Los Angeles

After getting the thrill on the roller coasters at Six Flags Magic Mountain on the sixth day of our trip - under the scorching hot California sun :-) - we headed to LA on the seventh day from our hotel in Long Beach in heavy rush hour traffic: First, we parked our car on Hollywood Boulevard, where an attentive Chinese store owner pointed out the red curb (=no parking) to us ("you are not from California...!?"... Maybe he meant my accent...). Well then, let's go to a public parking lot... Then we strolled along the Walk of Fame to the Dolby and Chinese Theatres, took a detour to Sunset Boulevard, and then drove up through the Hollywood Hills to the Griffith Observatory, where we took the obligatory snapshots of the Hollywood Sign. We continued to the UCLA campus (Ilenia: "Don't you know the movie the incredible story of Ariana Berlin, Daddy!? - Daddy: "-?-?-?". Then we went to Rodeo Drive (Daniela: "Don't you remember in Pretty Woman: Here Julia Roberts wanted to go shopping in that store... and there are those stairs, you see them in every movie!" - Domi: "Yes, exactly"). Later in the afternoon, we finally went to Santa Monica Beach and Venice Beach, and then in the evening we watched the crowds of surfers waiting patiently for the perfect wave in Malibu... (you know, just like when we stand in front of the ski lift at the Schwarzsee in full ski gear in late autumn and then realize at noon: Maybe there won't be any snow today... ;-).