NewYorkers vs Angelinos

It sounds grand and it is quite grand... sometimes even overwhelming. Now when I'm inhabiting this side of the world and get to be as local as it gets I can speak about the huge difference between the life style of the East and West of the US. I stare out of the window with amazement while fire engine is loudly flashing on a side street. New York is older, more sophisticated, smarter, has more style, and is wiser. He has peculiar smell but owns it as an old man owns his trench coat. New York is loud and does not apologize for pushing you to the limits of the persona you think you are. It strips your weaknesses and sharpens your wit. He puts you on a catwalk and helps you disappear, just wish for it. This place never stops and knows it's value without the mirror. It will chew you and spit you out if you'll just stand there and gaze. He will pierce you with gazillion stilleto heels on a damp summer night... New York will give you everything you want - your part is to find the right word to ask for it... LA is different. She has a good taste for popular perfume, she is always late, she doesn't keep her promise, cause it's all about small talk and sexy blink of featherly lashes... I sip cool coffee and look out of the window at this shabby bird. Everyone in LA has a gene of stardom. That's how and why they show up (literally). It's the place where you wear more flip flops than shoes, more dresses than jeans, more smile than serious eyebrows... you just want to slow down and chill, admiring hot beach bodied surfer boys cruising by. You can become one. You can wish for anything but in the end... you stay with what you got, because LA reality makes you feel so self-sufficient.. just make sure you catch all those muses that attack you with the rays of light and rainbowy waves of the Pacific.

Santa Barbara ir vandens pilnas savaitgalis

(English version by request this time:)

Jei teisingai prisimenu, "Santa Barbara" buvo pirmas Amerikietiškas serialas, pasiekęs mus ankstyvais nepriklausomybės metais. Kai buvau vaikas, "Santa Barbara" man buvo kažkoks bendrinis žodis, reiškiantis nuolaitinę santykių dramą turtuolių pasaulyje ir niekada neįsivaizdavau, kad turėsiu progą pati įvertinti, kas per reiškinys ta Santa Barbara... Gerai, kad ne santykių, o gamtos pažinimo srityje.

Taigi, trumpai tariant, SB yra ramus ir prabangus miestas Ramiojo vandenyno pakrantėje, nuo LA kokios dvi valandos kelio greitkeliu 101. Pats miestas visiškai neįpatingas, išdegintas balandžio saulės, o visos legendinės karalių vilos, į kurias veda privačios gatvės ir alėjos, slepiasi kalnuose. 

Kai penktradienį aptarinėjom savaitgalio planus, mano didžiausias pageidavimas buvo žygiuoti kur nors prie vandens, taigi pasitelkdami pažintis ir Kalifornijos keliautojų bibliją sumetėm žiauriai gerą maršrutą su nemažai veiklos tiek kojoms, tiek rankoms. Penktadienį praleidom Hollister Ranch, kur Jason'as filmavo "To Be Friends". Pasakiško grožio privatus pasaulis atsiveria už akylai saugomų vartų: citrinmedžių ir avokadų sodai, privatus paplūdimys, keliu vaikštančios karvių gentys, kiparisai, eukaliptai ir vos ne vandeniu važiuojantis traukinys LA - San Franciskas. Traukinys privačioje žemėje nestoja, bet atrodo visiškai neįtikėtinai - kaip realybės lipdukas pasakos paveiksle.

Hollister valdose esanti Ramiojo vandenyno pakrantė yra geriausia vieta Californijoje stoti ant banglentės. Deja, į teritoriją patekti galima tik dviem būdais: nusipirkti žemės Santa Barbaroje arba atplaukti laivu ir nelipti į krantą.

Penktadienį buvo labai stiprus vėjas, todėl pasirodė vaivorykštinės bangos.

Truputį paplepėję su sodybos šeimininkais apie medų, Lietuvą ir kino reikalus, ėjom rinkti citrinų, laimų ir avokadų.

Santa Barbaros apylinėse šiuo metų laiku saulė leidžiasi ne į vandenį, o į kalnus. Temstant dar spėjau papozuoti prie Postcard Point.

Sutemus pasiekėm kempingą prie Cachuma ežero. Naktį šalta nebuvo, bet kai pabudau 7 ryto, viską gaubė rūkas. Nesimatė nei kur žemė, nei kur ežeras. Jo jo būta didelio ir grėsmingo... kadngi į ežerą kūno galių kišti negalima, nes tai yra geriamo vandens šaltinis, tai me jame šiek tiek paplaukiojom jūrine baidare.

