Some Major California Sightseeing

We did quite a bit of sightseeing yesterday.  With mom, my sister Angela, and brother-in-law manual we showed Kája more of the LA/Hollywood touristy experience.  

The first stop was Union Station which is in the northeastern corner of downtown Los Angeles.  Union Station opened in 1939 was known as the "Last of the Great Railway Stations."  

The station is beautiful, combining Art Deco, Mission Revival, and modern styles.  In 1980, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Union Station is the largest and busiest passenger rail terminal in the Western United States.  It is the 13th busiest train station in North America.  This also shows that train travel isn't really a thing in the USA.  Just the city of Los Angeles has about 4 million people but the station only serves about 110,000 passengers a day.  Brno has about 400,000 people and more than 65,000 passengers use hlavní nádraží every day.

Me & my sister

Across the street is Olvera Street.  It's a historic pedestrian street in the historic centre of the city.  There are plenty of street vendors and restaurants to check out.

Olvera Street is home to Ávila Adobe, built in 1818, which is the oldest standing residence in Los Angeles.

Olvera Street gets about two million visitors per year.  Some people don't care for it because it can seem touristy.  I like it because of the history; it was the historical city centre in both the Spanish and Mexican times prior to California being taken by the U.S.

Then it was on to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour.  Warner Brothers (WB) was founded in 1923.  It is one of the major American film, animation and television studios.

It's fun but expensive.  An adult ticket is $76 and the tour lasts about three hours.  You get to visit a soundstage and the backlot, which is where we got to sit on the Friends couch.

Some of the most popular sets we got to visit were from Friends and The Big Bang Theory, plus big exhibits for Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and The Justice League.  

Barbie gets released this week so there was lots of promotion for the film.  I had to get a photo of the Kája Barbie doll, plus some video of him dancing around like Dobby the house elf.  

San Clemente Pier, California

Yesterday we went to San Clemente Pier to meet my aunt and uncle for lunch.  San Clemente is a city of about 65,000 people about a half hour drive, 42 km (26 miles) southeast of Irvine roughly half way between Los Angeles and San Diego.  

San Clemente is known as the "Spanish Village by the Sea" due to its Spanish Colonial style architecture.  

It's a popular California beach town that gets about 300 days of sunshine and an annual average temperature of 23℃ (73℉).

The most famous landmark is the San Clemente Pier.  

Me and mom

It was first built in 1928.  It was rebuilt in 1939 and again in 1983.  The pier is a popular fishing site and home to a nice seafood restaurant.  

It was nice seeing ma aunt and uncle and lunch was nice.  But for dinner, I finally got my In-N-Out fix.!!  

My niece decided that we needed to wear the hats during dinner.  Though not everyone was on board with that one. 

Griffith Observatory, California

Yesterday we got in a bit of sightseeing.  My brother-in-law, Manuel, drove us out to LA so that Kája could see a few of the city's iconic sights.

The first stop was a visit to the Griffith Observatory.  

When it opened in 1935, it was only the third planetarium in the country.

The land was donated to the city in 1896 along with funds to be an observatory and planetarium that would be free to the public.  Since the day it opened, the observatory has been free.

From 2002 to 2006, it underwent a major $93 million renovation.  

So many movies have been filmed here.  Here's a short video I found on YouTube.

©Fandor

Of course being so close the the Griffith Observatory, we had to go check out the Hollywood Sign.  First built in 1923 has part of a temporary real estate advertisement, it is not a California landmark.  The sign was replaced in 1978 and the steel letters are 13,7 metres (45-feet) tall. 

Us and Manuel

There were some German tourists taking selfies next to us and I took a photo for them.  They were quite surprised when I spoke to them in German.  

While in Hollywood, we hit a few of the typical touristy sites such as the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Seeing as we went to the Griffith Observatory, we decided to watch La La Land on Netflix with the entire family.

Some Beach Time

I've lived in Czechland, a landlocked country, for 14 years now.  Before that, I lived in Atlanta for 13 years and from Atlanta it's a good 5 to 7 hour drive to the beach in Georgia, South Carolina, or Florida.  

So yesterday was some long overdue beach time!  

We headed over to Dana Point and went to Strand Beach.  It's a popular spot for surfing but we just wanted to lay out and catch some rays.

The sun was strong and we did get a little red but, to me, it was so worth it.  I guess that, deep down, I will always be a bit of a California boy.

Going Back to Cali

Yesterday, we drove from Prescott to Irvine.  Well, Dad did all of the driving.  

The trip took 7,5 hours and thank goodness for air conditioning because it was wicked hot.  It was 45,5 ℃ (114 ℉) at the Arizona-California border.

I was one happy Mexican when we got to my sister's house because she had a feast waiting for us. #fatandhappy 

I need to make sure that I don't put on 5 kg while I'm on holiday. 

