Our Time in LA

3 May 2016

It is Caspar´s birthday. We have already left Neo at Petra and Larsa so we are enjoying the morning and closing our bags for the trip. A lot of stuff! Caspar takes a nice coffe morning at Mosebacke and taxi arrives 10:15 AM. Our driver is the same guy who took us to the airport ust a week ago when we were leaving for Hungary (celebrating my mothers 75 birthday).

We upgraded and we have a wonderful flight from Stockholm. After 10 hours (!) we have landed at LAX and picked up our rental car from sixt after some waiting for he transport. We checked in to our apartment, right on the beach in Marina del Rey (101 Jib Street) and packed up our stuff. All good until Caspar comes in and breaking the news "Honey, I am sorry to say but the balcony door cannot be closed". And this moment, Csilla who is very tired after the journey, brakes down and start crying and crying... Caspar offers to move to somewhere else but Csilla is just crying. Inthe car, on the way to Ruben (and she is carrying passports, travel documents, jewelry and thinking about the wedding dress at home... that it might be stolen). But when we meet Ruben up at LMU for a dinner at the campus area everything is back to normal and we have a great dinner together.

Good night ... we are tired.

4 May 2016

Weather: Cloudy and windy. Maybe raining soon?

Woke up early and took a morning walk in Marina del Rey and Venice. A coffee and an omelett at Cow´s End on Washington Blvd we drive to LAX Courthouse/County Registrar to pick up our marriage licence. After that, all paperwork is done. We go and check how to open the roof dorn on our BMW cab so we can enjoy it (if the weather allows us! ) and then we drove to San Pedro to meet Staffan and check all the details before tomorrow.

We were early, got some coffee and waffles at the church and we left to check out Point Fermin (the park we will take some after pictures tomorrow) and also walked by the warship Iowa all the way to the fountain. Just when we got to the fountain t started to play a song from Dr Zivago and we were dancing a little bit :-). Back to the Church and met Staffan. Fantastic person, we had a walk through on the ceremony and he asked questions about us and about our life, why we are here. We decided on the music and at the end, we also bought some Marabou chocolates so Ruben can give all the room mates a piece of Sweden.

Back to the city. The traffic is not bad at all, we are very surprised. We have managed to avoid the traffic it is always on the other side of the road. We stopped at the Campus, nice lunch with Ruben and more lookingaround. In the evening, Csilla fall asleep at 7pm ... Caspar keeping up until 11pm.

5 May 2016- THE WEDDING DAY

The Day! We are very excited, we woke up already at 2:30am. OK, Csilla´s fault, she woke up first. But, it was worth it, we have great morning "cuttle" and then an early morning walk in Venice.

The Weather! This day will actually be crazy... we will experience dark clouds in the morning, some trace, sun right before and after the ceremony, rain... so everything. But, this will also be the happiest day.

After walking in Venice we dress up casual and Chris starts shooting at 11am in the condo and on the beach. We have FUN and laughing a lot. Feels easy, romantic, loving and real. We change to our wedding gowns and leave the condo around 12am to San Pedro. Some shoot in the car, and in front of the church and then it is time to go inside. 2pm! The musik starts and it will be a memory forever. Staffan talks warmly about love, about us, we manage to say YES to each other and Csilla´s turn to sing for Caspar the Godfather Theme Song, in Hungarian. It will not go so well as planned but... anyway. Chris takes some pictures and Nathan has been recording the whole ceremony. We get the marriage certificate, have some Cider, do the paperwork, and then when we are going outside... surprise. The Swedish national Anthem starts playing outside and we are singing it. Loud and clear :-).

Next stop is Point Fermin and we are taking wonderful pictures in the park. Say goodbye to Chris and then home, sweet home. We are happy, tired and we both feel that this is the perfect day in our Lifes. Some rest and we had later a dinner reservation at the Rose. The dinner is great, the best is the duck liver toast. 10pm we are ready to go home, we finish the day with evening "cuttle" and ... good night.

