Alisa thanks for showing us Santa Monica!
Thank you Alisa vanZint for putting us up in Santa Monica, 0.6 miles from the Consulate and taking us out for diner, to an awesome restaurant called”sage”.
The visa section of the consulate General was not what you expect of something that would service such a large area: all of California, New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico.
Again we lucked out that Alisa lives close by. But that’s where about the luck ended in the back alley of the consulate. For me the documentation was limited to my long stay visa application form, passport and photo, even the “chiffre” for the application of my visa was zeroed out. Rachel however was put through the wringer. Bank statements with copies, invitation letter from a host, copy of the hosts’ property taxes, utility bills, copy of their ID, statement of purpose, signed letter not to engage in any paid work, yes and last but not least, proof of medical coverage with a minimum of 50.000 Euro things and a zero deductible. No exceptions madame… Oh and Rachel’s passport photo which was taken at the same time and place as mine (AAA) was rejected. Hooray bureaucracy
Needless to say we left the consulat with a little homework.
Then… rush hour on the 405
Living in Aspen, I am very lucky to be able to live pretty car-free. I think it is one of the reasons why I am so reluctant to leave the bubble. The more I do leave the bubble, the more I realize how good I have it. However it is not until you experience rush hour on interstate 405 in LA how bad things can get. I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that in such a lovely climate and such a wealthy city, it is impossible to ride your bike because there is simply no infrastructure. And the reason why there is no infrastructure is because nobody demands it. It totally blows me away that people have just resided to the fact that this is the way of life. Every move you make in this town you will just encounter traffic, everywhere, all the time. No tuesday cruise-day like in Aspen, but a town and a life which is totally an entirely hijacked by the automobile.
Then whadda ya know, we run into Karl from the Telluride ski patrol who will be going to Tignes.
Karl getting his visa.
After our LA ordeal it was a joy to arrive at the welcoming home of Joel Griffin for some R&R and catching up with our buddy Chris Beetha and Uncle Fred in Carlsbad.
With Uncle Fred and the house he had built on the beach, check out the glass bowl which is actually the jacuzzi.
Visiting Chris in Capistrano Beach, hadn’t seen that cowboy in years!!!
