Griffith Observatory, Downtown LA, Hollywood Sign Hike

Yesterday evening was my first activity from the hostel. You could sign up to visit the Griffith Observatory, so I did. At 5 pm we met in the lounge of the hostel. There were quite some people going. As we walked to the underground, which is right on the opposite of the hostel, I got to talk to some new people already. They were all solo travellers from all over the world; Australia, Germany, UK, China and some Americans from other states as well. We went to see the sunset at the Griffith observatory.

However, the sun disappeared behind the clouds so there was not much of a sunset to watch. The view from the observatory was amazing though. I could see the whole city, which is again ridiculously big. The view was stunning and it was even more amazing when it got dark. The city lights are just so pretty. After visiting the observatory we went back towards our hostel with the metro. Travelling with the metro gave us enough time to get to know each other. It's really nice to meet some new people. We even decided to grab some food at a Mexican restaurant, which was very nice and after that we still chilled a little bit at the hostel lounge.

Today we went downtown LA. I really liked it, it's really beautiful there. The weather was really nice as well. We visited a couple of places and grabbed lunch together at the market place. I'm still amazed of how big the portions are here. I got a burrito, but it was one big ass burrito. I couldn't even eat half of it.

After walking around downtown LA for a few hours a few people decided to hike to the Hollywood sign today as well. We grabbed an Uber to the closest point at the Hollywood sign and from there we walked up. Actually people are not allowed to hike up there, but everybody does it anyways. The hike took about an hour and we got some pretty pictures with the Hollywood sign.

We also decided to walk up to get a view from behind the Hollywood sign. This hike was not really easy. It was hot and the road was quite steep sometimes but when we got up we got a beautiful view of Los Angeles and Burbank on the other side. The walk down also took a while. We've hiked for about three hours in total. I was exhausted when we arrived at the hostel and I quickly took a nap. I really needed that but I'm still very tired. I must be jetlag.

Anyways, I had a great second day in Los Angeles. I really enjoy it here!

See ya!

Arrival and First Day in LA

So, today is my first day in LA. The flight yesterday went really well but I didn't get to have a  lot of sleep. I can never sleep well in chairs. Luckily I had an empty seat next to me so I did have some extra space. I arrived in Los Angeles at 6 PM. I had to pass border control and after that I could go and get my luggage, which I didn't have to wait long for. My next task was to find my transfer. I didn't really know where to go because the LAX airport is really really big. But after following signs I found my transfer. I was in it with a few other people. One of them was Dutch and we had some stories to share. It always eases my mind if I have someone to talk to who is in the same situation as me. It reminds me that I'm not completely alone on my trip. Anyways, as my transfer was finally moving, it was getting dark and the city lights were turning on. We drove towards the centre of LA and what a sight. I could see city lights completely filling my view from left to right to the end of the horizon. The size of this city kind of overwhelms me. Los Angeles is really, reaaally big. The tall buildings of the centre were slowly getting closer and we were all attentively watching it, realising we were really here, in the City of Angels. As we arrived in the centre I noticed that this city is completely different from the Netherlands. Many parts aren't really well maintained, especially the streets and there are a lot of homeless people around with tents and sleeping bags. It kind of shocked me how many homeless people there are here. It reminds me that this city is just so big and so crowded that she (LA) doesn't have the time and space to watch over anyone. And I'm just here, on my own, in this huge city. It made me feel so small for a moment.

Finally I arrived at my hostel, which is located right on Hollywood Boulevard. I was the last one to be dropped off, so it took a while to get here. I checked in, got to my room and claimed the top bunkbed, as I couldn't sit upstraight at the lower bed. When I settled in, I could finally come to rest after my long travel.

Next day (which is today for me now), I woke up really early, multiple times. Jet lag is bothering me unfortunately. Anyways, after finally showering my travelstress off, I had breakfast with one of my roommates. Nice, sweet bagels. It was simple but I enjoyed it. The hostel is also very nice. It's quite big and there are a lot of other backpackers. There is a nice lounge with a few comfi sofas and a pooltable. I like the vibe out here. I was quite nervous to go outside today on my own. The size of the city still kind of intimidates me. I went outside with my roommate and we walked a small part of Hollywood Boulevard. After that we went on a tourbus through Hollywood. It was nice to see more of the city so I'm getting more familiar with the area. We stopped at the tar pit museum, which was free, and made a few pictures. As I went on the tourbus again about an hour later, she was meeting a friend and we seperated ways. Many parts of LA seemed so familiar to me which was weird because I've never been here. Then I realized it's because of the game GTA 5 which is very accurate in the representation of Los Angeles, I noticed :P

The weather today is weird. First it was cloudy and about 15 degrees celcius. But when the sun came through it felt like 25 degrees, which I really liked. But the weather quickly turned from sunny to rainy. Yes, rain in LA. Apparently that's not very usual out here. Now I'm here in a coffee bar, steeling free WIFI to write this story while enjoying my croissant and cappucino. In an hour I'm going to the Griffith observatory with people of my hotel. My first day is already going well, and I'm starting to get the hang of being here. Looking forward to see the rest of LA.

See ya tomorrow!

Getting Ready

Oh my god. In less than 24 hours I'll be flying to the United States of America, alone. I have never traveled completely on my own and I have never been away from home for so long. I'll stay in the US for about 2.5 months. As this will be my first time in the United States, I wanted to visit more than just one place. First I will be traveling to Los Angeles. I will stay there in a backpackers hostel for a few days and hopefully I will recover from my jetlag there soon. The time difference is 8 hours after all. 8 hours back in time, it's a lot. Anyways, the other places I'm going to visit are San Diego, Seattle, Buffalo and New York City. And maybe more! I've got the basics of my trip all planned out. I have accommodations, transport, money. But what exactly I'll be doing will be a surprise every day.

It feels so unreal for me that I'll be leaving my home for almost three months. I almost can't believe it. Also, here I am still at home, just doing regular stuff. It doesn't feel like I'm going away. I do feel nervous though. I always stress about flights when I go on vacation. I can only find rest when I'm all settled at my destination. I'm just really not looking forward to these flights. Airports stress me out. But it will all be worth it in the end I suppose.

I'll be posting every now and then on this blog to keep you guys updated.

Jane ^^

Welkom op mijn Reislog!

Hallo en welkom op mijn reislog!

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Groetjes,

Jane