Plenty of traffic on the highway has delayed our departure and even more our arrival in Los Angeles, but after 4 hours we are at the bus terminal which looks pretty poor and in a low level part of town. We take a couple of buses to get west of town since we are staying in Culver City at my friend Manuel’s place. We miss the bus stop, but we managed to be picked up somewhere at the end. Great to see my friend after so long!
For the first day we drive to the hills of Hollywood. It’s dry as hell and very hot. We take a quick look at the city from the observatory. There are very few skyscrapers, which makes the city spread very far with all the different quarters and makes it difficult (or at least very time consuming) to reach the different places with only public transportation.

We have a flashback on how nice it is to just bike or walk around in Aarhus!
After plenty of traffic we arrive at the famous and infamous walk of fame, which is actually closed for some event. Well, nothing to see really, a part from a sweaty crowd and people wanting to sell you stuff. After some more traffic we get home for a good dinner together.

Second sunny day in Los Angeles, and it’s time to discover the beaches. We first drive to Venice beach which reminds us Pacific beach in San Diego, but there is definitely more space between the ocean front and the sea here, with plenty of nice sand and many people walking and performing along the street. Charming!
Second we reach Santa Monica, after finding parking in a fancy shopping mall where we stop for some frozen yogurt. The pier is packed with people just hanging around and fewer down at the beach. The view from the edge of the pier is indeed very nice, you can see the long stretch of sea and the whole bay.

On our last day in Los Angeles, before leaving for Peru, we first visit Manuel for lunch at UCLA.
The campus is really great: spacious, green, clean and fully furnished! Plenty of possibility for lunch, and no signs of “frikkadeller”, which is always a good sign! After almost 1 hour on the bus we reach downtown for a quick look. No landmarks to see here, but for sure we liked the Little Tokyo quarter, modern and fascinating. Back in the bus and in the traffic again to make our way home for a last dinner together with Andreas’ speciality: meat rolls with ham and cheese. Heavy as lead, but super tasty.

So it’s time to leave Los Angeles which at a first glimpse feels like squeezing an orange out of season, but on our lucky side we were visiting friends which always bring the trip to a higher level! Thanks again for the hospitality!