Markéta Vondroušová Wins Wimbleton

Markéta Vondroušová won Wimbleton today.  Kája was so excited that a Czech player won.

She is the first unseeded ladies' singles Wimbledon champion.  She was ranked number 42, which also makes her the lowest ranked Wimbleton champion.  

She defeated Ons Jabeur, from Tunisa, in the final, 6-4, 6-4.

Here's a video from the finals that I found on YouTube.

©Deník Sport

Day Trip to Montezuma Castle

Yesterday was wonderful road trip with my parents.  First up was about an hour's drive, 72 km (45 miles) from Prescott, to Montezuma Castle National Monument.   

Montezuma Castle, one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in North America, is 27 metres (90 feet) high up a limestone cliff.  

The name is deceiving as Montezuma had nothing to do with the dwelling.  When American explorers first found the ruins in the 1860s, they mistakenly believed the the Aztec emperor had something to do with it.  Even though the dwelling was abandoned more than 40 years before Montezuma was born, the name stuck.  It's also not a castle.  

The dwelling was built and used by the Sinagua people from around 1100 to 1425.  It's about five stories and has 20 rooms.

In 1906 it became a U.S. National Monument.

About 40 minutes away is Sedona.  With mild winters and warm summers, after the Grand Canyon, it is one of the the most popular tourist destinations in Arizona.  It's a popular place for people to retire to.

Sedona is lovely.  The pink sandstone formations are simply gorgeous and there are hundreds of hiking and mountain bike trails.

Day Trip to the Grand Canyon, AZ

Today was a day trip out to the Grand Canyon.  It was a beautiful day.  

Even with a few sudden downpours it was still a great day.  

Before we left this morning, Mom bought tickets online for the IMAX show at the Visitor Centre.  There were electricity problems and the theatre was closed so we missed out on it.  Hopefully she can pass the tickets on so that they won't go to waste.

On the way back we stopped by Williams and Kája got to see part of Route 66.  

Tomorrow's adventure is Sedona and Montezuma's Castle.

Czeching out Prescott, AZ

So far it's been a couple of relaxing days in Arizona with my parents.  It's been a pretty low-key visit so far which has been really nice.  My folks had doctor's appointments this morning in Prescott so while they did that, Kája and walked around Whiskey Row and the courthouse.

The Palace, a saloon that opened in 1877, is the oldest business in Arizona.

Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday were frequent visitors here back in the day.  I think that Kája got a kick out of the western cowboy vibe in the city.  I don't know if he was expecting Lemonade Joe to show up or what.  

The Yavapai County Courthouse was built in 1916 and in 1977 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.  Arizona is a "new" state having become one only in 1912 so it's interesting that an early 20th century building is historic.  In Czechland, historic places tend to be several hundred years old.

It was a beautiful day to just walk around and we made a Costco run after the doctor's appointments were done.  

Costco was a wee bit overwhelming for Kája.  So big, so many different things, everything jumbo sized, cheap prices but without sales tax included.  I expect that we'll go back again before we leave.

Family friends, Keith and Janet, came over for dinner tonight and it was a lovely time.  Tomorrow's adventure will be the Grand Canyon.

Karel and Karla

For our trip, we booked with Oneworld, British Airways from Vienna to London to Chicago.  Then American Airlines to Atlanta. On our way home we fly on Iberia from Los Angles to Vienna via Madrid.  

The challenge was getting from Atlanta to Phoenix.  Flying American Airlines meant having a layover in Texas and six to eight hours of travel time.  Steven recommended Southwest because you get two checked bags for free.  Delta had the best route but no matter which airline we took, the tickets were going to cost us +/- $500.

Then I remembered that I still had a bunch of Delta frequent flier points from before I moved to Euroland.  Thank goodness that these points don't expire.  So I cashed in just over half of my available points,  and paid $11 in taxes, for two one-way first class tickets.  Score!    

The direct flight from Atlanta to Phoenix was four hours long and we flew 2548 km (1,583 miles).   

The best part of the flight was our flight attendant, Karla.  Halfway through the flight, I used getting up to use the lavatory as an excuse to speak to the flight attendant.  She mentioned how extremely polite Kája was.  I explained that this was his first time in the USA, his first time ever flying first class, and that we were flying to Arizona because he was going to meet my parents for the first time.  I asked her if by chance, did she have any of the plastic pilot wings that they normally hand out to children.  She said that she would take care of it.

Wow, did she ever!  Not only did she later come over to give him the pilot wings, she also gave him a goodie bag full of snacks and a handwritten card saying welcome to the USA, good luck meeting the in-laws, and thanks for flying with Delta.  Of course, it was even better that her name was Karla.  Karel and Karla.  

Big thanks to Karla for making the flight such a great experience.  I just hope that Kája isn't now spoiled and expect first class all the time.