Los Angeles (Sami)

Expect to see a lot of this if you're driving in LA.

We visited Universal Studios, a theme park just outside LA. Although there are some cool rides (especially the state-of-the-art Transformers 4D-experiece) and shows, it's IMHO not quite worth the 84 bucks plus parking plus eating plus drinking...The clerk even tried to sell me two passes although I wanted just one. Must have been a misunderstanding, right? Right?

The studio tour took us past the staged plane crash scene from War of the Worlds (with Tom Cruise) as well as lesser sights.

After the park visit we took Mulholland Drive and continued to Santa Monica and eventually Venice Beach, our LA base. It's a bit "alternative" place meaning there are lots of hobos and junkies hanging out along the beach road. They don't bother tourists much, though. Holding a sign with a funny text asking for money seems to be the custom in California.

The Hollywood sign and LA city skyline are nicely visible from a viewpoint along Mulholland Drive.

We bought a bus ride to Beverly Hills and Hollywood. Hollywood Boulevard was an exhausting mixture of theaters, tourists, vendors, crooks, beggars, junkies and stars on the road. One of the crooks "gave" me a CD he made and then asked for a "donation".

No hobos in Beverly Hills.

World's top brands are present in Beverly Hills

Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills is the place for the actual top brands.
The lesser ones can be found two blocks away on Canon Drive...

This picture has been retouched as are most women in Beverly Hills haha.

Along this road there was also a US Army career center.
The Army has a five pointed star as their logo. Coincidence?