Κάλι: Ταξιδιωτικός οδηγός, τιμές και δωρεάν διαμονή · 2026

LLLiubov Lopakovalyubalopakova · 10 Δεκ 2019Διάβασμα

Barcelona, Paris, Stockholm, Helsinki, London, Reykjavik, Vienna, New York, Miami, Boston, Washington, Amsterdam, Brussels, San Francisco, Los Angeles - these are the major cities I have already visited, and you know what? I found my favorite! This is a case where a city truly deserves its massive global popularity. Los Angeles is a unique city. I'm serious. A huge metropolis with completely different neighborhoods. So, which one is the most memorable? Of course, it's Hollywood! This is where the most famous film studios were born, this is where the Oscars ceremony takes place at the Kodak Theatre, here is the Walk of Fame, and everything around is vibrant—just like in movies and video games. By the way, the first film ever made entirely in Hollywood was the 1910 short film 'In Old California'. In short, spend your money on experiences.

VViktormorfeus929 · 5 Νοε 2010Διάβασμα

That's it… We had already visited all the interesting spots on our route. All that was left was to cross America. We woke up around 6 AM and hit the road. After driving all day, we reached a very interesting state in the evening – Oklahoma. At one gas station, we discovered that our car tire was worn out again. And quite badly. It had to be changed. But it was already evening. So, we decided to put on the spare, drive to the nearest town, stay in a motel, and change the tire in the morning. But how to put on the spare? It turned out the jack that Alex had kindly lent us was too small. We needed to find a suitable one. We asked all the truckers at the gas station – nope, they didn't have one. Just then, a cop pulled into the station, and we had the idea to ask him. He gladly agreed to help us – he lent us a jack and tools. He just asked for my license and then gave me some paper stating that he had indeed helped us. Apparently, he needed it for his report. We changed the tire, found a cheap motel, and crashed. We still had about 30 hours of driving left to the Atlantic Ocean. We spent the night in a provincial Oklahoma town called Sapulpa. What a dump. In the morning, we found a shop in the center that could change the tire, paid the guy who did it 20 dollars. We gave him a 3-dollar tip, he was a very nice guy, and we drove on. The people staying at the motel with us could hardly believe that such a trip was real. They even took photos with us and the car. We drove all the next day and decided to drive through the night for the first time – time was running out. At night, we worked on a rotation – one drives, the other sleeps in the passenger seat. We had to drop the girls off in Baltimore, Maryland, and return to the Outer Banks before the bank closed, since it was Friday, and we needed to pick up and cash our final paychecks from the restaurant. We drove as fast as we could – we were speeding like crazy – there was no other way. But we made it and got our money. Then, barely able to stand, we drove to Alex's place. I calculated then that we had been driving for over 30 hours non-stop. That's how our trip ended. It ended where we started. We were tired but happy… WE DID IT – WE CROSSED AMERICA BY CAR BOTH WAYS. #roadtrip #usa #adventure

VViktormorfeus929 · 5 Νοε 2010Διάβασμα

After San Francisco, we had two options for where to go – either Las Vegas or the Grand Canyon. We simply didn't have enough time for both. We decided that the Grand Canyon was the better choice. And what about Las Vegas? Just another big city. We left San Francisco sometime after lunch and spent the rest of the day driving through California towards Arizona. We drove until we were tired and, following our old routine, ended up camping for the night :). In the morning, we headed towards the Grand Canyon. Who has seen the movie 'Cars'? It tells the story of an abandoned old road that no one uses because everyone takes the new highway. This story is real. We were actually driving back from California on that new highway. And the old abandoned road is the very famous Route 66, which once connected Chicago and Santa Monica. Now no one drives on it because there's no point. Interstate 40 was built nearby, and everyone uses that. But since this road was once very popular, there are many signs on the interstate indicating that the famous Route 66 runs nearby. Now, there are only small abandoned towns on that road, just like in the movie. Nevertheless, there are many tourists there. We stopped in one of these towns; unfortunately, I don't remember its name, I only know it was in Arizona, not far from the Grand Canyon. It was quite beautiful there. We bought souvenirs, ate at a restaurant where the waiter got offended because we left him a small tip, and then went to see the Grand Canyon. Entry to the Grand Canyon National Park is paid. It costs 25 dollars per car. It doesn't seem like much money, but still. Free buses run throughout the park. But my brother and I decided to walk. The girls took the buses. Oh well. There are several viewpoints along the canyon. We chose the highest one and headed there. When we reached our goal, a stunning view of the canyon valley opened up before us. It really is SOMETHING. You have to see it. Then we went for a little walk along the top of the canyon. What surprised me was that there are no fences. If you want to jump down, go ahead. Why collect money at the entrance then? We took photos, threw stones down, timed how long it took for those stones to fall, and went to wait for the girls. There's nothing to do at the Grand Canyon for longer than an hour. By evening, we reached a campsite in New Mexico and spent the night there according to our established routine.

