Livin’ the California Dream

The 3rd of December was finally here! The day my father and sister would come and visit me in San Francisco – I had been looking forward to this day for weeks!

Sunday morning, I jumped out of bed and took the BART to go and pick them up from the airport. But I couldn’t welcome them into the US empty-handed. So, beforehand I stopped at the nearest Walgreens to get my sister’s favorite M&M’s – the ones with the pretzel-filling, which aren’t available in Europe – and continued my way to SFO.

At the airport as they walked towards me, I Couldn’t believe they were actually here with me after being away for 3 months!! – I may have shed some tears.

We would stay in the city till Thursday, and from there we would start our California adventure! It was amazing to finally show them my new life, my new home and how independent I am now. I brought my dad and my sister to all of my favorite spots, and of course the typical touristy places, as it was their first time in SF.

I couldn’t let them leave the city without meeting my host family. So, on Tuesday night, my host parents invited us over for dinner – to eat a delicious rice dish :) !!

Dessert was on us, as my grandmother and mother loaded suitcases with typical Dutch and Belgian sweets – I Ate sooooo many pepernoten, unbelievable!

At the beginning, it was a bit weird to see my real family and my SF-family in one room together, but most of all it was nice that they could talk and get to know each other.

On Thursday, we flew to Las Vegas, gambling capital of the world, for a 3-night stay! The first two days we walked down the strip by replicas of the French Eiffel Tower, the Egyptian Giza pyramid and the canals of Venice, Italy. We took it all in, the gambling, gamblers the food and the shopping. The Strip wasn’t new to me, having seen it numerous times on TV and in the movies. But the vibe, it’s like Disneyland for grown-ups. In less than 24 hours you can get married, see world class shows, become a millionaire or lose it all, meet the rich, famous and royalty, drink, do drugs, eat in fine style… something you need to experience yourself!

My father arranged a trip to the Grand Canyon for Saturday. We were picked up at our hotel by a Shuttle, and driven down to Boulder City. From there we took a helicopter ride over the American Southwest!

I was quite nervous to fly a helicopter – to be honest, I was terrified – but once the machine took off, I totally lost my fear and couldn’t believe my eyes! the entire view of the area as well as the Canyon, it was magical! – I had tears streaming down my face! – I still get speechless every time I bring it up.

Sunday morning, time to continue our trip to Death Valley! We picked up our Car, got our stuff, and hit the road. It took us about 2 hours to reach our destination, but the beautiful scenery on the way over, made it look like minutes.

Arriving at the Inn my father booked, we were a bit confused as builders were walking all over the site and the building itself was under construction. When we asked one of the builders if we were at the right place, he gave directions to a ranch a bit further into a town called Furnace Creek. Apparently, the Inn was closed due to remodeling and we were obliged to stay at the ranch, which was a unique experience.

There was just one diner on the entire lot, – which looked more like a highway grab-and-go – and the other diner, that looked a bit more towards a restaurant, was 45 minutes away by car, but driving in the desert by night, not something we wanted to do. So, breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the Furnace Creek cafeteria it was!

Even though our accommodation wasn’t what we’d expected, Death Valley was, like the Grand Canyon, another great experience! I was stunned by the endless desert with its giant sand dunes and striking colors. – we don’t have places like this in Europe, so every time these wonders leave me surprised! – I never thought a desert could be this diverse as well. From Badwater Basin (a parched stretch of land that is the last remnant of a great salt lake) to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes (a classic sand desert like they are straight out of Aladdin).

We had one more stop on our way back to San Francisco and that was …… LOS ANGELES, the city of angels!! Five hours later and we were in Santa Monica.

The first evening we just explored the sights of downtown Santa Monica like the third street promenade, Santa Monica place, and of course the Santa Monica Pier! I immediately loved this neighborhood! It just felt so cozy – I’m sure the Christmas decorations did their part ;) – but the overall atmosphere and the friendly people made it complete!

After a good night sleep, we were ready to conquer the city of LA! Because of the fact LA is so spread out, we opted for the Hop-on Hop-off-Bus to go around the city like a real tourist does ;P

At our first stop, Hollywood boulevard, we got a glimpse of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at his Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony! From there we took the bus through Beverly hills, past the: LACMA; farmer’s market; The Grove and Melrose Avenue.

The next morning, we started off walking down the boulevard towards Venice beach. The sun shone bright as we walked along the Ocean. It being the morning, Venice didn’t seem to be very much awake. It was quite calm – or mellow, as they say in California – for what I’ve had imagined it would be, but still, there were some nice and cool buildings, shops and pieces of art to admire!

Our last day in LA, we even went on a little hike in the Hollywood Hills to get an overview of the city. Initially we planned to go up to the Griffith Observatory, but our Lyft-driver recommended to go to Laurel Canyon, as the view is claimed to be better. We trusted our driver and let him bring us up to Laurel Canyon and Mulholland drive, where we hiked up a path to get to the view.

Well, I can’t say the view was better than at the Griffith Observatory, as I have never been there, but let me tell you it was wonderful!! – even though we were TOTALLY not dressed or prepared for a hike in 27°C weather, it was all worth it!

You know what they say; all good things must come to an end. Saturday morning it was time to fly back to SF to spend our last evening together before my father and sister went back home to the Netherlands on Sunday morning.

Las Vegas

Grand Canyon

Death Valley

Los Angeles

(for more pictures check my gallery)

It was really hard to say goodbye to them once again, but I had a great time catching up with them, traveling around California and showing them my new home!!

Liefs

Bente