Back to normal?

We made it home alright. Home. We fell from heaven seventeen into reality landing in Zurich the next day. While we stretch and yawn and wait for our luggage we realise we will come home to a pile of boxes because just short before holiday we had to move appartement. From a fairy big part of a whole house into a four bedroom one floor appartement in an appartement building. New village, new neighbourhood, new kids on the block. And yes, new schools too. Times three. I don't know if any of you have ever done that, but those who did know what was waiting for ME and The Three Teenagers. Besides unpacking boxes.

Still two more weeks of holiday left us enough space to get done as much as possible. Astoningishly HE is the first one to completely finish his room. All set. SHE wants a pink wall.

Or two. Fine with me. ME being very happy that SHE starts to arrange herself with the new situation, it's been tough to leave the neighbourhood and The Three Teenagers have a hard time going back and seeing all their friends. Even though its just over one hill, exactly 7.5 Kilometers from where we used to live. There is no direct public transport. So SHE and HE take their bikes downhill and ME picking them up at night, because I don't want them to ride their bikes in the middle of the night. There is no bike trail alongside the street either. Mama taxi with bikes on top of the car....

Slowly but surely we adjust to the new situation. There is much lesser room in the new place, so we had to get rid of furniture during moving.

Leaves boxes with stuff that has no desk, no board, no basket, no cupboard anymore. Yes, I know, chance to throw out stuff. But I am a confessing collector and do need alot of things for work. Like papers, magazines, ideas, souvenirs. And the archive. And and and....

Lots of work is waiting too, welcome home!

Last day...

Even after travelling for more than ten years with all three kids I'm still nervous on the departure days. So ME setting the alarm double because I hate to check out last minute. The alarm goes off. Sounds weird, its dark, ME probably dreaming and mixing together all kind of happenings ME and The Three Teenagers had the past 21 days. Because I cannot remember that the alarm on my iPhone ever talked to me. Puzzled I check the alarm clock. It reads 2:34! Exactly! Did we slepp in? No, the cleaning ladies would have swept us out of the beds by now. No, its MORNING! And here goes the alarm again, a steady ennervating blast. And then it hits me: Fire! Thats a fire alarm!

Sure enough a voice is giving out orders how to behave, follow the signs, immediately, walk down (yes, all 11 flights), do not use the elvator. The Three Teenagers are wide awake by now. Is it real? I don't care, I tell them, we do as if. Put on some clothes please, don't panick, grab your most important thing (Plüsch animals of course...and the MP3 players/iPhones, okay!) and get out of here. ME putting on jeans, shoes, a sweater and grab my bag whith passports, tickets, money.

In the hallway we can detect nothing, no smoke, no fire. Still the voice tells us to proceed leaving the hotel. We join a group of others making their way slowly downstairs, following an old man who can hardly walk. The Three Teenagers keep asking me if its fake or real. ME answering that I do not know, but we better get out of here just in case.

In the lobby a fairly small group of people is gathered together, some outside. The stuff looks at us amused, I ask them about the reason for the alarm. They do not know, but they do not move either. Obviously they never had any emergency training. The reception desk is deserted, nobody there to give any information.

But now there is movement in the group. The mostly pyjamas and jogging pants wearing group of families, old and young people, men and women is joined by a pair of giggling very young looking girls, twenty maybe. They wear nothing but Victorias secret lacies, the latets arrival I can tell, nice bright colours. And high heels and their clutches. They can hardly stand upright and my son is impressed. ME trying again to find somebody who knows the reason for the alarm and I see a completely exhausted lady in hotel uniform yelling something in a walkietalkie and flying through the hall. She shouts at everybody to calm down (all of us are very calm, except of course the two very blond girls in High heels) and to go back to the elevators and back to our rooms. Does she know the reason for the alarm? She says no, but they are working on finding it out. Wow! So there could be a fire somewhere, you just don't know after about 15 minutes, where? No, she says, its false alarm. But if you don't know if there's a fire... I give up. And tell her, that she forgot that the elevators do not work. So she yells in her walkietalkie to operate the elevators in one part of the hotel.

