Our alarm clock went off early this morning: we had a long day ahead of us. We jumped into our white Pontiac and took Highway 110 along downtown LA. I had so much fun using the carpool lane for the first time. In LA, as an effort to unclog the road, the highways have designated car pool lanes for cars that have two or more people in them. Unfortunately, a lot of people in LA still drive a big car to work, and they use it just for them selves. They drive big trucks, Vans, or Hummers. Silly isn't it? The carpool lane is usually almost completely empty.. and so we could avoid all the traffic jams on our way to Griffith Park.
It was still kinda hazy up there. We could see Downtown LA sprouting in the distance. And I managed to point out the road that we would be taking that day.
Our next stop was Hollywood Boulevard. The day before yesterday, the intersection of Hollywood and Vine was closed off due to a fire that burned down a night club. Luckily, it was all cleared again and we soon arrived in downtown Hollywood. Not much to see there except for the stars in the pavement, Mann's Chinese Theater and the Kodak Theater. Also the mall of Hollywood and Highland is nicely built, with giant elephants and a real 'Arc de Triumph". Enniewho, I won't write much more about Hollywood, look for a previous blog here.
We continued our "road of discovery" on Sunset, making our way to the Sunset strip. From there, Doheny takes us right into Beverly Hills. Ton and Mom were amazed at the beauty and richness of Rodeo Drive. To me, it's still beautiful but it's kinda sad to realize that you get used even to this kind of thing.
We stopped in the Beverly Center, the celebrity mall in Beverly Hills, for a quick bite. I had a big plate of greasy Chinese food : fried orange chicken, grilled chicken and a lot of noodles with veggies. Bring on the carbs !
From here, we drove back to Sunset and passed the Bel Air estates, crossed the 405 and ended up in Lake Shrine, the spiritual temple of Yogananda.
I realized today that this would be my last day driving through LA with the feeling that this is where I live. It feels so cool to know your way around here. We were sitting in a bar in Santa Monica today and a woman came up to me asking me if I knew where the nearest mobile shop on Wilshire blvd in Santa Monica was. I was proud to be able to direct here in the right way and to recommend a taxi since it was still about 10 blocks away.
Yet, from now on, I'm a tourist again, just like every other European visiting LA.
Still, having a Californian driver's license has many advantages. People know that you know. Airlines don't bother you with strict passport checks. And renting cars is so much easier.
Speaking of renting cars; we headed out tonight to pick up our new car for the big tour. It was a lot less pricey than the other reservation.. and Mom was able to use here regular credit card again. Yay !
Oh, I did put some pictures up from their flight yesterday, so you might want to scroll down to the previous blog and look for the slide show. You can also click on it to go to the album and see the pictures in a large format.
Here are the pictures of today:
Now that I have company, I finally show up in a picture every once a while. Well, maybe that is not such a good thing after all. :-)
Tomorrow : a visit to Santa Barbara and Malibu.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Universal Studio's - Movie Capitol of LA - Day 3
After making 2 waffles and stuffing bread and jam into our bag, we headed out for what was going to be a long and fun day.
I was excited to show my Mom and Ton the place where I have worked. Finally someone to share this with. The theme park was fun as ever. I had done the studio tour a million of times before, so I knew exactly what to expect. They loved it.
The Mummy roller coaster ride and the Jurassic Park ride was my favorite part of the day. They take you at thrilling speeds through magical places like mummy caves and dinosaur jungles.. I'm not telling more about the park itself 'cause I wrote a blog about it long ago.
At night, we walked up and down the city walk and went to iFly Hollywood ! Ton immediately wanted to fly, but Mom seemed to have a headache. But, after she saw the instruction video she wanted to fly too. I was lucky to get both of them to fly them twice for free. What a great gift !
And they were amazing. I'm telling you, I sorta know now how it feels to see your kids flying while you're out there taking pictures. Seeing your Mom fly is kinda special. She was the first to go in and after she got her bearings a bit she did excellent. She was stable, held her hands right, her chin up and there she was, flying in front of me, smiling but with an expression in her eyes that said, wauw, this is amazing. And the instructor gave kissing signals with his hands, telling her that she's doing a great job.
Then it was Ton's turn. Of course, he's a bigger person, so they had to jack the wind up a little. His first flight was kinda rocky, even though he held his legs straight and seemed to hold his body still. The instructor had to hold on to him a few times and when he pushed Ton sideways toward me to take a picture of him, I saw in his eyes that he too was having the time of his live.
The second time they went in, the instructor took them high up the tube. I love it when they do this. They fly like superman and take them all the way up and down again, so it feels even more like you're falling in the wind. Mom's eyes went from 'hey, I can do this', to 'OH MY GOOOD !"
Of course, Ton already knew what to expect his second time around. He had jumped in like it was a pool and he was on fire. The instructor took him way up and Ton practically had a skydiving orgasm.
After their flight, both of them looked frazzled but kinda stoned too. Mom's headache was gone. When we went for dinner at Bubba Gump, they still were high on adrenaline. No need to tell you that we had a great night. The waitress loved us so much that she stopped waiting for a few minutes and came to sit next to me for a chat. I love this country. :-)
We got back home around 9:30 PM and went straight to bed. We were pooped.
Tomorrow, the big LA day : Traveling from East to West and seeing all of the famous LA highlights !
