Hollywood, Los Angeles
Friday, September 23, 2016
My very first trip to the US was in December. As I have said in my Baguio blog, I've always wanted to experience winter. And so I was excited. However, the places I'll be staying while in the US of A aren't the snowy type of winter. California is always termed as the sunny and warm side of the US. So instead of bringing heavy clothes, I had cardigans and light sweaters on my suitcase instead.
Nonetheless, without the snow experience, I still enjoyed my first trip to the Land of the Americans. We went to Vegas on our first weekend there so on the 2nd weekend, it was time to roam around Los Angeles.
When my boss asked me what or where I wanted to go, I immediately said I wanted to see the Hollywood sign and have my pic taken with it as the background. And so my ultimate goal that day have been checked off my bucket list.
One item ticked off my checklist. 
On the way to the Hollywood sign, we passed by this lovely park with a good view of the sign.
It was a hike to get to this view. Some people take their time meditating or reading a book - like this girl, while on top of the mountains of Hollywood.
Went down to Hollywood Boulevard after the hike. This is the Chinese Theatre where many Hollywood films have had their star studded premiers.
Celebrity handprints and footprints of neary 200 celebrities. These are located in front of the Chinese Theatre.
Hollywood Walk of Fame
El Capitan Theatre -- you can watch Disney movies here especially if you're with kids. Wrecked Ralph was showing at that time.
Dolby Theatre -- this is where famous actors accept their Academy Awards
I've been amazed by how people in Los Angeles are so disciplined when it comes to road traffic. Traffic rules are always followed and pedestrians always a priority - so unlike with how Filipinos are.
Crossing the streets in California are not as risky as what we do in the Philippines. Usually, there's a button that you have to push if you want to cross the street. Their system then identifies that you want to cross so you just wait for the go walking sign to light up which also shows a countdown till it stops. Also, my boss told us that once you put your feet on the pedestrian lane, even if it's not yet time to cross, the cars would have to stop. You will however probably receive glares from the motorists if you do this due to irresponsibility.
My Starbucks story. My boss invited us to have some coffee during late in the afternoon. Since the cafe was quite full that time, he decided to order on our behalf and have it to go. I told him my choice of drink thinking that he will order the hot version since it was chilly that time. However, he handed me the blended ice version. HAHA. Imagine me with shaking hands while I took this pic.
One thing that also amazed me was how huge their parking spaces are. Most malls or supermarkets have a lot of space intended for parking. Commuting is not that commonly used and most households have more than a vehicle thus the need for parking is a necessity. I also noticed that establishments are scattered in location and not in walking distances thus having a private car is really appreciated.
My first burger meal is from In-N-Out. They said that this burger chain is a must try when there.
Dollar$$$. It was hard spending money using a different currency. I used to think at first that $20 is just a small amount but once converted, it takes a huge amount from your peso wallet. HAHA. It was also not a good thing using your credit card due to higher currency conversion.
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