Nobody really is moving, I mean, if you don't know if there is a fire or not, you don't want to get stuck in an elevator in a burning house either, right? So we wait. Finally the alarm stops and the sweating supervisor is POSITIVE that there is no fire. The elvators work and luckily for my son we get into one with the giggling lacie-girls. Only, that they start to have problems obviously with beeing able to hold back their body fluids. One is absolutely SURE she has to go right here in the elevator. I can tell, my girls can't wait to witness that. But before the elevator stops in every single floor, the Miss Victorias going crazy with each stop. We get out at floor 11, the high heelers had pushed the top floor button. Still wondering if they made it.....

No3 is not sure if she wants to sleep again at all, she rather stays awake, sure. ME falling back into bed, gulping down water (no drinks served or water offered in the lobby...) and sleeping like a rock (so did No3, of course, HE and SHE anyway).

At 9 the real waking call goes off and we do the whole routine, this time only throwing together what we had spread out everywhere in the room. ME bringing an extra suitcase are greatful I did so. No way you fit in dirty clothes the way you did the clean ones before. Plus it gives us extra space for the last shopping task: Supermarket!

We check out, ME half expecting some "we are sorry for the inconvenience last night, can we offer you breakfast?" or something, but sure enough that did not happen. My questions about the source of the alarm remain unanswered til today. Maybe the two blondes were guilty? Never mind...

So, yes, its again a fast food Starbucks breakfast and we leave this very comfortable hotel. Next stop: Hershey kisses, marshamallows, biskuit - stuff, we don't have in switzerland. We spent the last dollars on this and squeeze everything in our suitcases. Done. Almost. There is one more thing: Rodeo drive. The most overrated street in the world I guess. We walk down one side, back up the other, explore the real nice Ralph Lauren Shop and then back to the car. The picture with the kids in the Beverly Hills sign is taken, nothing more left to do. And yes, we skipped the Hollywood sign all together. Next time..........

Finally 21

In most of the US 21 is the legal age. You're allowed to drink, go to bars, these things. And our day 21 really is the day when The Three Teenagers and ME start to wonder wether we ever want to go back home or not. You get so USED to living this way, maybe its time to get out of here. On the other hand: Who wants to go home to a broken bank account?

Our last day is completely The-Three-Teenagers-got-to-do-what-I-want day. This time its an earlier wake up, but instead of indulging in the no doubt georgious breakfast buffet (which does cost extra, there is a family special, where the kids have breakfast free of charge, but only with TWO paying adults....an experince I kept making ever since ME travels alone with The Three Kids and later Teenagers. A couple gets all kind of freebees, a single mother doesn't...) its some crackers and water, because I want to hit one special place I visited loooooong ago (the last time, I was five month pregnant with my first babe, having diner with the kid's dad and some friends) for breakfast. That small shopping area still is small but always attracted the most beautiful people (like ME....) and sure enough VIPs and Hollywood celebrities. VERY good coffee too and nice doughnuts, rolls, everything. This is where the Mileys and Ashleys and Jacks of this Soap Opera World get their Coffee on weekends. Without Make up. So you just do not recognize them at all.

Later on we do see Paris Hilton with a friend, shopping for frozen food in a supermarket. The Three Teenagers and ME just HOPE she knows how to defrost the food before biting her teeth out. She looks plain normal, thank god.

We only hit that supermarket to get some food and drinks for the beach and a beachball and a magazine. Then we walk to the beach, which is only a surfers beach here, lots to watch. Our last day in sunshine, drifting away, taking a walk, play with the ball, explore the shore with the tiny riffs, watch pelicans, and beautiful unmakeuped people (I know, that word does not exist, but it fits!)

The Three Teenagers and me leave well done and medium rare, heading back into the land. We are invited to a barbecue, more friends from long ago. The Three Teenagers get to visit one of the newer neighbourhoods around here, they can jump in a pool and enjoy a real american barbecue. Thank you, Joy! We sit long and talk, lots to touch up on. This area is very often hit by fires and ME wondering how you can live in such a dangerous place without going nuts each hot and dry summer.