I was excited to show my Mom and Ton the place where I have worked. Finally someone to share this with. The theme park was fun as ever. I had done the studio tour a million of times before, so I knew exactly what to expect. They loved it.
The Mummy roller coaster ride and the Jurassic Park ride was my favorite part of the day. They take you at thrilling speeds through magical places like mummy caves and dinosaur jungles.. I'm not telling more about the park itself 'cause I wrote a blog about it long ago.
At night, we walked up and down the city walk and went to iFly Hollywood ! Ton immediately wanted to fly, but Mom seemed to have a headache. But, after she saw the instruction video she wanted to fly too. I was lucky to get both of them to fly them twice for free. What a great gift !
And they were amazing. I'm telling you, I sorta know now how it feels to see your kids flying while you're out there taking pictures. Seeing your Mom fly is kinda special. She was the first to go in and after she got her bearings a bit she did excellent. She was stable, held her hands right, her chin up and there she was, flying in front of me, smiling but with an expression in her eyes that said, wauw, this is amazing. And the instructor gave kissing signals with his hands, telling her that she's doing a great job.
Then it was Ton's turn. Of course, he's a bigger person, so they had to jack the wind up a little. His first flight was kinda rocky, even though he held his legs straight and seemed to hold his body still. The instructor had to hold on to him a few times and when he pushed Ton sideways toward me to take a picture of him, I saw in his eyes that he too was having the time of his live.
The second time they went in, the instructor took them high up the tube. I love it when they do this. They fly like superman and take them all the way up and down again, so it feels even more like you're falling in the wind. Mom's eyes went from 'hey, I can do this', to 'OH MY GOOOD !"
Of course, Ton already knew what to expect his second time around. He had jumped in like it was a pool and he was on fire. The instructor took him way up and Ton practically had a skydiving orgasm.
After their flight, both of them looked frazzled but kinda stoned too. Mom's headache was gone. When we went for dinner at Bubba Gump, they still were high on adrenaline. No need to tell you that we had a great night. The waitress loved us so much that she stopped waiting for a few minutes and came to sit next to me for a chat. I love this country. :-)
We got back home around 9:30 PM and went straight to bed. We were pooped.
Tomorrow, the big LA day : Traveling from East to West and seeing all of the famous LA highlights !
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Getting adjusted - the beach cities - Day 2
Breakfast at the Travelodge consists of a variety of sandwich bread, cream cheese, strawberry jelly, oranges and waffles with maple syrup. Nothing special if you come to think of it, but the fun part is that you can make the waffles yourself. First you spoon the batter into the waffle iron and set the timer to turn the iron after 2 minutes or so. Another 2 minutes and the 'attack' alarm goes off. Yum !
A couple of orange juice cups, two medium sized waffles and a toast of whipped cream cheese later - hey, I was hungry - we were on our way to Santa Monica. I enjoyed taking Mom and Ton over the crowded 405. They were thrilled to be sitting in a white sporty Pontiac, listening to the Beach Boys on K-EARTH 101, cruising along the palm trees and realizing that they are not in Spain anymore (since they both live there), but in Los Angeles.
Mom was even clapping her hands to the music, jacking up the volume of the radio so that it attacked our ear drums. I was like "wow, junior, keep it down will ya!".
But I remember what a first day in LA feels like. You're 6 years old again and you're in Disney Land for the first time. The palm trees are like the cartoon characters waving and dancing in front of your eyes. The scenery feels like all of the rides that are waiting for you to discover. And the fast food places scattered across the city are inviting like candy apples or cotton candy from a Disney land vendor.
Once I parked the car under the Santa Monica Mall, we walked to the famous beach pier and strolled all the way to the end of it. Since it was still morning, the pier wasn't all too crowded. In fact, we didn't hear much English on the pier, but the wind that came from the ocean over the pier carried voices in German and even Dutch.
Holland Dutch. Yuk. It's like Americans hearing British English. They either think it's totally cool and stylish to have a British accent, or they despise anything that even remotely sounds like it. When it comes to Holland Dutch, I sort of shiver every time I hear it, especially here in LA.
Mom and Ton were comparing the feel of the beach to the Mediterranean beach in Spain. They admitted the beach in LA to be A LOT bigger, more palm trees and greenery, and cleaner too. It made me feel kinda proud. Silly huh.
When we got to the 3rd street promenade for some window shopping, the sun was beaming down on us like a torch in a cave. It was noon already. People were flocking into restaurants. If we wanted something to eat before lines formed outside, we'd better make sure we got there first. We ended up at Vinnie's pizza place and had a Caesar's salad with a basket of French fries. I realized that I've gotten so used to the ketchup here that it never crossed my mind that Mom and Ton would need mayonnaise with their fries. The waitress smiled and responded 'Oh, yum' to their request and I found myself apologizing for it. "Yeah, we're Europeans". Again, very silly.
The second stop that day was at the notorious Venice Beach. I still remember the first time I visited that place. I was sixteen years old and thought smoking weed and drinking beer was the coolest thing you could do. Venice Beach is a great place for people who are pro-drugs. Hobo's are sitting on the street with signs like "Got weed?", "I want no cash, just booze", and "Yeah, me too".
