The day before Christmas! Yesterday it was still raining without any hope in LA. We were so happy that we have our car, and so we could cruise around the area. We went to the walk of fame and spent there one hour. Than we were too wet and we decide to go for food, driving slow on the rodeo drive to stalk out some celebrities, and go finally to Santa Monica and Venice Beach. My funny brothers changed our navigation system to Japanese (because this sounds so cute) but after 10 minutes they gave up and ignored the advices from the lady (well, we do not speak Japanese, so we did not understand a word of the cute talk). Smart and creative as they are they developed a great systematic how to get to our goal: To get to the beach, we always have to drive the hills down, never up. Makes sense, as long as you have no riffs, which are quite common in California
But we arrived and spent a great evening on the Santa Monica pier.
Aja… And THAN! TODAY! We went to the Universal studios! Awesome!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
21/12/2010 A road trip through the flooded dessert
Today we will drive from Vegas to LA. It is a long and rainy ride and the normally dry dessert is flooded by the masses of rain. Luckily my other brother brought his driving license, so I could sit in the back of the car, relax and sleep during the trip. From time to time, we stopped at some gas stations or dinner places. Lonely shats in the middle of nowhere serving food in the 50’s way. Sweet, good old’ America.
The weather in LA is not really much better. Streets and sinks are flooded, homeless people offer for a buck to bring you from side to side under their umbrella (and yes, they are singing Rihanna songs). We are staying at a Couch surfing place. Our hosts are 2 nice guys who showed us around the nice bars and clubs in LA Down Town. It is a great evening and I sleep very happy in.
The weather in LA is not really much better. Streets and sinks are flooded, homeless people offer for a buck to bring you from side to side under their umbrella (and yes, they are singing Rihanna songs). We are staying at a Couch surfing place. Our hosts are 2 nice guys who showed us around the nice bars and clubs in LA Down Town. It is a great evening and I sleep very happy in.
20/12/2010 A spectacular Grand Canyon Helicopter Ride!
My graduation gift to my brothers! I am so excited! I booked a Helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon, including the landing on the bottom, where we will eat a bite and have a rafting tour, before the Helicopter brings us back again! I booked it all 2 month ago, and since then, I am speaking almost every day about it. And today is the day, when it will happen. We have to get up at 5 am, to get our pick up on 6 am. Also, I need to make my makeup and hair, because I want to have fabulous pictures! On 5 to 6 there is a bus coming, collecting the people from the different hotels. Then, we find out, that we will go first by bus to the Grand Canyon, where we will enter the Helicopter. Well, not that glamorous, but still ok. Our tour guide is a funny old man, who loves to tell jokes. However, it was not that funny for me, when he told us some hours later, that there will be no Helicopter flight due to the bad weather conditions. And without the Helicopter, we won’t be able to get to the bottom of the canyon, where the boat is waiting. Also no boat tour. But we will enjoy the bus trip and see a bit of the canyon, so we will not be reimbursed. Definitely, he is not responsible for the weather. We shall just sign the copy of our credit card for accounting purposes. Well guys, you know me. And you know, that statements like those might make me…. Let’s say critical. For sure I do not sign my credit card copy. And of course I do not pay a helicopter and rafting deluxe bill that high for a 7 hour bus tour in the rain. Argh!
Well, we were kind of kidnapped in the bus, (The guide offer me first to drop us down at the side of the street when I do not sign the bill, but he changed his mind when I told him how much I would appreciate this, because than I would sue the ass out of him) so we decided to make the best out of it and have a look on the amazing wonder of the nature. The Grand Canyon is really wonderful. I can highly recommend everyone to go there and enjoy the fantastic view and experience. Nevertheless, I was kind of pissed when suddenly a helicopter appeared.
Side note: I am still fighting with the company for the reimbursement. If anyone is booking or planning such a trip, give me a call, I can highly not recommend you one specofic operator.
Well, we were kind of kidnapped in the bus, (The guide offer me first to drop us down at the side of the street when I do not sign the bill, but he changed his mind when I told him how much I would appreciate this, because than I would sue the ass out of him) so we decided to make the best out of it and have a look on the amazing wonder of the nature. The Grand Canyon is really wonderful. I can highly recommend everyone to go there and enjoy the fantastic view and experience. Nevertheless, I was kind of pissed when suddenly a helicopter appeared.
Side note: I am still fighting with the company for the reimbursement. If anyone is booking or planning such a trip, give me a call, I can highly not recommend you one specofic operator.
17/12/2010 Today I become a Millionaire!
Vegas, Baby, we are coming!