When we leave, its pitch dark of course and we drive back into the glittering city in our glamorous hotel for another luxury night. We are a little burned from the sun, had a sizzling barbecue, talked about bushfires - and have no idea, what lays ahead.......

Hitting the TWENty

Good morning, Hollywood! Sure enough its too late again to have a regular breakfast, so its again Starbucks at the pool. The Three Teenagers and me feel sooooo america doing that. ME actually reading a newspaper this morning and even in LA there are still discussions about the desaster in Duisburg (we were in Trinity, TX, when we saw the news online). ME watching The Three Teenagers splashing in the pool cannot imagine that its actually possible that you wave your kid goodbye because its going to a happy and friendly just a little crazy event and never comes back again. But then again you can't pin them to your bellybutton, right? Hopefully they have enough common sense to stay out of trouble BEFORE it even occurs. The sixth sense so to say.

Okay, because we missed the big A&F shopping yesterday (Why would everybody wanna go there: The clothes are average, the shops too damn pitch dark and icy cold, the music deafening?) we look for the nearest shop and find The Grove. Turns out to be another beautiful shopping center with a little tram running in the middle of the inner street, looks like a filmset to me!

We park the car get out of the parking garage and get stucked in the first shop. The customers, a huge amount of customers, are making phonecalls. The whole hour The Three Teenagers spent in there to explore the latest gadgets a chinese guy was obviously talking to aunt Simsungsang or something, presumably in Shanghai. The Three Teenagers and ME sent text messages around the world.

While the kids have their fun ME getting a cup of coffee, sit down on a bench and - yes, sorry folks- light one of the very few cigarettes I smoked in the US. It's almost nowhere allowed anymore, in Santa Monica they draw an imaginary 25 feet around each window and door on the pavement where you are not allowed to smoke. In my head I have this picture of businesspeople in the middle of a highway, cramped together on that one foot green and smoke during coffee break because there is nowhere else to go. I'm not saying I don't like those rules.

Finally we hit the spot of desire and now I get the picture. Half naked boys are swarming in and out of the shop, attracting customers to come inside. Now is that prostitution or not? SHE gets a heartattack and a dress, No3 had her share in the kids store where there is no ten year old with a bare chest thank god.

Even happier than yesterday, we leave ths tempting city-in-the-city and walk to the supermarket across the street. We want to get some take away and eat in our hotel room. The supermarket is one of those healthy ones, not healthy for your budget. But the stuff is great and we enjoy the cosy dinner.

Something we haven't done either is go to the movies! They are almost playing 24/7 so we do not bother to look up the starting times. The film we want will begin in 45 minutes, plenty of time for the very last shopping adventure, where HE thinks HE is in wonderland but gets tired of looking at all that stuff after about 30 seconds. Now is that a good or a bad sign?

We watch "Dinner for Schmucks" and its worth every penny. We laugh endlessly, and with puffed bellys from too much puffed popcorn The Three Teenagers and ME walk back to our hotel, ME trying to smoothe the corn with a gin tonic before going to bed. I call it a day!

Day 19

Anybody missing anything so far? You're right: We haven't done any shopping yet. The tough task is to find te right place where you can get as much done as possble without driving too much. So after breakfast - would you believe The Three Teenagers and ME never made it ONCE early enough to enjoy the hotel restaurants breakfast? - from the in-house Starbucks (yeah, not very inventive, I know!), we checked online, which mall would be the one. There is a huge variety and we decided on a mall north from Hollywood. The Three Teenagers are entitled to get a new outfit, one a piece, for school. Of course they want the typical stuff: Hilfiger, Vans, Converse, Abercrombie. We find everything but the latter in one and after some relaxing time at the pool side of the hotel we get the car and go.

We manage to spent the rest of the day there, turning each outlet upside down and at closing time almost everybody is happy with a new outfit. No Abercrombie though. So more shopping left for the next day.

