California❤️

Servus and hello

Our next destination of the trip has begun: California - The Golden State!

We flew non-stop from Maui to L.A. The flight went smoothly and we reached the City of Angels tired but happy in 6 hours. In advance, I booked an Airbnb apartment near the airport in El Segundo. We took a taxi directly to the accommodation, where Kirby, the owner, warmly welcomed us and offered us a cold beer. He first informed us about the beautiful spots in the city and we immediately felt warmly welcomed. After a relaxed night, we started the day leisurely and walked to the beach in El Segundo. After that, we enjoyed the best burgers in town at In N Out. We spent the rest of the afternoon waiting for Hoahn at Kirby's place, who was going to pick us up after work. We met Hoahn two years ago at Oktoberfest in Munich. We stayed in touch and when he found out that we were coming to California, he immediately offered us to come to Orange County for a few days. After a warm welcome, we drove to Orange County, which was about an hour away. He and his wife Kristie live in a super beautiful house and we even got our own room with a bathroom. We spent a cozy evening with a few drinks at the Disneyland restaurant and chatted about everything. The next day, we headed into the city for brunch and then rode our bikes along the coast to Newport Beach. We really liked the beautiful pier with shops and restaurants. We treated ourselves to a cool ice cream there. When we arrived home a bit exhausted, we relaxed and watched the World Cup together. After that, Hoahn cooked Mexican food for us. It turned out that Hoahn is a fantastic cook, especially in Mexican cuisine. Afterwards, we went out. We went to a club, but it closed at 1 am. Finally, we found a bar that was open longer, where we had a nightcap and then fell into bed, exhausted. On Sunday, we slept in and then went to an old Mexican settlement. First, we had a relaxed lunch in one of the fancy restaurants. In the evening, we met up with Hoahn's friends at Newport Beach, made a bonfire, and had the typical American treat of marshmallows on a stick, sandwiched between two cookies with chocolate. The next day, Kristie took us to the train station and we continued on to Los Angeles. The weekend was super nice and we thank Hoahn and Kristie for the great time. They are such lovely people and we are already looking forward to a reunion in Switzerland or Munich.
So, we headed to L.A. Lars booked a hostel in Hollywood in advance. The hostel was well-equipped and we liked it from the first moment. Of course, the first thing we wanted to see was the famous Walk of Fame. With over 2000 stars, we walked almost the entire boulevard, including the Chinese Theater with the hand and footprints of the stars. We immediately noticed that the glamour and glitz have long faded in Hollywood. The neighborhood is not particularly nice and a bit dirty, and there are many strange characters wandering around. Well, the hostel was top-notch and we had many nice conversations with other travelers. The next day, we wanted to check out Venice Beach. We took the free shuttle from the hostel to Venice, which was about an hour away. One thing you should definitely know when you come to L.A. is that it is huge and really sucks without a car because there are hardly any bus or train routes! We really liked Venice Beach! Street art on almost every wall and a cool atmosphere. We watched the skaters in the park and then walked for a good hour to the Santa Monica Pier. Along the way, you see many homeless people apparently living in tents on the beach and selling something on the promenade. America, the land of contrasts, I would say. Finally, we reached the Santa Monica Pier and strolled around, which reminded us a bit of an amusement park. Numerous rides and food stands line the entire pier. After that, we went to Melrose Avenue, which I really liked. Nice restaurants and pubs, small boutiques with many unusual retro clothes, and street art on the walls. We strolled around, took photos, and then went to a very delicious ramen restaurant. We had one more day in L.A., which happened to be on July 4th, Independence Day of the United States. This is celebrated very big here. During the day, we took a little trip to the planetarium with a view over the city and the Hollywood sign. We really liked it up there and for the first time, we saw how gigantic the city is and that there seems to be no end. Back at the hostel, everything was beautifully decorated in the colors of the American flag and a paddling pool with ice-cold free beer was already waiting. So, we celebrated the birthday of the USA with the people from the hostel and watched the fireworks over L.A. from a distance.
Tired, we headed to the airport the next day to pick up our camper van Lucy at the Juice camper rental, which will take us through the country for the next three weeks. Stay tuned 😉

Bye bye

Anita 😘