First, we went to a great city walk in South Beach. It was a walking tour about the art deco architecture and history of the district. I participated in the same tour 5 years ago with my ex-boss. It was so impressive and interesting; I wanted my brother to join, too. And we were so lucky with the weather, beautiful sunshine, warm and perfect for taking tons of snaps.
Also the guide (a volunteer) seemed very motivated and extended the 1.5h tour until we have had to break up 3 hours later to catch our flight.
The flight was pretty long (5h), but because it was still a domestic flight, there was no service at all. I think it is ok for 1 or 2 hour flights not to serve snacks and pillows, or to charge a suitcase extra, but on a flight of 5 hours? Come on! In 5 hours I fly almost from Miami to London! Here I need some guchi & treats
When we arrived in Vegas, my other brother was already waiting for us. He researched a bus connection from the airport to our hotel, but I was too tired and lazy to carry my luggage and to change 3 times a bus, if I can reach it in 15 min by Taxi.
I was really curious to see our hotel. I have no ideas of Vegas hotels, and know only the very big names from Maccau. I never heard about the “Flamingo”. I just saw that it is cheap and nearby other big names, so I assumed it to be a good location. But I was not sure about the standard and the age of the hotel. It seemed to be kind of old and low priced, so I really wanted to see what I booked.
My brothers were rather impressed by the hotel. They liked the room with the huge beds, the zoo, and the big pool area. Way more they were excited when they heard about the price of 36$ per night. Thus, staying in one of the most famous hotels in the middle of the strip was cheaper than a hostel.
First, we went to a great city walk in South Beach. It was a walking tour about the art deco architecture and history of the district. I participated in the same tour 5 years ago with my ex-boss. It was so impressive and interesting; I wanted my brother to join, too. And we were so lucky with the weather, beautiful sunshine, warm and perfect for taking tons of snaps.
Also the guide (a volunteer) seemed very motivated and extended the 1.5h tour until we have had to break up 3 hours later to catch our flight.
The flight was pretty long (5h), but because it was still a domestic flight, there was no service at all. I think it is ok for 1 or 2 hour flights not to serve snacks and pillows, or to charge a suitcase extra, but on a flight of 5 hours? Come on! In 5 hours I fly almost from Miami to London! Here I need some guchi & treats
When we arrived in Vegas, my other brother was already waiting for us. He researched a bus connection from the airport to our hotel, but I was too tired and lazy to carry my luggage and to change 3 times a bus, if I can reach it in 15 min by Taxi.
I was really curious to see our hotel. I have no ideas of Vegas hotels, and know only the very big names from Maccau. I never heard about the “Flamingo”. I just saw that it is cheap and nearby other big names, so I assumed it to be a good location. But I was not sure about the standard and the age of the hotel. It seemed to be kind of old and low priced, so I really wanted to see what I booked.
My brothers were rather impressed by the hotel. They liked the room with the huge beds, the zoo, and the big pool area. Way more they were excited when they heard about the price of 36$ per night. Thus, staying in one of the most famous hotels in the middle of the strip was cheaper than a hostel.
14/12/2010 brrrrrrrrrrrr
Short site note: As beauty Miami is, as cold it is at the moment. We have less than 10 degrees and no heating. Also, no jacket for me, I mean, who needed that in Florida?
13/12/2010 Going down… Miami Beach
We stand up early this morning to pick up my rental car. Unfortunately, (or by purpose) my brother forgot his driving license, so I drove all the way down to the everglades by myself. Surprisingly, I was not as stressed and tired, as I expected to be after a 7h nonstop drive. And we were also lucky to catch the last air boat leaving in the Everglades. It was a bit cold, so there were not that many alligators; however, we have had the chance to see 3 of them in the free nature. Later in the evening we met up with my old colleague and enjoyed ourselves with drinks and dancing. Sweet.
10/12/2010 Graduation Day
It is my day. Graduation! Finally. I have this black robe, my hood, and my heat on when I am going my very last time (for this year) to my university. The ceremony takes from noon until 5 pm. Pretty long, and to be honest, also pretty boring. It is kind of formal, you go together with you fellow students in the hall. Than you sit and wait until they call your name, you take your degree and go back. Funnily, when you get back to your seat and look in the nice cover of your degree, there is no degree inside. Only a letter, congratulating and telling you will receive the degree somewhat later by mail. Ah, ok.
Some students tried to pimp the ceremony up by customizing and altering their robes. Several girls personalized their heats by putting glitter on it and wrote greetings to their family and friends on it. Sometimes, when a student stepped up, their family starts cheering them. In special the black families were very proud and active in shouting the name of their baby or even blowing air horns, which woke all the others up a bit.