We have dinner at a typical American Diner at the mall too and carry home our precious bags with clothes that hopefully will last a little. Not too exciting of a day, more a practical one. The Three Teenagers and ME end the day with a nice walk through the shopping mall next door, a very very elegant one, thank god all the shops are already closed! and that incredible view over Los Angeles from our hotel room. Our room looks like a clothing storage after a tornado, but the kids are all smiles and happy. Pretty spoiled!

Already 18

Day no 18 already, time flies. ME waking up to a beautiful early morning, had to set the alarm clock because we are in for another wake-up-packing routine. HE wakes up too and we quickly decide to go jogging on the beach, SHE and No3 still asleep. We leave a note and off we run. Beautiful! And very tempting to jump in the Pacific right away but it's freezing cold. So we go back, wake up the girls and do the routine.

The Three Teenagers are in for a surprise today because ME made the decision to finally play along with the LA tune and booked a really nice hotel, downtown close to Hollywood. The last four nights we will enjoy a nice room, a pool and all the wonderful things that come with staying in a hotel. But first The Three Teenagers and me have to check out, pack the car (did I ever mention that part? Maybe not, because its absolutely ridiculous. Does anyone know how it is to drive somewhere with three kids? Carseats do NOT come in doubles. There is only one drivers seat, one front seat, one middle....you get the picture. No matter how much you decide in the first place on a switch routine so everybody gets to sit everywhere in the car - except the drivers seat of course - each kid is always sitting in the wrong seat. Would you believe I booked a van just beacuse it has three rows of seats for The Three Teenagers so they do not have to sit in one row together? No3 is the most peculiar about it and we spent several hours - no kidding - during our cartrips with rearranging her backseat space. Up to the point, where No3 would be in charge of packing the car so every piece of luggage would be exactly where she wants it to be - she loves to build caves, if you know what I mean...) without having a nervous breakdown and take the short trip to our next hotel.

On the road we stop at a pancake place, that was on the what-you-have-to-do-in-the-US list. The Three Teenagers are not much into experiments, they order what they know, ME trying out some yummie sounding whole wheat blueberry thing with other seemingly healthy ingredients. The place is peculiar, right on Santa Monica Blvd, and the waitress surely things we are nuts because The Three Teenagers and me want to eat outside. But we love it and love every crumb of the pancakes.

On we go to Hyatt Century Plaza. Its right next to MGM building. We ascend to the 11th floor and step into a room with incredible view, south towards Santa Monica and the pacific in the distance - if there is ever a clear day. Yeah, I know, its a joke, LA and clear days...

The Three Teenagers and ME drop the luggage and head back to he car, its Hollywood Day. We do the tourist thing: Park the car (only $2 the whole day, if you get a stamp on the guest relation center) and do the walk of fame. Chinese theater. Only look at Madame Tussaud. Hard Rock Café. Souvenir Shops. Stars Stars Stars. Three hours later we had it and I can tell, that The Three Teenagers are not sure again wether they should like this or be disappointed. The Hollywood thing I mean. Its not as glamourous as you think...For instance no way getting close to the Michael Jackson star because a fake one was busy making money having his picture taken. I had George Clooney in my hands....

We go get the car and drive into Beverly Hills. After asking a real nice young man for directions because driving around and looking at houses makes you soooo dizzy, that you loose orientation, the day ends absolutely perfectly at friends house, where we - in lack of seats or tables or anything - have pizza on the floor. Some nightly grocerie shopping, good girls talk while more teenagers and spouse are watching a movie.

The Three Teenagers and ME go back to our giltterati hotel in the glitterati part of glitterati LA. The view at night from our room is breathtaking and ME putting The Three Teenagers to bed. First time in 18 days that ME leaves them alone to have a drink at the bar. Guess what: The bar was closed and it was only midnight. Partypoopers!

SEVEN TEENs

Good morning, Santa Monica! The Three Teenagers and me wake up after some very good nights sleep. Wonderful beds they have in this little hotel, we are somewhat cramped here but its okay. We have breakfast with the leftovers form some grocerie shopping we did in San Diego, the hotelroom actually has a coffeemaker, which is nice. Today is the big US day:Universal Studios! We get directions and off we drive.

