Travel to Los Angeles: delicious food, kind people, amazing entertainment

Back in 2011, we visited such an amazing, colorful and ambiguous place as Los Angeles or LA, as it is called by the residents of this sunny district. Since we were there as members of the Work and Travel program, we were lucky enough to live in LA for 4 months. But everything in order.

We got to the place for a very long time: departure from Moscow, transfer in the most beautiful, in my opinion, Heathrow airport, 11 hours in the flight - and here it is LA. By the way, we flew through the Grand Canyon - it's incredible, guys.

When we left Los Angeles County Airport, LAX, we were confused: the exit system from this airport is quite complex. You can, of course, go by taxi, which in large numbers are located at the exit from the airport, but you understand: “Our people in the bakery...” In general, students cannot afford taxis. How to get to the right place, we looked back at home – we needed the so-called Big Blue Bus No. 1. We could not figure out how to get to the stop and where they go: LA has a very strange multi-level system of roads. After three steps, we met a policeman on a bicycle. When he saw us, he smiled, "Hello, ladies, welcome to LA! Can I help you?" Yay! Man!! It might also help. Of course, we vying to explain that we need to stop this bus. It turns out that we were going in the right direction, but the target is not at all a short distance, and we have heavy bags hanging on our shoulders. As soon as we said goodbye to the good-natured policeman, the bus stopped to our right and the driver offered to take us to the stop. At first, we veered off, but when we heard him say "free" (it's free!), we ran on the bus with all our feet! This story demonstrates how open and willing Americans are to help – it’s actually rewarding.

I want to tell you about buses in LA. Everyone comes in through the first door, there is a machine in which toss coins. There are no conductors who, cramming everyone and everything, go to collect money. If I remember correctly, the fare is $1.25. The bus has seats for people with disabilities: the front seats are removed, and the driver fastens the wheelchair so that it does not ride on the bus. In order for a person in a wheelchair to get on the bus, a special platform is lowered and everyone calmly waits. And in general, I want to note that in LA, as in all of America, absolutely any institution is adapted for people with disabilities, even amusement parks. But back to our journey.

We got to Santa Monica. It is located on the Pacific coast and is incredibly quiet. Life here is very measured and slow. In Santa Monica, be sure to visit the amusement park Pacific Park, located right on the pier. Of course, it is not extreme and children will like it more, but adults will also be able to appreciate the beautiful view that opens from the Ferris wheel. Also on this pier there are various souvenir shops, a restaurant. There is also a sign marking the end of the famous Route 66, as well as a bench with sneakers, candy and the phrase "I am Forrest, Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump", referring to the famous film by Robert Zemeckis.

Another attraction of Santa Monica is the famous Venice Beach. More precisely, it begins in Santa Monica and stretches further along the coast. Americans do not swim in the ocean, they consider it dirty. It's mostly the Mexicans, and the Russians. But even if you do not dare to swim in the ocean, be sure to walk along the beach. There is also a gym directly under the open sky (our girls even saw Arnold Schwarzenegger there), there are swings, turns. You can rent a bicycle and ride along asphalt paths on the beach. If we go further away Santa Monica, you can see Venice Beach Skate Plaza – this is the place where skaters ride. We have noticed that there are a lot of different subcultures in Venice: informals, hippies and even herbalists. In general, marijuana in LA is legalized, but you can buy it only in pharmacies and with a certificate from a doctor that it is prescribed to you as an antidepressant or something like that. It's legal, and there's a bunch of weed dealers all over the place, and it's easy to buy one.

Promenade is the main party street of the city. Expensive shops, restaurants, cinema... It feels like the center of all the energy and fun of the city. Musicians play everywhere, (well, by the way, they play better than some of our pop stars), show some performances, dance. Talents for every taste.

