Schlagwort-Archive: Beach

On the spot

Santa Monica

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Santa Monica Beach, photo by the author

During our Field Trip we stayed in a Hostel in Santa Monica which was a good chance for us to explore this city by feet. As I informed myself before, this is a place where many active, laid-back and healthy people live.

Santa Monica Beach, photo by the author

In the morning before our official appointments we had the chance to enjoy the beautiful sunrise at the beach. Luckily the beach was less than 5 minutes by feet away from the place we stayed at. Most of the people we saw were jogging at the beach sometimes also in bigger groups. For people who don’t like to walk, there were also bikes that you can rent for a reasonable fee.

Santa Monica Beach, photo by the author

The Santa Monica Pier was also not crowded in morning which was probably a good chance to take pictures. It is definitely a sight that you should visit even though the Pacific Park is not as big as a regular amusement park.

Santa Monica Pier, photo by the author

Although we only had the chance to take a look at this city in the morning and in the evening because of our busy schedule, we saw that this is a very popular destination for many different people. Furthermore the city is also a place for street artists and performers in general. In the evening there were street performers who caught the attention of the public.

Moreover it is also important to mention that the cost of living is a lot higher in Santa Monica than in Germany which would explain the high number of homeless people around the city.

Next there are also many famous buildings in Santa Monica that we got to see like the open-air shopping center Santa Monica Place and Gehry Residence by Frank O Gehry, the City of Santa Monica Parking Structure #6 by Behnische Architekten and Studio Jantzen, the Ocean Ave. Towers by William Krisel and many more.

Lien Liane Nguyen

Abstracts, Allgemein

Santa Monica

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Foto: © JCS / Wikimedia Commons / , via Wikimedia Commons

Santa Monica is a renowned beach city in Los Angeles with a mediterranean climate. During our field trip at the end of March we can mainly expect to have moderately warm weather. We will stay at the „Hostelling International Los Angeles in Santa Monica“, which is situated in downtown Santa Monica and only a few blocks from the beach.

Aside from the beach, the famous Santa Monica Pier which used to be the western end of Route 66, at the end of Colorado Avenue contains an aquarium and a little amusement park with a red and yellow ferris wheel, a roller coaster, a historic carousel and more.

Movies, TV series and music videos that have been set in the Santa Monica Pier as well as the beach, show that this place is one of Southern California’s most popular filming locations. Some movies already gave us a slight insight in the lively, expensive atmosphere of this city. In combination with free time activities, Santa Monica offers shops, cafes, restaurants, farmer markets, theatres, cultural events and entertainment which attracts a wide variety of locals as well as tourists.

In order to explore the city we will not have to rely on a car too much to get around, since the city is rather small. Public transportation such as the „Big Blue Bus“ also provide bus service to the westside of the Los Angeles basin if you don’t have a car. Furthermore it might be more convenient to rent bicycles to get to the car-free 3rd Street Promenade where you can go shopping.

Another option is the 26-Mile Bike Path that parallels Santa Monica Beach and that might give you the chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery. The Santa Monica Yacht Harbor Sign at the entrance of the Pier and the sign at the end of the Santa Monica Pier which marks the end of the legendary American highway, have become an additional must-visit place to take obligatory pictures or selfies for many travelers.

Route 66 – End of the Trail -Santa Monica
from Prayitno, Los Angeles, USA (ROUTE 66) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) oder CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

During our trip we are going to take the chance to take a look at the architecture of a Googie-styled restaurant called “Swingers Diners“ and o have dinner there at the same time.

Furthermore another place in Santa Monica, that we’re going to visit is the world-renowned Gehry Residence which was redesigned to its owners liking. It was bought by Frank Owen Gehry and his wife Berta Gehry and looks like a house that is still under construction.

If you want to explore other beach towns which are nearby, you can go to Malibu, Venice, Beverly Hills, Pacific Palisades and many other places with different attractions.

Lien Liane Nguyen