It has been some time since ME visited LA, last time I was pregnant with my first Baby. LA certainly has changed ever since then. Friends told me I should be warned about the traffic. Can't be that bad, I thought, but it's worse. Stop and go all the way from Santa Monica Beach to Universal Studios, that's enervating!

We find the Studio okay. And, boy, has that changed! My first visit was about at the time, when "Alien" was made, a little later (i took a chance to visit the cutters office and saw that THING laying on a desk...). They had a parking spot for visitors close to the studio entrance back then, you walked in and took a ride with the tour bus. Period.

Today, you're guided to an enormous parking garage, the further away from the main entrance the cheaper. Then you walk up to Universal CityWalk. A huge city of its own with shops,

restaurants and a huge theater. Something funny: Ever seen "Forrest Gump"? Universal opened up a whole restaurant and shop chain called Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.. Now you go see the movie and find out, why...

You walk all the way through that city to get to the entrance to a main gate. The Three Teenagers were impressed already, but it looked somewhat familiar, like Disney. At the gate ME almost got a heartatack: 72$ a piece! to get in. Where? All we wanted to do was the studio tour. Not possible I learn. You have to buy the whole package, studio tour is just one possibility of all the other stuff, you can do. So ME arguing about the price. And after only 45 minutes waiting in midday heat at some guest realtion desk with a very slow clerk I finally get us in for 50 a piece. Not much of a reduction but it makes ME feel a little better. Note: There are coupons and all kind of downloadable reductios I learn later. Do that next time!

The Three Teenagers are already tired from waiting and driving, but the sight of Universal Studio Amuesement Park wakes 'em up again. We explore the whole entire park, one section after the other. Its huge and some of the stuff IS fun, okay. For example we get in line for a Simpsons ride. What looks like a rollercoaster through a little park of its own turns out to be a fascinating "ride" in a 3 D 6-seater. You are ushered into a room with this wagon, expecting a door to open to let you out onto whatever ride. But instead a 180° movie starts, the wagon lifts up and you experience to be part of a simpson episode (Waiting was nice: I usually never get to see Simpsons on TV and here, while moving slowly foreard, you can watch Simpsons...) ME not really the rollercoaster type because it makes me wanna throw up has a hard time making it through this somewhat stationary rollercoaster alright. Its fun though because the effect is incredible. Maybe that's the future of cinema but I doubt that one can stand that longer than five or ten minutes.

It takes me only two hours to get rid of that feeling, The Three Teenagers want to go again and again. But its afternoon already and you have to hurry to be able to make ALL the lots. We watch different shows (Animal Actors is cute), the typical House of Horrors, watch how Special Effects are made and spent 30 minutes in line for some food.

Then the tour. That hasn't changed much since the first time ME took it (yes, they still have "Shark" effects...). But again 3 D fascinates: The whole bus drives into a garage, the door closes behind the car. All of the sudden you are part of the new 3D King Kong movie and even though you know the bus is not leaving the garage its a n incredible sensation. Nice.

We finish with The Three Tenagers taking a ride on the Jurassic Park ride where you get soaking wet at the end, and ME leaving the Universal Studios with The Teenagers smiling from head to toe. Sure enough everybody is hungry again. We get some food, some souvenirs and leave the park when its already dark.

Back in the car a sign is flashing which I hate: gas. Okay, so its getting gas before returning to the hotel. Find a gas station (2.69 in Chicago - 3.19 here???), stop the car, get out, take the nozzle, put it in the tank - nothing. ME waving at the clerk behind the window, he's waving back. No gas. So I walk in and tell him, I really would love to get some gas. He says I have to pay first. I say how am I supposed to know how much gas fits in the tank? He says, then just give me some money and he'll give me back the change when I'm done. Obviously half America used to get gas and take off without paying. So they changed the attitude.

