Expedition to the Queen Mary

99.999% of people in LA travel by car everywhere.  Being British and fairly terrified of driving in big cities we have managed to explore large parts of the city by public transport and/ or feet. On Friday we (that's Andrew, Amy and I) set off at 8am and, by getting a bus to Hollywood, then two metro lines to Long Beach and then a transit, managed to get to the Queen Mary just after 11 am.  The ship itself was wonderful - lots of 1930s wood veneer - and very beautiful.  But it's an odd place now - trying to serve as a hotel, events location and the venue for self-guided tours.  Somehow this mixture of uses doesn't quite work.  On the way back, we did a different route, via Santa Monica - same number of buses/ metros and another 3 hours of travel.  Total cost per person $7 for 'transportation' as the Americans call it.  A Billy bargain as we might call it....

The beautiful Queen Mary, launched 1934 (same year as my Dad was born), maiden voyage across the Atlantic to New York in 1936, retired to Long Beach in 1967.