VViktormorfeus929 · 5 Νοε 2010Διάβασμα

The next day, out of habit, we packed our bags, said goodbye to our star, and headed to San Francisco around 10 o'clock. It was a 6-hour drive from LA. We chose a different route that runs along the ocean coast—it is California, after all. We didn't choose it in vain; the road is truly beautiful, just like the state itself. In San Francisco, we arranged to meet an old acquaintance of mine who has been living in Washington state for a year. For this occasion, he specifically traveled to California, spending 13 hours one way. As I mentioned, we hadn't planned our trip beyond LA. So, we intended to get a room in an inexpensive motel and all stay there. Two of his friends were supposed to come with him, so the motel would be quite cheap for us. Since he arrived in SF before us, he was tasked with finding that very affordable motel in the center. And he found one. He paid 100 dollars for a room with two beds, which easily fit 7 people. So, we arrived in SF in the evening, met up with Sergey, settled into the room, and went for a walk together. To be honest, we didn't really see much of SF. We just walked around a bit in the evening and then returned to the motel. And then, in the morning, we went to see the famous red bridge and Alcatraz prison. But only from the shore. My impressions of San Francisco are somewhat neutral. Maybe because we spent so little time there. It's cool in principle, but very cold, and there are many hills, which are difficult to drive on with a manual transmission car. We said goodbye to Seryozha and went our separate ways—he went home to Seattle, and we headed back to the Atlantic Ocean. Goodbye, California… We will miss you… See you again.

VViktormorfeus929 · 5 Νοε 2010Διάβασμα

Day two. So, we had one more day left in L.A. We spent the first part of the day on our car. The thing is, one tire had worn down from the long drive, and we needed to replace it urgently. We decided to go to the Mexican district and find an inexpensive repair shop there. Analeigh, as always, left somewhere in the morning, leaving us alone. While my brother and I went to fix the car, the girls went shopping somewhere. Since we were staying right in the center, the shops were close by. So, we went to the Mexicans to change the tire. We found a place to do it without any problems. They changed one tire for us for 20 dollars. After that, we wanted to go shopping. We went to our girls who were at the Beverly Center – a large clothing supermarket in Beverly Hills. Analeigh was there too. Since the prices were quite low for California, we decided to buy some things for ourselves and spend some time there. After 2 hours, I realized that I had already spent 300 dollars on clothes and decided to call it quits. I picked up my brother and the girls, and we went to Santa Monica beach one more time, and then home. At home, Analeigh invited us to go out for dinner in Hollywood. Of course, we agreed. We decided to take our car, since so many people wouldn't fit in Analeigh's car (it was a huge mess in there). I got behind the wheel. To be honest, it was a bit difficult for me to drive around Los Angeles; it's a very big city after all. Everyone was cutting me off, honking at me, and I was nervous. And here I was, having volunteered to drive us all to Hollywood. On the way, I almost hit other cars twice, to which Analeigh reacted completely calmly. We had dinner at a pretty decent retro restaurant in the center of Hollywood, near the Walk of Fame. Analeigh paid for all of us, even though I asked her not to. But the bill was quite small – about 100 bucks. Later, when we were already returning home and standing at a crosswalk, some people recognized Analeigh and asked her if she acted in movies. She replied that yes, she does. It felt so good to know that we had a Hollywood star sitting in our car, even if she was just starting out. That's how our stay in L.A. ended. There was very little time, very little. Later, my brother and I went for a night walk around downtown and went to sleep, as we had to drive further to San Francisco in the morning. Los Angeles, like any other big city, has its drawbacks. But it was very pleasant to drive on roads that I had previously only seen in movies.

VViktormorfeus929 · 5 Νοε 2010Διάβασμα

Hollywood is a place where people from Iowa mistake each other for movie stars. So, the next morning we woke up refreshed and ready to move on. Analeigh went out to run some errands, telling us to make ourselves at home and that we didn't need to lock the penthouse since there was security downstairs. So we agreed. By the way, many people from the couchsurfing project act this way. They trust you completely. In general, we allocated 2 days for Los Angeles, which is VERY little for such a city, but we didn't have much time, as my brother and I had to fly out of Boston on September 20th. And we still had to get there. Okay, we were very lucky and got here without any problems, but anything could happen on the way back. So we decided not to take any big risks. On our first day in the city, following the advice of acquaintances, we decided to dedicate it to visiting Universal Studios. First, we went to a Chinese restaurant, ate our fill for the whole day for 6 dollars, and then went to Hollywood to check out Universal Studios. Admission is paid and costs 90 dollars per person. In my opinion, that's way too much. There isn't much to see there. They showed us how movies are filmed and how special effects are made, but it's not worth 90 bucks. We even saw a few actors, for example, John Connor from the first Terminator. We took a picture with him. We walked around there all day, but didn't see anything else special. We did buy some souvenirs for ourselves, though. Then we went for a walk on the beach in Santa Monica. It's beautiful, but very cold. It's impossible to swim in the ocean. Apparently, it's very cold at this time of year due to the currents. We just dipped our feet in and went home. That's how our first day in Los Angeles ended. Anyone who has played the computer game GTA San Andreas has seen both Santa Monica and almost all of California. The game is almost a copy, only the city names are different. By the way, Americans don't like to say Los Angeles because it's a Mexican name. They prefer the more American name - LA.