6 May 2016

Still cloudy morning and windy. We have a lot of surfers on the beach every morning waiting for the perfect wave. We took a real long walk through Venice all the way to Santa Monica, very interesting, different and maybe blue at the same time because of all the homeless people. 11 AM Caspar drove to get Ruben from the campus, they left some staff at Evan´s house (heavy rain on the way), met the parents (the father loves sailing) . Around 1 PM they came to the condo and Ruben liked it very much. He install himself in his room and we went to change car at LAX sixt. A lot of people so it took more time than we thought. Around 4:30 PM Lena came by and left one more key set, then we met the Swedish model and left Chris charger to her. 5 PM - it is time for shopping some food, we drive to Whole Foods, a cool place with a lot of organic and healthy food alternatives. Fixed dinner at home (grilled chicken and sallad) and after some TV-time.... it is time to say good night.

7 May 2016

Cloudy and windy... we are adapting now. But we thought the weather is warmer!? We update our Facebook status and the congrats are coming in just seconds later. Made some last minute adjustments on the www.settergrens.com. So it is official now. We are married in the eyes of the world too.

Caspar booked tickets for visiting the Getty Villa on the way to Malibu and we are leaving around 10:45 AM. A fantastic tour, we are passing the Santa Monica Pier and travelling on the Pacific Coast Highway. Get a guided tour outside in the garden, look around inside and we continue to Malibu. Lunch at the sea at the Moonshadow (cool place) and we are almost getting killed by the cars when we are passing the highway to get to the restaurant. :-)

After lunch, back to the condo and rest. Ruben has a skype meeting with friends and Caspar falls asleep.

8 May 2016

SUNNY MORNING! the first one since we are in LA. We go for a walk, 1,5 hours around the canals, Marina del Rey yacht club. We have decided to let Ruben sleep as long as he wants and needs. So, down to the beach (just 5 steps away) and enjoying the sun and the ocean. Caspar wants to get wet in the ocean... he walks in (very cold!) and I can see on the surfers face that it is NOT an every day thing. Everybody has a wet suite in the water. When Caspar comes out... he comments... "Oh, did you loose a bet?" :-)

We also take some time to book next week apartment. We find a nice one in West Hollywood and book it (get a discount, well done!). Ruben wakes up around 13:30 PM and we eat a good lunch at home (eggs and sallad). Off we go to Abbott Kinney, Csilla buys a Tom´s shoes and we discovered a nice coffee place there allowing dogs. Pasta dinner at home and Csilla is already sleeping on the way to the bedroom....

9 May 2016

Early morning again... put the radio on (P1 morgon) and we are sleeping again. Some morning "cuttling" around 9 AM and today is going to be a big day! We will go and take a poweryoga class with Bryan Kest. He has a studio in Santa Monica and we catch the 11:45 class. He is fantastic and we are really working and getting tired after 1,5 hours yoga. Feels great! We make a donation and then home to change clothes and then back again... we are exploring Santa Monica today. Starting with the Santa Monica Pier, then the Shutters on the Beach hotel, and then we find a nice shopping street and walking around. First sbuy at Abercrombie & Finch and Caspar buy a nice asics sport shoe.

Home, rest and 8 PM is time for our last dinner in Venice.

10 May 2016

We are moving today. There will be no surfing for the guys maybe next time. Packing all the luggages and 12 AM we are leaving Lena´s condo on the beach. It was a great place and we also learned how to close the balcony... using a stick :-). We are excited about the new place hoping for the best. George is our host andhe will be waiting for us. 1 PM we are checked in, the house and the location is fantastic. Can not be better. It is a little bit smaller apartment but we still have separate bedrooms and bathrooms. Must be a standard here :-). Ruben goes to sleep and we decide to take a walk exploring the surroundings. We have Ralph´s just around the corner, a gourmet place on the other side of the street (Bristol Farm). The sun is just coming through the clouds so it is starting to be hot. Up on Doheny Ave and we are right on Sunset Blvd. We are passing comedy places, shops, and we stop at the Mondrian to check out the place Niklas has recommended earlier. We sit in the skybar with great view and Csilla feels bold, wild and crazy so she takes a 1930´s Cosmo... wow... hold your horses... we need some food too. A fantastic chicken club sandwich and off we go. Hmmm, Csilla is giggling and now feeling the Cosmo effect. We go and pass Chateau Marmont, Comedy Store, the Laugh Factory... And we turn on Laurel Ave and heading Melrose Ave and Melrose Place. Passing beautiful houses. Everything is very tidy and clean, we are surprised. Cool coffee houses and restaurants, a lot of designer shops. We stop and have a coffee at Alfreds Coffee on Melrose Place. This street is amaizing and exclusive. Robertsson Ave at last and we stop at The Ivy to book a table for dinner. 8:30 PM. Shop at Raplh´s and back to the apartment. If we can pass the front door.... and at the end Caspar succeeds to open it.

