So, we finally made it to the LA airport. I want to warn you right away that this story will be told from a slightly different perspective, as it's coming from a guy's point of view!)))

Let's start with the fact that I'm already a seasoned traveler (this is my second time; the first was in NY and Ocean City, MD, where I had tons of adventures, from sleeping wherever we could in Brighton to run-ins with guys in Harlem, etc., but that's another story). As soon as we arrived, everyone started asking, 'What's next?' And that was the problem—I didn't know what to do either!)) We all decided to rent a car! It was only 140 bucks for the week, and the car was a RIO—small, fuel-efficient, and super convenient, exactly what Russian students need. [URL=http://radikal.ru/F/i073.radikal.ru/0810/2c/63d6dcda0f89.jpg.html][IMG]http://i073.radikal.ru/0810/2c/63d6dcda0f89t.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Since we didn't know the city layout or any landmarks, we just drove wherever our eyes took us... After wandering around a bit (and arguing about which way to go), we ended up in a real paradise! It was early morning, warm and sunny, and we arrived at the ocean! You had to see and feel it; we wanted to scream with joy! Finally, we were going to experience the real America. I really wanted the guys with me (my brother and my girlfriend) to soak up this vibe... so they would never want to go back to Russia, or at least remember this time for years to come, always with warmth in their hearts...

None of us dared to swim because it was morning and the water was, I must say, quite cold, but we sat down to sunbathe and immediately got burned like lobsters!)))

Our second stop was Marilyn Monroe's house! I still regret that my camera broke back in New York. I should note that Marilyn lived in one of the quietest and most luxurious neighborhoods in LA, Brentwood (by the way, our beloved governor of CA lives in Brentwood too, as do Lindsay Lohan and many others). We spent a long time looking for her house since Alina only remembered it from memory, but soon we met an elderly couple (in a Ferrari—one of the absurdities of the USA is that elderly people here often drive supercars or at least Corvettes; in general, the situation is the opposite of Russia). It turned out they were her age and even knew her! They helped us find the house. It was fenced off by a huge wall (so we couldn't get inside), but it was interesting and a little creepy in its own way... because it was in this house that she died under mysterious circumstances. Alina was very scared there; she said it felt like Monroe was about to come around the corner...

Then we couldn't think of anything but Hollywood and the Walk of Fame... I think it's the dream of almost every Russian raised on movies with Schwarzenegger and Stallone (remember that nasal translator?)))) ...I'll continue a bit later...

Not many people know that the Hollywood sign used to look a bit different and was called Hollywoodland. But during a storm in 1944, the 'LAND' part was damaged and dismantled. (Actually, there are many interesting stories around this sign; at one point, instead of Hollywood, it said HOLLYHEMP, which translates to 'Hollywood Weed' or 'Grass,' depending on your preference, due to a new state law on marijuana. WHO DOESN'T BELIEVE IT CAN CHECK WIKIPEDIA!) Also, people have committed suicide from this sign, and people have crashed cars into it—yes, yes, yes!

If you're interested, you can read the full story at http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%97%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BA_%D0%93%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B2%D1%83%D0%B4%D0%B0#.D0.98.D0.B7.D0.BC.D0.B5.D0.BD.D0.B5.D0.BD.D0.B8.D1.8F_.D0.B7.D0.BD.D0.B0.D0.BA.D0.B0

But back to us. Hollywood didn't greet us quite as we expected... At first, it seemed like one giant dumpster full of homeless people.

In my imagination, Hollywood was supposed to be behind the sign of the same name, and once you drive in, all the studios and the famous Walk of Fame are there... but it turned out to be much more pragmatic... everything is in different places!)))

Let's start with the Walk of Fame. We had to kill a good hour to find the stars we wanted! There are 2,500 stars there, not 300 or 400 as many believe, and a lot of them are stars from the 30s that we don't know. Everything was dirty for some reason, and people were giving us weird looks.

Then we went to the Chinese Theatre—for those who don't know, I'll explain, it's where stars leave their handprints and footprints!)) I really, really liked it there! We took a ton of photos; everyone is there: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Schwarzenegger, etc.

By the way, before I forget, if you go there by car, make sure to bring plenty of quarters! Because there's nowhere to park for free! And on top of that, you'll get a $70-100 fine, just like we did!))))))