After that, we met with my friends for a really nice steak dinner at Outback’s. Some people might argue that an Outback steakhouse is not an adequate place for a graduation dinner. I think it is humble and honest, and I love their steaks. In addition, I do not care that much about fancy food, and it is my graduation, so I can choose whatever I want, even if it would end up in Häägen Daz. After that, we went for drinks, bars and even more drinks. Great.
Btw… It was the first time that I drove my new, not yet insured car… So I was the sober driver on my own party. And it was not too bad.
Some students tried to pimp the ceremony up by customizing and altering their robes. Several girls personalized their heats by putting glitter on it and wrote greetings to their family and friends on it. Sometimes, when a student stepped up, their family starts cheering them. In special the black families were very proud and active in shouting the name of their baby or even blowing air horns, which woke all the others up a bit.
After that, we met with my friends for a really nice steak dinner at Outback’s. Some people might argue that an Outback steakhouse is not an adequate place for a graduation dinner. I think it is humble and honest, and I love their steaks. In addition, I do not care that much about fancy food, and it is my graduation, so I can choose whatever I want, even if it would end up in Häägen Daz. After that, we went for drinks, bars and even more drinks. Great.
Btw… It was the first time that I drove my new, not yet insured car… So I was the sober driver on my own party. And it was not too bad.
09/12/2010 Discovering the neighbor
Today is a day off. So my brother and I make a day trip to the small neighbor city “St. Augustin”. It is considered to be the oldest city in the United States, and the Spanish heritage is obvious. The city has a wonderful historical down town, beautiful residential areas and a very romantic light house. Really pretty and I am sure, I will go there more often with my friends for just enjoying the view with a coffee.
08/12/2010 My very first car
Today my brother and I bought my very first car. I have a driver license since years, but I never owned my own car. In Europe and Asia, you do not need that. We have more or less excellent ground transportation but a limited amount of parking slots. A complete contrast to the United States, where distances are long due to one floor buildings and huge parking slots between the buildings. Or did you ever have seen a Drive thru- ATMs outside of America? So, I really see the need to have a car here, even if my heart is still refusing to spend that much money on something I never needed before.
So my brother and I researched the internet for used cars. Because I have “flexible requirements” (means, I do not know really what I want) it is pretty hard.
So far my requirements are: As cheap as possible, I do not care about it, but I do not want to be ashamed of it. But I would spent a bit more if it is cute, like a Mini Cooper for example.
Funny, isn’t it? Finally we ended up buying a Corolla from 2003 with a lot of miles on it, but the car seemed clean and good working.
So my brother and I researched the internet for used cars. Because I have “flexible requirements” (means, I do not know really what I want) it is pretty hard.
So far my requirements are: As cheap as possible, I do not care about it, but I do not want to be ashamed of it. But I would spent a bit more if it is cute, like a Mini Cooper for example.
Funny, isn’t it? Finally we ended up buying a Corolla from 2003 with a lot of miles on it, but the car seemed clean and good working.
06/12/2010 My Nicolaus gift arrived
Today, my brother is coming! I am very excited. To pick him up from the airport, my friend promised me to drive me there. Unfortunately, she cannot read the time and when I came to the meeting point, she was not there. Her excuse was outstanding: “Well, I texted you 5:45, however, I meant 4:45. Now, it is too late for me.”…. Aha… How shall I know what she means, if she is writing and confirming totally different things? Puh… My brother should be arriving at 6:30, and the airport is far away… Taxi fare is round about 50$ but with a waiting time of more than 1 hour, no busses (welcome suburban America) and no one near, who I could ask. In addition, my smart brother forgot to take my number and address with him, and has no working cellphone. I was almost freaking out… So I started to call each and every one of my contacts in my cellphone. And finally, a boy who I am not dating anymore (or better, he is not dating me anymore) was nice and left his boys-meeting to pick me up and drive me the 30 miles to the airport. I arrived almost in time; however, my brother was not there. I neither had not his carrier number, nor his last stop in US. So I started to stroll the baggage claims up and down and searched for him. But he was not there. So I went to the arrival and waited there for him. (Jacksonville airport is the only airport I know, where you arrive and have to leave the security area before you get your luggage). But also here he was not. I started to ask at the airlines, if my brother was on board, but they were not allowed to give any information out. I was really worried, that something happened, he missed the connection flight, or that he had problems with the customer control or homeland security.