Flairs of weed waft through the air, interrupted by the incense smoke coming from hippie shops. This is a place where useless people belong. This is the place where the crazier you are, the more you'll feel at home. As a sixteen year old teen, this was exponentially cool. As a 26 year old, I feel more and more disgusted by it. I was shocked by the I guess 50 year old white man with a gray beard sitting there with a sign that said "I have 3 kids but no money. You figure it out" and was even more shocked to find three teenage girls sitting farther away at the side with a sign that says "Hey, at least we're not your kids."
Even with all of the weird looking people along the boulevard, Venice Beach still has some charm to it. The heart of LA really does pump through it's vein. Skaters alike gather at the skate ramps, basketball freaks play all day long and obsessed bodybuilders show of their stuff at muscle beach. Here and there some buns wiggle in front of you as blond bikini women skate across the bike path on the beach. And the yellow life guard jeeps still remind me of the Baywatch series.
Yes, I even got to take that nap on the beach. For about an hour of so, all I could hear was the breaking of the waves and the music that drifted from the Indian store to the beach. And I dreamed about rental cars and waffles. It was refreshing.
Later that night, we visited the Edlefsen family in El Segundo. I was a little bit nervous because you never know how people will get along but after the official 'nice-to-meet-you's' we had a very fun talk. I love Jo-Ann and Steve and really consider them to be family. I remember visiting them for the first time with Aki in 2001 and telling them how we would love to live in LA and how Jo-Ann said that they could've adopted us if we weren't 18 already. And although I know she was sorta joking about it, I also knew that I wouldn't have really mind either. Another silly idea.
The last meal of today was a take out Gyros wrap. A perfect closure for our first day.
Tommorow : Universal Studio's !
A couple of orange juice cups, two medium sized waffles and a toast of whipped cream cheese later - hey, I was hungry - we were on our way to Santa Monica. I enjoyed taking Mom and Ton over the crowded 405. They were thrilled to be sitting in a white sporty Pontiac, listening to the Beach Boys on K-EARTH 101, cruising along the palm trees and realizing that they are not in Spain anymore (since they both live there), but in Los Angeles.
Mom was even clapping her hands to the music, jacking up the volume of the radio so that it attacked our ear drums. I was like "wow, junior, keep it down will ya!".
But I remember what a first day in LA feels like. You're 6 years old again and you're in Disney Land for the first time. The palm trees are like the cartoon characters waving and dancing in front of your eyes. The scenery feels like all of the rides that are waiting for you to discover. And the fast food places scattered across the city are inviting like candy apples or cotton candy from a Disney land vendor.
Once I parked the car under the Santa Monica Mall, we walked to the famous beach pier and strolled all the way to the end of it. Since it was still morning, the pier wasn't all too crowded. In fact, we didn't hear much English on the pier, but the wind that came from the ocean over the pier carried voices in German and even Dutch.
Holland Dutch. Yuk. It's like Americans hearing British English. They either think it's totally cool and stylish to have a British accent, or they despise anything that even remotely sounds like it. When it comes to Holland Dutch, I sort of shiver every time I hear it, especially here in LA.
Mom and Ton were comparing the feel of the beach to the Mediterranean beach in Spain. They admitted the beach in LA to be A LOT bigger, more palm trees and greenery, and cleaner too. It made me feel kinda proud. Silly huh.
When we got to the 3rd street promenade for some window shopping, the sun was beaming down on us like a torch in a cave. It was noon already. People were flocking into restaurants. If we wanted something to eat before lines formed outside, we'd better make sure we got there first. We ended up at Vinnie's pizza place and had a Caesar's salad with a basket of French fries. I realized that I've gotten so used to the ketchup here that it never crossed my mind that Mom and Ton would need mayonnaise with their fries. The waitress smiled and responded 'Oh, yum' to their request and I found myself apologizing for it. "Yeah, we're Europeans". Again, very silly.
The second stop that day was at the notorious Venice Beach. I still remember the first time I visited that place. I was sixteen years old and thought smoking weed and drinking beer was the coolest thing you could do. Venice Beach is a great place for people who are pro-drugs. Hobo's are sitting on the street with signs like "Got weed?", "I want no cash, just booze", and "Yeah, me too".
Flairs of weed waft through the air, interrupted by the incense smoke coming from hippie shops. This is a place where useless people belong. This is the place where the crazier you are, the more you'll feel at home. As a sixteen year old teen, this was exponentially cool. As a 26 year old, I feel more and more disgusted by it. I was shocked by the I guess 50 year old white man with a gray beard sitting there with a sign that said "I have 3 kids but no money. You figure it out" and was even more shocked to find three teenage girls sitting farther away at the side with a sign that says "Hey, at least we're not your kids."
Even with all of the weird looking people along the boulevard, Venice Beach still has some charm to it. The heart of LA really does pump through it's vein. Skaters alike gather at the skate ramps, basketball freaks play all day long and obsessed bodybuilders show of their stuff at muscle beach. Here and there some buns wiggle in front of you as blond bikini women skate across the bike path on the beach. And the yellow life guard jeeps still remind me of the Baywatch series.
Yes, I even got to take that nap on the beach. For about an hour of so, all I could hear was the breaking of the waves and the music that drifted from the Indian store to the beach. And I dreamed about rental cars and waffles. It was refreshing.
