September 2016
LA Things to Do
Basketball
Sport is such a big thing in the United States, and we thought we should watch a game, any game really. We checked and found an LA Clippers basketball game on a Monday night. They play at the Staples Center in downtown LA and we managed to buy tickets. We sat really high up on the ranks and watched the Clippers play and win against the team from the Memphis Grizzlies. The Staples Center is home to many different sports teams as well as concerts taking place in LA and it fits over 19.000 people during a Basketball game. The game is everything, from great sports, cheerleaders, excited fans, and oversized food and drink portions. Just everything you would expect. Very cool experience and definitely one to recommend.
Santa Barbara
We took a day trip out to Santa Barbara to visit this picturesque coastal town. The city has just under 100.000 inhabitants and is the main city on the American Rivera. It is one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in the whole of the USA and the Spanish and Mexican influence is still visible very much. We had lunch at the seaside and afterwards walked along the water, watched the skateboarders in the park, and took photos of the beautiful palm trees that line the streets. On our way back we stopped at the outlet mall "Camarillo Premium Outlet". For me, a visit to the mall is a must when in the US and this one didn't disappoint. Great choice of shops and great discounts to be found.
LACMA and the Berlin Wall
On our way back to Silver Lake and our AirBnB one night, we drove by the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), the County Museum of Art which we recognized from the movies. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard in Hancock Park. We parked our car and when we got off we stood outside a piece of the Berlin Wall. You can imagine our surprise to find this here, so far away from home. But this is actually the longest piece of the original Berlin Wall outside of Germany. It was part of the "Wende project" during the 20th-anniversary celebrations of the fall of the Berlin Wall. We then walked to the museum to take pictures of the beautiful light installations which have been shown in many movies before. We didn't make it back to the museum during their opening times, but if you go during the daytime, this museum is the largest in the western United States with over 130.000 objects from antique times until the present day.
Abbot Kinney
On our last day, we visited Venice. It is located in the western part of LA with many different canals crossing through it, just like the original Venice in Italy. This part of town is famous for its artistic community and beach life. We parked our car to visit the famous street Abbot Kinney Boulevard first. In 1990, the street that was formerly called West Washington was renamed Abbot Kinney, named after the man who built the Venice canals.
Now, this street is a big attraction to locals and tourists alike. There is a fantastic selection of shops, restaurants, wine shops, and galleries and a street that has history and relevance for today at the same time. After some retail therapy, we walked to Venice Beach for some last sunshine before heading home to winter in Germany. Beautiful large beaches where many people spend their days with sporting activities, reading, playing with their kids, or just relaxing while listening to the Pacific Ocean.