Okay, I only have a hundred dollar bill and I think it's pretty rude to make ME feel like a criminal. But I need the gas or we won't get back to the hotel. I give the guy the money and wait. He looks at me puzzled again and sure thinks I'm the most dumbfold driver he ever had in his little gas station. ME making clear I want a receipt. If he thinks I would run of with his gas, than I have the right to think, he can deny ever having received my 100$. At the end of the day I get my receipt, I get my gas, I get my change. And yes: It would have been easier to get gas with the credit card. I just hate to be treated that way...

We make it back alright, snuggle up in our doghouse-size hotelroom, behave very american by watching a movie which I cannot remember because I doze off quickly. Tomorow is checking out of this place and entering the glitterati world of Hollywood....

Sweet 16

Sorry, readers, but due to loads of work I was too tired to continue our diary. Left the blog at sunday night, right? Won't bather you with all that waking-up-shower-get-dressed-clean-a-house-change-linen-go-to-the-grocerie-replace-food-get-packed-out-of-the-house-stuff anymore, because this time it took too long. Do not count the hours you spent cleaning up behind The Three Teenagers when you travel like this! Its frustrating... But then again: We had a tremendous time so far. Now comes the tough part: Where will we sleep the next 6 nights???

Bye bye beautiful San Diego, our next destination is Los Angeles (what a boring homepage! better read this, that's thrilling!), we drive there of course, along the coast as long as possible, then on to the Highways and back down again. Crusing, my kind of travel...

Before we left switzerland, I checked the options of where to sleep in Los Angeles. Lots of friends had lots of recommendations like hotels or beach cottages or alike. All quite expensive when you travel with three kids. So I got into Couchsurfing. A real astonishing organization. I sent out my request fo accomodation for the four of us and got back an answer from a single mom, who would gladly host us in LA. I wrote her back, that we would happily accept that offer for a night or two in case we do not find anything else. If you ever travel alone, try that out. It sounds absolutely fun, one hell of an experience.

Instead ME and The Three Teenagers have our first stop in Hermosa Beach. Recommended by a very good fotographer. And he is right, that place is georgious (not only because ME buying the first real good tasting coffee in two weeks!) - if you're free, single, under 30 and into surfing, beachvolley and lots of stuff. Motels are so so, a real nice looking hotel right on the promenade is very tempting, has a room (we have to share one room, otherwise we get nowhere with our budget). There is a surfers/backpackers place too right in the center of Hermosa. The blonde and gloomy looking receptionist in Quicksilver Shorts smiles and says yeah why not. He even has three (mind one) beds free - in three different rooms. Now that would have been an adventure. ME passing on that friendly offer (30$ a piece by the way) and we grab a snack and keep going north.

We repeat those beach stops occasionally, always with the same success: The Hotels/motels/hostels are either booked out or much too expensive. Til we get to Santa Monica Pier. Right next to it is a very small hotel with Pacific view, love the do-not-disturb signs instantly. Its very small, but they have a room for two nights. Affordable, even though anything but nice-price. But we are tired, hungry, and don't want to spent our precious holiday just driving around. The place is packed with young people, the rooms fit four, but in some are probably more than that.

We head off towards pier, which is a huge amusement park. ME half expecting to have to pay entrance fee at the entrance...Not that thrilling anymore, The Three Teenagers are pretty spoiled when it comes to rollercoasters and othe rides. We can even do some VIP dipping, there is a private party going on and a long row of limousines drives up to a red carpet. Nice beginning of our LA experience, The Three Teenagers are mildly impressed.

We walk the whole Santa Monica downtown, it really became huge, classy, shiny, but at the end of the day just another shopping area like any other. Lost its uniqueness. ME disappointed. Very disappointed. I don't even feel like going into a bar, so we don't, they would throw us out anyway because of The Three Teenagers. Because of the hotel prize by the way its pizza again, but a special one, had my first bite of those in NY ages ago. Still good stuff!

It's dark and pretty cold when ME and The Three Teenagers walk back to our hotel room. Let's hope for nice weather tomorrow, the big US is waiting....