Later that night, we visited the Edlefsen family in El Segundo. I was a little bit nervous because you never know how people will get along but after the official 'nice-to-meet-you's' we had a very fun talk. I love Jo-Ann and Steve and really consider them to be family. I remember visiting them for the first time with Aki in 2001 and telling them how we would love to live in LA and how Jo-Ann said that they could've adopted us if we weren't 18 already. And although I know she was sorta joking about it, I also knew that I wouldn't have really mind either. Another silly idea.
The last meal of today was a take out Gyros wrap. A perfect closure for our first day.
Tommorow : Universal Studio's !
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Arrival - a rough start.
Last Monday was the day I moved out of my apartment. I cleaned my room and bathroom with a hand cloth and a dish sponge, vacuumed the carpet and threw away the trash. A tube of mayonnaise and ketchup, some strawberry jam and a box of Rice Crispy's was all that was left of food items in the cupboard. I bagged them in Ralph's supermarket plastic and decided to do the same with my bathroom paraphernalia. I struggled with fitting all my clothes into a black square suit case but managed to close the lid by using my weight and the force of my butt. I left the keys to the apartment on the counter top in the kitchen, along with a goodbye note to my (ex)roommate who had already moved out a few days ago. Closing that front door felt like closing another chapter in my life.
That night, Mom and Ton were expected to fly in at LAX at 8:40 PM. As usual, I arrived waaaay to early and since I had all of my belongings stuffed in the car I decided to try to check in early at the El Segundo Travelodge before picking them up. I said 'try to check in' , because I didn't make the reservation for the room, my Mom did. But hey, they can probably look up her name in the system, I would check them in ,get the keys to the room, pick them up, get to our new car at the rental car place, and open the door to the room with a big 'Welcome home'!
Turned out they couldn't find my Mom's name in the system. So as far as they were concerned, there was no reservation. I ended up booking a room for us for one night, hoping Mom would have a confirmation number so they could look it up in the Travelodge data base.
Mom and Ton were already standing at the baggage claim when I entered the arrival hall. They both looked tired after 15 hours of flying and 25 hours of traveling from Brussels. We hopped into my black Chevy and zipped over to the Alamo Car rental place where I had made a reservation for a mid-size car. Cost: 1250 dollars ! I had to use my credit card because Mom's credit limit for this month was already maxed out. It was an awkward situation for the both of us but I managed to keep my cool. The moment we saw the car that we were supposed to drive out of the lot, we knew this car was just too big. It had 7 passenger seats.. mid-size supposedly means 'Suburban Van'.
After some discussion we decided to go back and downsize the car.. which of course was not allowed by the car rental company. In fact, I had to cancel this reservation, make a new one by making a personal phone call to the central call center of Alamo to make a reservation at the place I WAS STANDING AT, then go through the whole process again of filling out driver's license numbers and swiping the credit card again. The latter seemed not to work for the new car. Of course, the bank had an automatic safety stop on large charges to my credit card. So there we were, with no chargeable credit card, all of their suitcases, 10 miles from our hotel at 1 hour before midnight. Finally, the customer service person decided to rent us a car for three days, so that the block on my credit card would no longer be in effect when we return on Thursday to book a new car for the remainder of our trip. As I took out my Debit WaMu Card, Mom saw the 'Mastercard' logo on my credit card, and suddenly remembered having a card from her business that has the same logo. Now, I know that this means that this card should work as a credit card and so we managed to pay for the car for the next couple of days with her Mastercard.
Of course, that still leaves my Mom with an original credit card that has reached it's limit for this month. We hope it will be solved by the first of May, so we can pay for the remainder of the renting period with her credit card this Thursday..
When we finally got to the hotel later that night and showed the front desk person the confirmation number, they still couldn't find the reservation that my Mom had made. Of course, the room was already paid for online through Hotels.com. So I had to call the 1-800 customer service number for Hotels.com to ask them to send a fax to the front desk that would confirm our reservation and payment for the room. That took them about half an hour. Meanwhile, at almost 1 in the morning, we headed out for food and ended up going through the drive thru at MC'D for a Big Mac.
When we got back, the fax had gotten through and we were officially assigned to our room.
I didn't sleep much. Ton was snoring all night. I think I slept like 3 hours. Thank God our second day is a relaxed day. Maybe I even get to take a nap on the beach.
Anyways, Mom and Ton, Welcome to the USA !
That night, Mom and Ton were expected to fly in at LAX at 8:40 PM. As usual, I arrived waaaay to early and since I had all of my belongings stuffed in the car I decided to try to check in early at the El Segundo Travelodge before picking them up. I said 'try to check in' , because I didn't make the reservation for the room, my Mom did. But hey, they can probably look up her name in the system, I would check them in ,get the keys to the room, pick them up, get to our new car at the rental car place, and open the door to the room with a big 'Welcome home'!
Turned out they couldn't find my Mom's name in the system. So as far as they were concerned, there was no reservation. I ended up booking a room for us for one night, hoping Mom would have a confirmation number so they could look it up in the Travelodge data base.
Mom and Ton were already standing at the baggage claim when I entered the arrival hall. They both looked tired after 15 hours of flying and 25 hours of traveling from Brussels. We hopped into my black Chevy and zipped over to the Alamo Car rental place where I had made a reservation for a mid-size car. Cost: 1250 dollars ! I had to use my credit card because Mom's credit limit for this month was already maxed out. It was an awkward situation for the both of us but I managed to keep my cool. The moment we saw the car that we were supposed to drive out of the lot, we knew this car was just too big. It had 7 passenger seats.. mid-size supposedly means 'Suburban Van'.