Some rest, some TV and election results from West Virginia (Bernie is winning... Go Bernie Go) and we go to The Ivy. A fantastic, charming, romantic place feels like at your grandmother´s house but exclusive at the same time. They treat us with champagne when we arrive and get a table outside. Laura Ashley feeling :-). Fantastic food and we are treated with a small box with 3 choklad chip cookies to take home. So we do :-).

good night everybody.

11 May 2016

Cloudy morning but we know that it will be sun later ... we are learning the LA weather. Breakfast at 9:30 AM and then we take the car to Griffith Park. Plan to visit the park, the Autry Museum of Western American History, the Observatory and the Zoo. The way is going through Los Feliz, a fantastic area of LA. Big houses, beautiful gardens. A good laugh in the car... we see a "Girls Laugh out loud" sign and Caspar asks Ruben about his friends band... Laugh out loud... Read Lights out crowd :-) We park first at a small train ride and we take the train around. Feels that we are a little bit oldfor this :-).

We drive up to the zoo and have a great time there. Sunny, warm, a lot of school children. We have a small heart attack when Caspar cannot find his phone. But it is in the car and everything fine again. We skip the Museum and we are heading back to town... but we decide to make a stop at the Observatory. And this was a great decision... thanks to Caspar. The area is amaizing, the view is stunning, we can see the Hollywood sign, James Dean statue, the telescope... Great place. Down to Los Feliz and we stop at the Fish Tacos place Stina has recommended for us. Yummy! Take a coffee at H coffe and after cruising on SUnset Blvd we are back home. Csilla has headache and fall asleep. Maybe the sun was too much today? Ruben books ticket to Improv Comedy Club at Melrose Ave at 8 PM.

Valley parking is fantastic and feels exclusive. The place feels like a great stund up club and we have a lot of fun...Jeff Ross, Tony Hinchcliffe, Quincy Jones, Mo Smar, Brent Morin, Nick Kroll. Funny Funny, funny.

We shop dinner on the way home and go to bed. Tomorrow is Universal Studios... and a lot of fun. Again!

12 May 2016

This day will turn out as "Vi alla fall hade tur med vädret" day.  Caspar take the trash and when we throws it into the tray... we hear the keys also leaving his hand. After a small heart attack we realize the keys just missed the whole and we still have them :-).  He will also forget the phone and credit cards at Starback at universal, loose the cash from his pocket... so everything just normal :-)

Wake up early so we have a lot of time at Universal Studios. It is just a 25 minutes ride from the apartment and we arrive at 11 AM. Not a lot of people and it turns out that we chose a perfect day for our visit. The waiting lines are unbelievable short and we have a great time. Take the Studio Tour first and we experience shark attack, earthquakes, explosions and see fantastic movie sceneries... and learn a lot about movie making.

there are water coolers all over the place and Ruben asks us... Why am I not using the cooler stations? That is my secret... I am always cool!

After that we visit the Simpsons, the Mummy ride, walk around in Harry Potter land and have some butterbeer (taste like vanilla icecream),  see the water world show and getting wet, the Transformers, the Jurassic Park ride (we are getting really wet! AGAIN) and a couple of more attractions.

After 6 hours.... we feels ready to head back home. Tired, happy and suntanned! We decide to buy a pizza at Bristol Farms (partly BBQ chicken and partly pepperoni). Taste fantastic!. Csilla falls asleep at 9 PM! Happy and tired.

