actually some distance away from Hollywood. We don't think we'll have time to go to Universal Studios.

As we make our way along Hollywood Boulevard we are stepping on stars – we're on the Hollywood “Walk of Fame”, where the names of famous actors and musicians have been written (in what appears to be bronze) in stars embedded in the pavement (“sidewalk”).

We are struck by how run down this part of Hollywood is; a really sleazy, tatty area, smelling of stale urine. After walking for some distance we decide to catch a bus to Beverley Hills. As the bus takes us further along Hollywood Boulevard, the street scene becomes much more pleasant, with nice shops and the “buzz” of tourists. It seems that we only visited the worst part of Hollywood.

We have to catch two buses to Beverley Hills. As we get off the first bus, at Santa Monica Boulevard, we notice a cafe/bistro; it's mid afternoon and we need something to eat. Reg has a chicken salad, and I have a spicy chicken “quesadilla” - I'm sure you can get these in UK, but I've never had one. It's a flour tortilla, containing grilled chicken, cheddar cheese, black beans, corn, avocado, and “chipotle aioli” (I'm not sure what this is), served with sour cream and salsa. It's delicious, but as often the case with American meals – more than I can eat.

We tell the waiter that we are going to Rodeo Drive, Beverley Hills. He has an ap on his phone for the bus times, and tells us when and where to catch the next bus.

Opposite the bus stop I notice a foodstore specifically for dogs! I haven't seen one of those in the UK, but I guess it's only a matter of time!

The bus stops by a park with the letters “Beverley Hills” rising up above a pond. There are lots of tourists are taking photos, so we decide we might as well join in!

We can see the sign for the famous Rodeo Drive a short distance away, and soon we're peering in all the posh shops, just like all the other tourists. I make a note of some of the shop names that I recognise - Rolex, Prada, Gucci, Guess, St Laurent, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Stefano Ricci, Tiffany & Co, Cartier, Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Bottega, Veneta.

There are many sleek black cars parked outside and cruising along the street, but one particular parked car is catching everyone's attention. It's a Bugatti, yellow and black, sleek and low, with a motif on the bonnet and a Beverley Hills registration. There's no-one in it, and lots of people are taking the opportunity to be photographed alongside it; many of them are Chinese tourists. It's like bees around a honey pot. Reg takes some photographs to show Elaine's boyfriend Jake, as he is interested in cars.

Reg spots an art gallery, “Gallery Michael”, and wants to go in. I'm not keen, as we don't look the part, but the staff (there are lots of them, surprisingly) are very welcoming. Reg tells one of the curators, as we go in the door, that we can't afford to buy anything, but just want to have a look. There is a diverse range of paintings and sculptures, but most are copies of originals, or “after the style of” Old Master paintings. A typical price for a numbered copy (say 2/75) of a modern painting is $40,000.

We stop for a drink in the “Luxe Hotel On Rodeo”. It's very posh, and would be very expensive, but it's “happy hour”, and you can get a beer and a soft drink for $5 each. It's lovely to relax in comfortable surroundings for half an hour.

We know there is something very wrong with a world where some people are rich beyond imagining, and others are so poor they don't even have enough to eat. But today we are just being tourists, peeking into an over-the-top world of opulence and wealth; a world where we don't belong – and where we wouldn't want to, either.