After some discussion we decided to go back and downsize the car.. which of course was not allowed by the car rental company. In fact, I had to cancel this reservation, make a new one by making a personal phone call to the central call center of Alamo to make a reservation at the place I WAS STANDING AT, then go through the whole process again of filling out driver's license numbers and swiping the credit card again. The latter seemed not to work for the new car. Of course, the bank had an automatic safety stop on large charges to my credit card. So there we were, with no chargeable credit card, all of their suitcases, 10 miles from our hotel at 1 hour before midnight. Finally, the customer service person decided to rent us a car for three days, so that the block on my credit card would no longer be in effect when we return on Thursday to book a new car for the remainder of our trip. As I took out my Debit WaMu Card, Mom saw the 'Mastercard' logo on my credit card, and suddenly remembered having a card from her business that has the same logo. Now, I know that this means that this card should work as a credit card and so we managed to pay for the car for the next couple of days with her Mastercard.
Of course, that still leaves my Mom with an original credit card that has reached it's limit for this month. We hope it will be solved by the first of May, so we can pay for the remainder of the renting period with her credit card this Thursday..
When we finally got to the hotel later that night and showed the front desk person the confirmation number, they still couldn't find the reservation that my Mom had made. Of course, the room was already paid for online through Hotels.com. So I had to call the 1-800 customer service number for Hotels.com to ask them to send a fax to the front desk that would confirm our reservation and payment for the room. That took them about half an hour. Meanwhile, at almost 1 in the morning, we headed out for food and ended up going through the drive thru at MC'D for a Big Mac.
When we got back, the fax had gotten through and we were officially assigned to our room.
I didn't sleep much. Ton was snoring all night. I think I slept like 3 hours. Thank God our second day is a relaxed day. Maybe I even get to take a nap on the beach.
Anyways, Mom and Ton, Welcome to the USA !
Sunday, April 27, 2008
The big West Coast tour
I'm very excited right now. Just one more day before the big tour begins. We will cross about 4 states: California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. After that we're flying out to the East Coast. Here's our itinerary :
Mom and Ton will fly into LAX Monday night. I will pick them up and drive them to their Hotel in El Segundo.
On Tuesday, to get Mom and Ton acquainted with the time difference and this weather, we will visit the Beaches: the Pier of Santa Monica and the Boardwalk at Venice Beach. At night, we're expected at the Edlefsen's in El Segundo for a quick visit.
On Wednesday, the movie magic will enchant the three of us: Universal Studio's awaits ! A day full of entertainment, movie magic, rides and of course a sky dive at the Universal City Walk.
Thursday is our big LA day. We'll take the 110 north and pass downtown LA to see the skyscrapers, then drive all the way up to the top of Griffith park and visit the observatory, from where we will be able to take pictures of the Hollywood sign. Then we'll cut through LA from East to West: first stop is Hollywood Boulevard, the place with the stars in the pavement, Mann's Chinese Theater and of course the Kodak Theater, where the annual Movie Academy Awards, the Oscar's, are handed out to the talented and famous.
From there, we will make our way onto Sunset boulevard, gliding via the Sunset Strip to Beverly Hills, home of the stars. After a quick stop at Rodeo Drive, the road continues through Sunset, past the Beverly Hills Hotel and the real estate grandeur of Bel Air. Finally, we will cross the 405 and end up at the beautiful Pacific Palisades, where the spiritual temple of Lake Shrine will bring us peace after this thrilling day.
Friday. We'll take the monstrous 405 to the North and visit Santa Barbara, home of the missionaries. In the afternoon, the Pacific Coast Highway takes us back along the coast line, offering extraordinary views of cliffs and white beaches, until we reach Malibu and stop to wade through the famous Malibu surf.
Saturday. We're still deciding for this day. We can go to Long Beach, where the Queen Mary is the main attraction. A big ship, one in it's sort since the Titanic sank. But we can also visit the world's first theme park ever built: Knott's Berry farm ! Time will tell. :-)
On Sunday, the traveling begins. Click on 'view larger map' the map to see our tour plotted out:
View Larger Map
Palm Springs is first on the agenda. From there we will drive through Joshua National park to the Grand Canyon. We will also visit Williams, Flagstaff and Sedona. The road then takes us North to Page to see Lake Powel and the Hoover Dam. Further North, Moab is our rest stop to visit the beautiful desert Arches. Our journey continues West to the colorful Bryce Canyon. After that, we'll make our way to Las Vegas !
Our adventure continues when we drive through the hottest desert in the world: Death Valley. We will pass the refreshing Mammoth Lakes in the mountains and visit Yosemite National park, a magical place on Earth where the highest waterfall in the world can be found. Heading South again, the giant trees in Sequoia National park will loom over us. After this, we will drive back to LA by taking Bakersfield as our last rest stop.
This tour alone is about 4000 km long ! If you think about the driving we will be doing in LA and the short trips to stores etc, we will probably end up with 5000 km's of driving.
Meanwhile, the weather continues to be hot and sunny. A striking 40 will be reached in the Valley today. Time again for me to flee to the cool beaches.
Mom and Ton will fly into LAX Monday night. I will pick them up and drive them to their Hotel in El Segundo.