13 May 2016

Wake up 8:30 AM and after a little cuttling (this is actually a honeymoon :-) ) we leave Ruben sleeping and take the car up to Hollywood Blvd to see the stars and feel the fame. We do not use the GPS and it means that we are taking a little detour. After an hour walking we feel that we are ready with this and heading back to the apartment. Late breakfast (or we can also call it brunch) we go for a celebrity homes tour. On the way to Hollywood Blvd Paul calls (Evan´s dad) and invite us for a sailing adventure on Sunday! Wonderful news, we are thrilled.

There are a lot of tours and we chose StarLine Tours. It is a nice little groups of Australians, French and British people. And we are the Sweedes.. again . 2,5 hours in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Hollywood Hills and we can see a lot of amaizing homes. 50 cent, Sean Connery, Paris Hilton, Kardashians, Kevin Costner, etc.

On our way back we drop Ruben at Macy´s and he buys a present to Evan who had his birthday a couple of days ago. Caspar and I go out for a walk and we are ending up buying a nice gift for Evan´s family (as a thank you). From Hästens :-). A nice blue and ivy blanket.

Some rest and then we are heading out for dinner. Will it be korean BBQ or American food? Who knows... we have a lot on our list.

14 May 2016

Beyonce concert today! We are so excited. We wake up and Caspar and Csilla goes to the Beverly shopping center (just 10 minutes away) for some shopping. Csilla buys a dress and a pants from Michael Kors. Beautiful. Also a visit at Victoria Secret and a nice piece will follow us home to Sweden. Caspar is enjoying Starbucks coffee and then it is time to go home. Rest and some afternoon sleep for Csilla, Caspar goes out for running and Ruben has a DD meeting via skype.

6 PM is time to go to Pasadena to Rose Bowl Stadium. And yes, crazy crazy traffic. So we are nervous to get there in time. Caspar finds a parking spot at a house (15 USD) and we catch the last parking place there. We hurry to the stadium, have some trouble with the tickets but finally we are in. Short bio brake (not for Csilla, it is a crazy line for the toilet) and just when we enter the arena..... the crowd is going crazy! The show is on!

Fantastic artist, great show, Prince tribute in the middle and the crowd is amaizing. SInging, dancing and just so so so Beyonce fans. It is so different from the Madonna concert in Stockholm. For the last songs the stage fills with water, very cool.

10:50 PM the show is over. We are wondering if our car will still be there where we left it. 60 000 people needs to leave now so it is going crazy again. But, we get our car back :-) (big relief) and we are back in the apartment 12:30 at night. A short stop at Subways to buy some food and we are going to bad happy, tired and a little bit deaf.

15 May 2016

Late morning, nice breakfast and some discussion around the table. 11:20 we go to the beach to meet Evan´s parents.

1 PM is sailing with Evan´s parents. We just a little bit early and we stop at Cheesecake Factory. We bought a gift with us från LA Hästens boutique. Fantastic weather, beautiful boat and wonderful hosts. 3 hours sailing down to Malibu up to Manhattan Beach and we also lucky enough to see dolphins. Nice treat on the boat with chips, dips and salami and cheese. Feels great, Gena also has a birthday party for their dog! Csilla is a little bit sea sick but the Ginger chews are really helping. We decided to meet again tomorrow when Lexie plays at the Muse on 8th Street in West Hollywood.

16 May 2016

We take a walk to LACMA and we are early so we stop by the Grove and do some last minute shopping at MK. Capar grabs a breakfast at Café Marmelade and then we are heading back to LACMA. Fantastic art pieces from Far East and Europe, some Picasso, Rodin and a lot more for our eyes and soul.

Some rest during the afternoon and Csilla and Caspar goes out for last minute check of some coffee houses recommended by Johan. Republique is a cool place, Le petit Trois is also cool and small restaurant but the third one Johnny and Vinny´s is not so hip. We also drive by the Muse to check for the evening.

7 PM we are there and meet Paul and Gena and Lexie. Soon comes David and Lee Ann later comes Debbie and one more friend. We order vegetarian meal (pizza and hamburger) and Lexie starts playing. Wonderful voice and song. Later comes Evan and he also plays one song.

I get a nice t shirt from Gena! Doggy style :-)

Nice evening and home to rest. Tomorrow we are leaving. I have home sickness now!