LA the city of angels

450 meters on foot,

23 kilometers with three different bus lines, totaling 1 hour and 11 minutes from our accommodation to the international airport in Toronto. And all this with 15 kilograms on our back and 5 kilograms in front of our chest.

3 hours spent on security checks, duty-free shops, and various gates, to then stumble 200 meters into the plane, take our seats, turn on the entertainment program, and just relax. Well, as good as possible with constant turbulence.

4100 kilometers and 4 hours later, while flying over a national border, various state borders, and time zones, the plane lands on Californian soil.

Here we are LAX.

Getting off the plane, picking up the luggage, and then heading out into the warm evening air of Los Angeles.

From the terminal, we go with a friendly Uber driver against the setting sun. Full of excitement due to palm silhouettes in the evening glow, we reach our AirBnB in a quiet residential area in the KoreaTown district.

Regarding our "location," we were undecided for a long time... When we booked the accommodations in America in March and informed ourselves about the "attractions" in LA, we already noticed that there is no real center here. Which also means that all the interesting sights in LA are scattered throughout the city. Existing problem: The four of us, at 19 years old, cannot rent a car and once again rely on public transportation.

New problem: The transportation network in Los Angeles is definitely in need of improvement. There are buses on every street, but it feels like only one is actually running. So it's normal to wait 45 minutes for a bus.

From our house, we could reach almost everything within an hour and a half.

Sort of lucky in our misfortune, because we were living pretty much in the middle of all the attractions.

In our accommodation, we had a cozy four-person room and shared a bathroom and kitchen with other travelers.

Speaking of the kitchen: to stock up on groceries, we still have to write the meal plan, walk to the nearest affordable supermarket, and then pack the best deals in our backpacks.

Exhausted from the day, we fall into our beds to dream all the Californian dreams.

Enough dreaming, now it's time to live the dream!

Have breakfast (our always popular porridge with fruit), get ready, and wait at the bus stop. The first item on our sightseeing list for today is

to stroll up and down the Walk of Fame. Especially Kathrin and Anna, who are in Los Angeles for the first time, are shocked to see that even "the" center of Hollywood appears dirty, smelly, and absolutely "unglamorous."

From here, we walk to Sunset Boulevard and then take the beloved bus to Beverly Hills again.

As soon as the street sign of the same name is up ahead, the entire environment changes. Perfectly manicured lawns, palm trees as far as the eye can see, beautiful villas - exactly how you imagine the city of the rich and famous. To experience even more of this "lifestyle," we stroll through the shops of Rodeo Drive today.

Then the highlight of the day: For weeks, we had been raving about eating a burger at the fast-food chain In&Out, which countless friends had recommended and which unfortunately is only available in the western states.

After the feast, we four were certain: That was the best burger we have ever had at a fast-food chain! Everything was freshly prepared, delicious fries, and much more... you could actually no longer call it fast food, although it can't be compared to a real burger restaurant either.

It's a shame that we probably won't have a chance to eat here in the near future.

Happy with the burger menu that Kathrin's aunt had treated us to on her past birthday, we said goodbye and went to bed.

The motto of our next day was relaxation!

We spent most of the time at Venice Beach and the Santa Monica Pier.

Everything here was relatively touristy with lots of people. Nevertheless, it was beautiful, and we enjoyed our time until the evening very much.

But already the next day, we had to get up early because the mountain was calling!

Okay, rather the Hollywood Sign. From a small parking lot, we hiked to the city's landmark in the sweltering heat. From here, despite the cloudy sky, we had an incredible view over the whole of Los Angeles

And then our stay was already coming to an end, because from tomorrow it's time for us: Bula Fiji!