On Tuesday, to get Mom and Ton acquainted with the time difference and this weather, we will visit the Beaches: the Pier of Santa Monica and the Boardwalk at Venice Beach. At night, we're expected at the Edlefsen's in El Segundo for a quick visit.
On Wednesday, the movie magic will enchant the three of us: Universal Studio's awaits ! A day full of entertainment, movie magic, rides and of course a sky dive at the Universal City Walk.
Thursday is our big LA day. We'll take the 110 north and pass downtown LA to see the skyscrapers, then drive all the way up to the top of Griffith park and visit the observatory, from where we will be able to take pictures of the Hollywood sign. Then we'll cut through LA from East to West: first stop is Hollywood Boulevard, the place with the stars in the pavement, Mann's Chinese Theater and of course the Kodak Theater, where the annual Movie Academy Awards, the Oscar's, are handed out to the talented and famous.
From there, we will make our way onto Sunset boulevard, gliding via the Sunset Strip to Beverly Hills, home of the stars. After a quick stop at Rodeo Drive, the road continues through Sunset, past the Beverly Hills Hotel and the real estate grandeur of Bel Air. Finally, we will cross the 405 and end up at the beautiful Pacific Palisades, where the spiritual temple of Lake Shrine will bring us peace after this thrilling day.
Friday. We'll take the monstrous 405 to the North and visit Santa Barbara, home of the missionaries. In the afternoon, the Pacific Coast Highway takes us back along the coast line, offering extraordinary views of cliffs and white beaches, until we reach Malibu and stop to wade through the famous Malibu surf.
Saturday. We're still deciding for this day. We can go to Long Beach, where the Queen Mary is the main attraction. A big ship, one in it's sort since the Titanic sank. But we can also visit the world's first theme park ever built: Knott's Berry farm ! Time will tell. :-)
On Sunday, the traveling begins. Click on 'view larger map' the map to see our tour plotted out:
View Larger Map
Palm Springs is first on the agenda. From there we will drive through Joshua National park to the Grand Canyon. We will also visit Williams, Flagstaff and Sedona. The road then takes us North to Page to see Lake Powel and the Hoover Dam. Further North, Moab is our rest stop to visit the beautiful desert Arches. Our journey continues West to the colorful Bryce Canyon. After that, we'll make our way to Las Vegas !
Our adventure continues when we drive through the hottest desert in the world: Death Valley. We will pass the refreshing Mammoth Lakes in the mountains and visit Yosemite National park, a magical place on Earth where the highest waterfall in the world can be found. Heading South again, the giant trees in Sequoia National park will loom over us. After this, we will drive back to LA by taking Bakersfield as our last rest stop.
This tour alone is about 4000 km long ! If you think about the driving we will be doing in LA and the short trips to stores etc, we will probably end up with 5000 km's of driving.
Meanwhile, the weather continues to be hot and sunny. A striking 40 will be reached in the Valley today. Time again for me to flee to the cool beaches.
Friday, April 18, 2008
J. Paul Getty Museum
J. Paul Getty is een rijke oliemagnaat die over de jaren heen heel wat kunstwerken bijeenzamelde en investeerde in allerlei restauratiewerken. Na zijn dood liet hij een fonds na: het Getty Fund houdt zich tot op vandaag nog steeds bezig met het restaureren en openbaar stellen van kunstwerken over heel de wereld.
Het museum in Los Angeles werd in 1997 geopend voor het publiek en is sindsdien ook gratis te bezoeken. Het massieve complex staat hoog boven LA te blinken in de zon. De stenen die gebruikt werden om het gebouw vorm te geven, importeerde men speciaal vanuit Italie.
Het Getty museum heeft vier troeven:
Het bevind zich op de heuvels van de Santa Monica Mountains en heeft dus een uitstekend uitzicht op de stad, de oceaan, de San Bernardino Mountains en de heuvels ten noorden van LA. Op een heldere dag kan je wel 100 km ver zien. Meestal hangt er echter teveel smog boven de stad om echt heldere foto's te kunnen nemen.
Een electrische tram neemt je van aan de voet van de heuvel tot boven op de berg. De tram werd ontworpen om "uit te drukte van de stad te kunnen ontsnappen" aldus volgens de architect Meier, die ook het museumcomplex heeft ontworpen.
Een tweede troef van het museum is de uitgebreide kunstcollectie, van Europese beeldhouwwerken, schilderijen (ja zelfs onze vlaamse schilders zoals Rubens en Jacob Jordaens worden hier tentoongesteld) tot middeleeuwste manuscripten.
Ook moderne kunst vind hier z'n plaats. 'Video California', een kunsttentoonstelling die gebruik maakt van het audio-visuele medium en wordt uiteengezet met tv-monitoren, projectoren en flashy beeldschermen, is beklijvend en erg toepasselijk in deze centrale plaats van film en tv.
Een derde reden om dit museum te bezoeken is de centrale tuin die speciaal voor dit complex werd ontworpen. Drijvende azelea's tenmidden van een ovaalvormige tuin, gevuld met heerlijk geurende bloemen en het geluid van een kabbelende waterval. De tuin strekt haar armen uit met italiaanse pijnbomen die als in lijnen doorheen het complex staan gepland en de kunstmatige rivier die vanop de top van de berg door een groene oase naar beneden stroomt. De foto's getuigen van deze pracht en praal..