Pagal vietinių standartus, 2,5 valandos baidarėje yra daug, ko pasekoje turiu dailų šortų formos įdegį ant kojų...

Ežero mums neužteko, todėl sekmadienio saulę užmigdėm kalnuose. Prieš važiuodami namo dar užsukom į Santa Barbaros kalnus ir įkopėm į vieną gražesnių apžvalgos taškų (1,25 mylios = 2.01 km). Takas vingiuoja aplink kalvą, nuolat drėkinamą paparčiais apaugusio džiunglių upelio.

Man atrodo reikia geresnio fotoaparato, nes SB neatrodo taip jau įspūdingai (o yra)... :)

Ši-ka-go, ši-ka-go...

arba kaip Paplaitis per jūras ir marias muilą nešė

As you must already know I am safe again in Los Angeles and will be soon enjoying a nice walk on Santa Monica beach, but before that let me tell you how did I get here this time...

I was teaching a jazz dance workshop with Mindaugas in Cracow, Poland last weekend and had amazing time there at Swing Era Festival (worth a separate blog entry for sure). I had my ticket booked from Warszawa on 4th of April so I was hesitating to go home in between. When I finally decided to go together with Mindaugas on the 2nd of April, we had a very late dinner and almost missed our flight. But wait! The flight got canceled and we both had to return to the hotel and have another goodbye dinner.

Mindaugas left Cracow on early morning of the 3rd of April and I have moved to the other hotel for one more night. I was ready for a long journey...

April 4, 04:00 am - The alarm comes on.
04:40 am - I'm in the taxi, going to the trains station in Cracow.
05:00 am - they change the train track, I feel anxious, there are more ppl than seats.
05:18 am - got on the train and have a seat, yes!
08:10 am - my dear friend Michal picks me up with a taxi to the airport in Warszawa (thank you so much!)
Around 9 am I'm at the airport and waiting for my flight to London.
12:20 pm - on the half empty plane - 2 extra seats for my feet! yeah!
Around 2 pm I'm keeping calm and carrying on at London Heathrow airport.

5 something pm I slide through the security interview and get on the plane.
The flight seems to be ok, sitting next to a nice guy with the urbanears headphones in teal color. We chat almost through all 8 hour flight. I wonder, how ppl around us have tolerated that. I also have a book: The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco. Not sure if I like it yet..

Around 8 pm - get off the plane in Chicago airport. I will remember this day for quite some time :) go to the line. The line is not moving, the time is ticking, the ppl are late and nervous. My flight to LA is in an hour. I make it to the booth... and they take me to the security room.

Around 09:20 pm I tell jazz dance history to the customs security officer. I seems to be a nice guy so I don't stress out. He asks me to dance before he gives my passport back, so I do some jazz in the security office. Just like that.

My flight is in 30 minutes, so I find my suitcase and run. Ppl are helpful so I make it to the gates right on time. The flight is 10 min. late. I sit down and wait until they anounce that the pilot did not arrive and they delay the flight until tomorrow. Great, I think.

Arround midnight Chicago time I'm at the business hotel. What the fuck?




05:00 am - I'm at the lobby ready to go back to the airport. Let's try it one more time!
08:00 am - we're boarding, at last! I did't have a drop of coffee since I April 3rd Cracow time, still holding my addiction.
08:20 am - we're waiting in the plane.
08:30 am - we're unboarding! Seriously? yes. they forgot to clean and check the freakin' plane. Still no coffee for me.

Around 09:30 am we start to leave Chicago airport, the pilots are bursting with some smart jokes. For some reason ppl don't find it funny... they give out sandwiches for the economy class ppl. how generous.

April 5th, at noon Los Angeles time we arrive to the airport and wait, until other planes move out of the way. Pilots are happy: "yay! we made it to LA! have a good day and good life. Forget everything what happened to you during these two days! Think it was a film". I LOL, cause I'm surprised.
Strange that my suitcase arrived too.

I appreciate the amount of miles American Airlines sent to me after this craziness of 41 hour.
I had 48 h before, which was even worse. But knowing that sometimes it's just 18 h, makes me feel better and not dream the nightmares before the long travels as I did before this one.

Yours,
Wandering Spirit G.