City of Angels Los Angeles

Uñt’ayata: 04.02.2019

After a short four-hour flight, we arrive in Los Angeles pretty tired at 11 p.m. local time. With almost four million inhabitants, it is the second largest city in the United States. The immigration process takes a while and it takes us about an hour and a half to finally get inside the USA. We quickly pick up the rental car and head to the hostel. At half past 1, exhausted from the two flights and the long day in Mexico, we fall into bed.

The next morning we sleep a little longer and have a relaxed breakfast at the hostel. Unfortunately, it's raining a bit, so we decide to start with the Warner Bros. Studio Tour. There is a lot to see: sets of all kinds from different movies and we also get an insight into what happens behind the camera. We are a little amazed: In principle, there is only one small set city on the Warner Bros. studio grounds, which is always rebuilt or used as needed for the respective film. The facades of the houses are made of fiberglass and can be repainted or replaced with new fiberglass facades if necessary. The rusty gutters are painted and some of the houses have multiple entrances, so that the side can always be shown that is currently needed. So a house from the front is sometimes a school, from the back a fire station. We are also guided through the set of a current series and it doesn't look as real or clean as in the finished series. It's quite impressive that as a viewer you don't see that on the screen later. In the archives, we see some props and costumes from Warner Bros. films, such as the current superhero films from DC Comics and the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films. We even get to try on the talking hat to find out which house we would have been sorted into if that stupid owl hadn't gotten lost years ago...

After the studio tour, we continue in the spirit of filmmakers to Hollywood Boulevard with the famous Walk of Fame. To be honest, we found the Walk of Fame a bit shabby. We had imagined it to be more glamorous. It is lined by three large cinemas, the El Capitan, the Chinese Theatre (where many film premieres take place nowadays) and the Dolby Theatre. Next to them are only fairly cheap-looking souvenir and fast food stores - not very glamorous, we think. Well, everything is just cardboard and fiberglass after all.

Of course, Walt Disney has his own star on the Walk of Fame

To round off the day, which was very Hollywood-oriented, we decide to go to the cinema in the evening. We watched 'Green Book', which we can only recommend. We were thoroughly entertained. On the way back, we pass by Rodeo Drive, one of the most expensive shopping streets in the world. Also nothing really spectacular or groundbreaking (after all, they also cook with water), but Laura can have a look in the shop window at Tiffany's. On the way back to the hostel, we pass by the Urban Lights, a light installation by artist Chris Burden. Quite nice to look at:

On the second day, we go downtown to admire the architecture of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. LA's financial district is also located here, so this part of the city is dotted with skyscrapers. We stroll around downtown a bit and have a hot dog, which has a Mexican touch with fried onions and peppers, a spicy sauce, and a sausage wrapped in bacon. We actually impress the nice saleswoman with our Spanish skills and order it with 'mucho picante y guacamole, siiiii'.