Een laatste troef is het architecturale aspect van het complex. Er wordt hier duidelijk gespeeld met alle mogelijke vormen, lijnen, en rasterpatronen die het gebouw tot een kunstwerk op zich maken. De Italiaanse travertinestenen blinken robuust in de zon. Het complex op zich is een wirwar van gangen, trappen en liften, speciaal ontworpen om de bezoekersstroom op een aangename en rustgevende manier te laten verlopen. Het dak bestaat uit louvres die het daglicht filteren en de kunstwerken op natuurlijk wijze belichten.
Ik heb alleszins genoten van mijn daguitstap naar het J. Paul Getty Museum.
En dan nu de foto's :
Het museum in Los Angeles werd in 1997 geopend voor het publiek en is sindsdien ook gratis te bezoeken. Het massieve complex staat hoog boven LA te blinken in de zon. De stenen die gebruikt werden om het gebouw vorm te geven, importeerde men speciaal vanuit Italie.
Het Getty museum heeft vier troeven:
Het bevind zich op de heuvels van de Santa Monica Mountains en heeft dus een uitstekend uitzicht op de stad, de oceaan, de San Bernardino Mountains en de heuvels ten noorden van LA. Op een heldere dag kan je wel 100 km ver zien. Meestal hangt er echter teveel smog boven de stad om echt heldere foto's te kunnen nemen.
Een electrische tram neemt je van aan de voet van de heuvel tot boven op de berg. De tram werd ontworpen om "uit te drukte van de stad te kunnen ontsnappen" aldus volgens de architect Meier, die ook het museumcomplex heeft ontworpen.
Een tweede troef van het museum is de uitgebreide kunstcollectie, van Europese beeldhouwwerken, schilderijen (ja zelfs onze vlaamse schilders zoals Rubens en Jacob Jordaens worden hier tentoongesteld) tot middeleeuwste manuscripten.
Ook moderne kunst vind hier z'n plaats. 'Video California', een kunsttentoonstelling die gebruik maakt van het audio-visuele medium en wordt uiteengezet met tv-monitoren, projectoren en flashy beeldschermen, is beklijvend en erg toepasselijk in deze centrale plaats van film en tv.
Een derde reden om dit museum te bezoeken is de centrale tuin die speciaal voor dit complex werd ontworpen. Drijvende azelea's tenmidden van een ovaalvormige tuin, gevuld met heerlijk geurende bloemen en het geluid van een kabbelende waterval. De tuin strekt haar armen uit met italiaanse pijnbomen die als in lijnen doorheen het complex staan gepland en de kunstmatige rivier die vanop de top van de berg door een groene oase naar beneden stroomt. De foto's getuigen van deze pracht en praal..
Een laatste troef is het architecturale aspect van het complex. Er wordt hier duidelijk gespeeld met alle mogelijke vormen, lijnen, en rasterpatronen die het gebouw tot een kunstwerk op zich maken. De Italiaanse travertinestenen blinken robuust in de zon. Het complex op zich is een wirwar van gangen, trappen en liften, speciaal ontworpen om de bezoekersstroom op een aangename en rustgevende manier te laten verlopen. Het dak bestaat uit louvres die het daglicht filteren en de kunstwerken op natuurlijk wijze belichten.
Ik heb alleszins genoten van mijn daguitstap naar het J. Paul Getty Museum.
En dan nu de foto's :
Thursday, April 17, 2008
La Misma Luna - Under the same moon
Daarnet heb ik een erg aangrijpende film gezien over hoe een jongetje van 9 vanuit Mexico illegaal de Amerikaanse grens oversteekt om zijn moeder te gaan opzoeken in Los Angeles waar ze illegaal woont en werkt om haar zoon een beter leven te geven.
Hier is de trailer : http://www.foxsearchlight.com/underthesamemoon/
De film portretteert een realistisch beeld van hoe het leven als illegaal immigrant is. Vooral opmerkelijk is ook hoe een stad als LA zoveel verschillende leefwerelden herbergt.
Hier heb je de rijke wereld, de glitter en glamour van de filmsterren en celebrities allerlei.
Je hebt de middenklasse die in de mooie suburbs wonen van LA, vaders en moeders die elke dag opstaan om te gaan werken, hun kinderen die elke dag met de schoolbus naar school gebracht worden.
Je hebt de newbies in town (zoals ik :-)) die struggelen om rond te komen, waitresses en bus boys, die een appartement delen met een roommate en hun dromen nastreven (vooral dan in film en muziek).
En dan heb je de 'minority groups', de mexicanen, chinezen, zwarten, etnische groepen die samenhokken in Ghetto's.
En aan de basis van deze demografische piramide heb je de illegalen. Mensen die op zoek zijn naar een betere wereld. Ik heb bewondering voor deze mensen, want ze werken enorm hard voor hun geluk. Beeld je in dat je geen auto mag rijden omdat je geen rijbewijs krijgt, dat je geen social security number kan krijgen (of in belgie een rijksregisternr) waarmee je mag werken, dat je geen health care insurance hebt (dus als je ziek bent moet je het zelf maar oplossen). Als een baas je niet wil betalen, pech, dan kan je er niks aan doen.
Toen ik de bioscoop uitreed keek ik door een heel andere bril naar LA. Een plek waar illegalen dag in dag uit vechten om een plaats te krijgen in deze wereld van schijnbaar geluk en welvaart. Ik vraag me dan ook af wat ik zou doen als illegale immigrant ? Zou ik hier wel kunnen overleven ?
