Day 2 - Los Angeles

(4.30 am: My wife had to use the bathroom in Palm Springs so I can at least sit now on a chair and not alternately on the floor or in the bathtub. My already aching back will thank her continually within the next few hours. More time to recap our first days)

Back to Los Angeles. The family decides to start the day with breakfast at the hotel. 4 x tea, 2 x Blueberry Pancakes, one bagel for my wife and two croissants for me, please. And thank you, Jose, that you want to fulfill all our wishes. We are not used to this at home - the expressed standards are lower.

The most obvious desire for a tasty breakfast, however, seems unattainable for José. My Croissants are tough and certainly not made of this tender, buttery dough. The pancakes are best eaten under a thick sugar syrup layer. And then only the tea. José waters just a lonely tea bag in a large thermos flask, before he fills in the four mugs. A lighter shade of yellow can be seen with some imagination. So hot lemonade for me, and milk in hot water for the other three. The children - despite all anticipation for the pancakes - give up. 15 percent tip on the $ 35 and have a great day too, José.

We pay our $ 15 parking fee, load the giant Dodge just about and then the children give me hints for the automatic transmission: Yes, you can actually start the car again only when the lever is in park position.

But now the Eagles - "Take it easy". Californian is it can be. And to the airport to meet Carol, our friend from Greece we met 21 years ago. We plan to pick her up and have lunch with her.

We actually meet with the help of mobile phones, because her dark, curly hair is now blonde and smooth. Has she whispered 21 years ago? In any case, she is good-humored, communicative American and so glad to see us again. After all, all we have in common is that 21 years ago, we spent a whole day together on Naxos. She now lives alone with a cat, with Michael but it has maintained a friendship and as her profession she trains state economists.

Her favorite restaurant, where once she has seen Jake Gyllenhaal together with Kirsten Dunst, looks more like a Mediterranean Delikatessenbar and the tuna salad is moderate, but extremely expensive. Carol receives a percentage but because she is a member of a regional radio station in the club - what ever that may make for a restaurant for a difference. Jake Gyllenhaal is not there this time, but the desolate parking lot is full of German craftsmanship: BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Mini and a VW Touareg.

A short stopover in the equally overpriced Whole Foods supermarket and then we bring Carol and her orange juice home to their house at the Miracle Mile. In fact, it is a kind of suburb with nothing but small and cute and adorable little houses, some of which originate even from the 1930 years, as Carol points out proudly. We lack a bit of the necessary respect for this magnificent historical significance, but the house is very charming and has the inside rather Spanish-Mexican. Old furniture, elegant arches and an obviously annoyed Persian cat, which now takes over 50 percent of all communication.

Time to say goodbye, the exchange of pleasantries, and I take 20 percent of the Persians cat with me in the form of hair on my pants. Back to the car I wonder what the difference between a fascinating and entertaining day with two Americans and this slightly shallow and artificial encounter may have been.

Sure, we talked briefly about Obama, Bush and Elvis Costello, but there was not this friendly clash of two cultures with a certain mutual fascination. Are we just too old and educated to learn from such an experience?

Am I too late for this trip? In 1992 we wanted to do it, but there was then already Lisa on her way and only now Mia is old enough to do this strenuous trip. The fascination for the new has faded with increasing age. Much is known already and the rest is done by the media. California is not an unknown territory for someone who watches TV.

But, hey, this is my dream trip that I wanted to do for decades, and so it is a kind of test now. On the one hand, a test of whether the fire again can flare up a little and on the other hand the question if our before-the-children-type of holiday with long car trips and sightseeing still fits or if it is uncomfortable as the old, for nostalgia reasons preserved clothing. My mind, my stomach and my back have changed considerably since. And my wife is now in more need of relaxation and perhaps even myself.