In Santa Monica, we booked a hostel from home via the Internet. It is called, if I am not mistaken International hostel and it is located a stone's throw from the pier of Santa Monica, and, accordingly, from the ocean. A hostel is a cross between a hostel and a hotel. Mostly there are young people who travel all over America. The cost is $ 30 per day in spring, and in summer the season opens, and the fee rises to $ 40. We were put in a room for 10 girls. During our stay, we changed several neighbors from different countries and cities. We even stopped remembering them all. Facilities: shower and toilet - on the floor; A library with books, Wi-Fi and games; a laundry room; a computer room and a huge TV in the hall. In addition, there is a dining room in which from 7 to 9 o’clock in the morning they were fed breakfast. Every day it was the same food: muesli, yogurt, bagels, butter, coffee or tea. The hostel also has a huge kitchen, with unrealistically voluminous refrigerators, stoves, working areas. You could buy food and cook yourself. But grocery stores are tough. We are used to running to shops every day, and they are at every turn, but they have huge stores, but they are designed to come there once and shop for a week or even a month. So they're not at every turn.

Now it’s time to talk about Hollywood. From Santa Monica to Hollywood can be reached by bus. In time, it will take about an hour and a half, but all the time surrounded by urban jungle. What can you see in Hollywood? Well, of course, the Alley of Stars! There are a lot of tourists, so the most popular stars line up. There’s also the world-famous Kodak Theatre, which hosts the Oscars, movie premieres, there’s always a bunch of stars, reporters, you can see that splendor, but only standing behind the fence and only from the sidewalk on the opposite side of the road. In general, this alley is not as big as it can be. It’s from Russia, although its atmosphere is fascinating. I thought we were going to be there for an hour, but we actually spent 2 and a half hours, full of emotions and a bunch of photos. It’s really fun to take pictures with Snoop Dog or compare your ass to the famous ass of J. Lo, try on a nun costume shot with Wooppy Goldberg, boxing gloves with Rocky Balboa or to be photographed on the ceiling with Spider Man. Anyway, I recommend it! There, by the way, you can visit the famous Museum of wax figures of Madame Tussauds. The photo shows the wax double of director Quentin Tarantino.

Of course, I want to tell you about the well-known inscription HollyWood. It is located next to a chic observatory, where you can not only watch stories about planets, stars, etc., but also appreciate the chic view of LA. Very impressive. The only thing – to get to the audience, you need to climb the mountain for a long time – it is exhausting, and then all the legs are dirty. Unfortunately, the inscription itself will not work, because it is protected. Take a picture in the background and you will be happy.

There are two great places to visit: Six Flags and Universal Studios.

1. Six Flags Magic Mountain is located in Los Angeles. It's fun for real extremes. A roller coaster park. All kinds! All very exciting and pretty scary. My favorite attraction is called Superman. It only lasts thirty seconds, but it’s worth it. The cars go back abruptly and lift you perpendicular to the ground to a very decent height, and then you go down abruptly. A lot of impressions are guaranteed! We ask the weak-hearted not to worry. The entrance ticket price is $80. For this money, you can wander there all day and ride anything.

2. Universal studios. It's also a park, but it's all about movies. There are not only attractions, but also shows of stuntmen, trained animals, 5d shows, shops with attributes of heroes of films and cartoons. There are also excursions to the set of famous films. For example, the street with the houses of the heroines from the series “Desperate Housewives”, False New York – the scenery looks extremely realistic. I really liked the attraction called Jurassic Park. You're in the trailers, you're in the park, dinosaurs pop out, and then you go down, you get watered, and Dinosaur Rex opens its mouth! That's great! Not only lovers of cinema, but also just funny guys.

The national composition of LA is diverse: here you will meet a lot of Mexicans, even all the explanatory tablets here are written in two languages: English and Spanish. Here you understand that the expression “LA is a Mecca for homeless people” is absolutely true: they sleep right on lawns, on beaches, on asphalt. No fear of God or hell. Every second person here says hello to you, everyone smiles, people can go and sing, dance, and that doesn’t mean they’re crazy, they’re just free to express themselves, and they’re happy in their country.

I highly recommend everyone to go to LA. It’s a different world, not like ours. You will be surprised, even if you do not visit all the attractions of these cities. Such different and interesting people, bright everyday sunshine, atmosphere of celebration and joy. A piece of my heart is forever in Los Angeles.

Ekaterina Dunaeva