After two months the day has come to say good bye to the US. For me that is a sad moment, as I had a great time! The good thing is that I will very soon see you guys again, what I am really looking forward too!

I think back home the next weeks will be extraordinary too, but here in the US I can’t feel much pleasant anticipation, as most people do not know anything about the EURO and those who do, do not want to, as they are British! But I’m sure the next weeks will be amazing and maybe there is no better timing to fly back home.

See you soon…!!!

Yesterday I visited the Hollywood Boulevard and have to say, that there is not much to see of the city’s glamour! Therefore the Universal studios today were really amazing! The park allowed for a deep dive into the movie business and I had much fun with the various attractions! It’s even difficult to name a favorite. Maybe it was the ride on the Simpsons roller-coaster. That is a great combination of virtual effects and a physical ride that made it seem very real! Seeing the continuation of Shrek in a 4D cinema was a great experience as well – the movie was 3D and in addition to that the seats were moving as well and special effects like water-splashes in the face made it even more realistic!

The Tijuana tour yesterday was little disappointing. The tour I joined was organized by the USA hostel and was almost only focused on partying and not seeing Tijuana. But as I had a short night before (the nightlife of San Diego is great!), I was not so much in the mood for partying. The funny thing was, that I’ve met the first time during this two months somebody travelling from Switzerland as well!

In San Diego there’s very much going on and therefore the town is crowded and very exciting. One of the bigger events happening these days is the ASTD international conference & exhibition. And today they had a Rock’n'Roll marathon, what is a city marathon with a bands along the route motivating the athletes with live Rock every mile. Today I visited the old town of San Diego and the harbor. There the US Navy has its marina base and I could visit an old aircraft-carrier that’s now a museum. That was quite impressing, especially due to the audio tour that included many individual stories.

Tomorrow I will go to Sea World and the beaches of San Diego before driving to Hollywood in the evening.

Maybe somebody recognized on the picture above that I’ve got a haircut. That’s a story itself! In San Francisco I decided spontaneously to get a haircut in China town. The lady just wanted to start cutting my hair, without asking for my idea of how to do it. So I interrupted her and explained my wishes. As I realized very soon that effort was for no use as she didn’t understand me anyway. Her cutting looked to me very random. I was almost sure that she didn’t learn her business professionally what made me already regret that I didn’t escape before she started! Honestly, the result looks OK but nevertheless I recommend you to avoid cutting your hair in China town unless you are a very budget-conscious traveller!

After spending one day each in Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara, I arrived last night in San Diego where I will stay for three days. Santa Cruz was nice and very good for shopping. Santa Barbara was amazing! Such a beautiful city with all the buildings kept in the same architectural style. Should you ever be in southern California, don’t miss that city!

From the locals I learnt what they understand when they say the Californian way of life and why they like love living here. It’s really like that, people are very happy to live here and I kind of understand!

In the morning I did a walk on the peninsula and national park Point Reyes – national seashore. As expected I could see four herds of elks, a rabbit and various birds. Yesterday nicht, when driving  back from Napa – I have seen many deers, including two very beautiful, elder male.

In the afternoon I drove to Berkely and visited the university campus, the most beautiful I have seen. As I left Berkely too early I learnt today what rush hour in the bay area means! Tomorrow I will spend the day in Santa Cruz and drive along Hwy No 1 to Santa Barbara in the evening.

The visit of Alcatraz yesterday was amazing. Should you ever go to SF, visit Alcatraz and do the audio tour! In the evening I drove to the wilderness of Point Reyes national seashore, an hour north of SF at the coast. From there I did a day trip to Napa valley to taste some wines – one of my best days on the hole trip! My favorite winery was Sterling, located on a rock and accessible only by aero-train. They had a very good self-guided tour and some wines that I liked a lot. Now I will explore the city of Napa in the evening and then drive back to Point Reyes. There I hope to see some wildlife on a hike tomorrow.

To me San Francisco seems almost to be a Mediterranean city… palm- and olive trees along the streets that are more narrow than in other US cities, little hills, a beautiful harbor, nice people and last but not least good food! Therefore I really like the city!

When taking a rest in a nice cafe, I read the news papers, something I haven’t done for more than a week. What’s in the media in the US? They are debating much about the huge increase of the price for gas (the gallon costs now more than four dollars). In Basketball there are currently the finals of each conference and of course there is always something to write about the upcoming elections!

Today I will spend another day in SF and tomorrow I will go to Alcatraz at noon and drive to the national seashore (north of SF at the coast). I had good luck to get one of the last tickets for Alcatraz as I arrived on Friday. The trip is very popular and due to the Memorial day tomorrow there are many visitors in the city for an extended weekend.

When I arrived in the early afternoon at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse, it was very crowded and busy. The reason was that they were shooting a commercial today. An Asian company that you might know for LCD- or HIFI-products chose this location for a commercial for solar panels. They had a big crew and stood after dark. The best thing was that they lighted a very special, fancy light for this event that usually is lighted just once a year!

In the afternoon I walked along the coast and found several beaches without anybody else. But the very best thing of today was the bath in the hot tub on the cliffs with the stars above and the braking waves beyond!