America: Las Vegas

It was something special to visit this city that I had seen in so many movies. Just driving through the streets (well, mainly one street really) whether by day or by night and looking at all the crazy buildings was worthwile.

Apart from all the bling-bling it was also interesting to visit a center where local plants and wildlife were on display together with examples for gardening in the desert climate

America: National and State Parks

Redrock Canyon

Redrock Canyon can be reached with less than an hours drive from Las Vegas. It was my first time of ever being in a desert. The landscape is barren but surprisingly beautiful as well.

 

 

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National park is located to the southeast of Los Angeles. It is the place where two deserts, the Mohave and the Colorado desert, meet. The advantage of going there in spring is that one can actually see some blossoms.

 

Malibu Creek State Park

To the north of Los Angeles lies the Malibu Creek State Park, a very beautiful place, especially after seeing the desert, with little streams and ponds. The place has been used as filming locations for many productions, the most remarkable (to me) is the tv series MASH. They filmed the outside scenes there and the inside ones in studios.

 

America: San Francisco

San Francisco is a very unique and beautiful city. The weirdest thing for me was getting used to the very steep streets. Driving upwards I sometimes couldn't see anything ahead but the sky, making the driving somewhat challenging. On the other hand, driving down a hill, especially when headed for the bay, gave me a beautiful scenic view.

Things to see here include the harbour with some historical ships

 

Alcatraz

China Town

The Asian Art Museum with its marvels

 

Lincoln Park and the Japanese Garden

Presidio, where the scent of of the giant cypress trees hangs in the air

and Baker Beach with a good view on the Golden Gate Bridge and the spectacular sunsets

 

For more and much better pictures of San Francisco, I reccomend following the resident photographer Dave on Instagram. Here are some samples of his work:

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America: Hearst Castle

On my way to San Francisco I stopped at Hearst Castle, a remarkable location built by William Randolph Hearst. After watching "Citizen Kane" I couldn't just drive by without visiting.

Located on a hill the whole complex has what is called for: location, location, location.

The view from up there is simply stunning

 

The entrance of the main building:

 

 Inside it you can find pieces of art (many things centuries-old) from all over the world in abundance, ranging from tapestry and paintings to furniture, silverware and a fireplace, the bigger things disassembled, shipped here and reassembled later.

Outside pool, not much water

And, of course, an indoor pool as well. Should I ever get my own one it has to look exactly like this

These are just a few examples of the things to see there. If you should ever travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco, take a few hours, enjoy this remarkable place and learn about the story behind it.