Somewhen, the last suitcases were picked up and I was lonely at the airport. I found out, that the next plane is coming in 2 hours, so I stayed there and waited… I went to Starbucks and drank coffee, hung out at the souvenir shops and voted for the most beautiful decorated Christmas tree. Jax-airport has each year a competition, which of the businesses at the airport decorates the most beautiful tree. Therefore, all the businesses and departments get a standard tree and can be creative. Those trees are presented during the advent in the big waiting hall, where visitors and passengers can vote for their favorite tree by donating a dollar to this department. Surprisingly, I liked the Christmas tree from homeland security the most. However, I would never donate for homeland security. And I was really surprised, that I like a tree like that the most… It seems that the months in Florida are really changing me. To explain it a bit better: The tree was very nationalistic. It has had a lot of white, red and blue decoration, bows, and: American flags on it. Also they have had several small notes on it saying: ”we never forget” (well, this, I did not like, that was even for me a touch too much). But strange, isn’t it?
Back to the point: I waited, waited and waited. The battery of my cellphone went off, but finally my brother arrived. He was in a plane 2 hours later than he announced. Seems, he also cannot read the clock. And I felt silly, that I stressed my friends so out by getting in time to the airport, when I was there only waiting for 2 more hours. Nevertheless, we went to the rental car company, where we got the next shock. The lady at the rental car looked at us and told me that my car is a very small car and she does not think it will fit us. Means, she do not think, the car will hold 2 adults and 2 suitcases. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Images of Smarts raised in my head. In Europe, I always book the second smallest car to ensure I do get a car fitting 4 people and some suitcases. In US, I always take the smallest car size, because they do not have something like a smart, and cars Americans consider to be small are normal size cars for Europeans. The lady was really stressing out the problem with the car. I was already tired from waiting and from the stress to get to the airport, so I have had no head for more drama that day. I told her that I booked a car fitting 2 adults, 2 children and 2 suitcases (they really describe it like that on the webpage) and if this will not fit, they would have to provide me a car adequate to my booking. The lady was shocked that I would get the idea to put children in this way to small car and was really upset. End of the story: My brother and I arrived at the car, and surprise! The car was a medium sized compact car, with plenty of space for 4-5 adults and luggage. ….. Ahhh… too much unnecessary drama… we drove home, and went for his very first American burger.
Somewhen, the last suitcases were picked up and I was lonely at the airport. I found out, that the next plane is coming in 2 hours, so I stayed there and waited… I went to Starbucks and drank coffee, hung out at the souvenir shops and voted for the most beautiful decorated Christmas tree. Jax-airport has each year a competition, which of the businesses at the airport decorates the most beautiful tree. Therefore, all the businesses and departments get a standard tree and can be creative. Those trees are presented during the advent in the big waiting hall, where visitors and passengers can vote for their favorite tree by donating a dollar to this department. Surprisingly, I liked the Christmas tree from homeland security the most. However, I would never donate for homeland security. And I was really surprised, that I like a tree like that the most… It seems that the months in Florida are really changing me. To explain it a bit better: The tree was very nationalistic. It has had a lot of white, red and blue decoration, bows, and: American flags on it. Also they have had several small notes on it saying: ”we never forget” (well, this, I did not like, that was even for me a touch too much). But strange, isn’t it?
Back to the point: I waited, waited and waited. The battery of my cellphone went off, but finally my brother arrived. He was in a plane 2 hours later than he announced. Seems, he also cannot read the clock. And I felt silly, that I stressed my friends so out by getting in time to the airport, when I was there only waiting for 2 more hours. Nevertheless, we went to the rental car company, where we got the next shock. The lady at the rental car looked at us and told me that my car is a very small car and she does not think it will fit us. Means, she do not think, the car will hold 2 adults and 2 suitcases. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Images of Smarts raised in my head. In Europe, I always book the second smallest car to ensure I do get a car fitting 4 people and some suitcases. In US, I always take the smallest car size, because they do not have something like a smart, and cars Americans consider to be small are normal size cars for Europeans. The lady was really stressing out the problem with the car. I was already tired from waiting and from the stress to get to the airport, so I have had no head for more drama that day. I told her that I booked a car fitting 2 adults, 2 children and 2 suitcases (they really describe it like that on the webpage) and if this will not fit, they would have to provide me a car adequate to my booking. The lady was shocked that I would get the idea to put children in this way to small car and was really upset. End of the story: My brother and I arrived at the car, and surprise! The car was a medium sized compact car, with plenty of space for 4-5 adults and luggage. ….. Ahhh… too much unnecessary drama… we drove home, and went for his very first American burger.
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