Stel je voor dat je in New York terecht komt met niets anders dan de kleren die je aanhebt. Waar begin je dan ? Zoek je eerst werk of een verblijfplaats ? Wat voor werk zoek je ? Als je dan al Engels spreekt..
En wat is hun motivatie om elke dag opnieuw dezelfde shit te moeten meemaken ? Is het dan echt zoveel beter om in armoede in de VS te leven ? Waarschijnlijk wel.. want wat een mexicaan hier illegaal per uur aan minimum wage kan verdienen is in Mexico 10 keer zoveel waard.
Honestly, ik zou voor geen geld van de wereld in die situatie willen terecht komen. Ik ben blij te weten dat ik naar Belgie kan als terugvalbasis. Ik besef nu maar al te goed wat voor een gelukzakken wij Belgen zijn, met ons sociaal zekerheidssysteem, onze ziekenkassen en onze pensioentjes. Op dit moment zou ik iedere Belg die klaagt over Belgie z'n smoel willen toe plakken met de dikste plakband en in een grote doos met het label "illegaal" opsturen naar de VS. Dat ze daar maar eens hun leven van 0 opbouwen en zien hoe ze het er vanaf brengen zonder het opvangnet van de overheid. Zonder de knuffelpolitiek die Belgie zo hoog in het vaandel draagt.
En wat voor een gelukzak ben ik niet om dit hier allemaal te mogen meemaken zonder mij onoverkomelijke zorgen te moeten maken over waarmee ik morgen mijn boke met kaas zal kopen of schrik hebben dat de immigratiedienst mij te pakken krijgt. Ik besef het maar al te goed hoe verwend ik ben.
It's a tough world out there. You just gotta remember to see it.
Hier is de trailer : http://www.foxsearchlight.com/underthesamemoon/
De film portretteert een realistisch beeld van hoe het leven als illegaal immigrant is. Vooral opmerkelijk is ook hoe een stad als LA zoveel verschillende leefwerelden herbergt.
Hier heb je de rijke wereld, de glitter en glamour van de filmsterren en celebrities allerlei.
Je hebt de middenklasse die in de mooie suburbs wonen van LA, vaders en moeders die elke dag opstaan om te gaan werken, hun kinderen die elke dag met de schoolbus naar school gebracht worden.
Je hebt de newbies in town (zoals ik :-)) die struggelen om rond te komen, waitresses en bus boys, die een appartement delen met een roommate en hun dromen nastreven (vooral dan in film en muziek).
En dan heb je de 'minority groups', de mexicanen, chinezen, zwarten, etnische groepen die samenhokken in Ghetto's.
En aan de basis van deze demografische piramide heb je de illegalen. Mensen die op zoek zijn naar een betere wereld. Ik heb bewondering voor deze mensen, want ze werken enorm hard voor hun geluk. Beeld je in dat je geen auto mag rijden omdat je geen rijbewijs krijgt, dat je geen social security number kan krijgen (of in belgie een rijksregisternr) waarmee je mag werken, dat je geen health care insurance hebt (dus als je ziek bent moet je het zelf maar oplossen). Als een baas je niet wil betalen, pech, dan kan je er niks aan doen.
Toen ik de bioscoop uitreed keek ik door een heel andere bril naar LA. Een plek waar illegalen dag in dag uit vechten om een plaats te krijgen in deze wereld van schijnbaar geluk en welvaart. Ik vraag me dan ook af wat ik zou doen als illegale immigrant ? Zou ik hier wel kunnen overleven ?
Stel je voor dat je in New York terecht komt met niets anders dan de kleren die je aanhebt. Waar begin je dan ? Zoek je eerst werk of een verblijfplaats ? Wat voor werk zoek je ? Als je dan al Engels spreekt..
En wat is hun motivatie om elke dag opnieuw dezelfde shit te moeten meemaken ? Is het dan echt zoveel beter om in armoede in de VS te leven ? Waarschijnlijk wel.. want wat een mexicaan hier illegaal per uur aan minimum wage kan verdienen is in Mexico 10 keer zoveel waard.
Honestly, ik zou voor geen geld van de wereld in die situatie willen terecht komen. Ik ben blij te weten dat ik naar Belgie kan als terugvalbasis. Ik besef nu maar al te goed wat voor een gelukzakken wij Belgen zijn, met ons sociaal zekerheidssysteem, onze ziekenkassen en onze pensioentjes. Op dit moment zou ik iedere Belg die klaagt over Belgie z'n smoel willen toe plakken met de dikste plakband en in een grote doos met het label "illegaal" opsturen naar de VS. Dat ze daar maar eens hun leven van 0 opbouwen en zien hoe ze het er vanaf brengen zonder het opvangnet van de overheid. Zonder de knuffelpolitiek die Belgie zo hoog in het vaandel draagt.
En wat voor een gelukzak ben ik niet om dit hier allemaal te mogen meemaken zonder mij onoverkomelijke zorgen te moeten maken over waarmee ik morgen mijn boke met kaas zal kopen of schrik hebben dat de immigratiedienst mij te pakken krijgt. Ik besef het maar al te goed hoe verwend ik ben.
It's a tough world out there. You just gotta remember to see it.
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