The first steps on my Solo California Holiday

I wake up in a room that I do not immediately recognize, in a city that I have never been to. It takes me a couple of seconds to realize where I am. Los Angeles, California, of course. I arrived here yesterday evening for my big USA adventure, and I was so tired from traveling for hours through many time zones that I went straight to bed. After staring at the ceiling for a bit, I roll over and grab my phone from my night stand.

The Jetlag- Its different when you travel west!

6.44 AM local time, it says, which means I have only slept for about six hours. Yet, I feel wide awake, fully rested and ready to start my day. Its what happens when you travel from East to West. You can’t help but waking up very early. I try to check social media (because: priorities), but the Wi-Fi requires a password that I have yet to find. I get out of bed and attempt to hunt it down. Maybe in one of the drawers? Nothing there. Somewhere between all of the hotel flyers on the side table? Nope, not there either. Turns out, I am really bad at treasure hunting.

As a result of my unsuccessful quest, I am forced to put on some normal day-time clothes and walk downstairs to go ask someone at the check-in desk. Unfortunately, there is no one there. At first, I find that a little strange and I do not quite comprehend why there are no other people around, but then it hits me; It’s not even 7 o’ clock in the morning yet, and most human beings aren’t awake at this time of the day. Sigh.

So I sit down in the lobby and I browse the internet for a bit using my uber-expensive data, but then I stop myself because I am not a billionaire and watching a video on YouTube on my data costs as much as an elaborate breakfast.

Go out for food- find a celebrity! That’s what happens on holidays in Los Angeles!

Instead, I make it my mission to find myself some food. When I walk out of the front door of the hotel, I finally see some human activity. Good, it seems I am not in the middle of the apocalypse after all. I set off to find a grocery store, and walk towards what I assume to be the centre of Westwood. However, I don’t get very far. That is because, alternatively but not regrettably, approximately 3 minutes and 41 seconds into my walk, I stumble upon something else. There is a group of people blocking the street. They are staring at something, but I can’t see what it is, for I am a five-foot tall person standing behind some eight-foot tall giants.

Looking through some space between them, I catch a glimpse of a man with a bright orange T-shirt who seems to be in charge. He is explaining something to some other people while gesturing abundantly in the direction of something behind him. I now notice the enormous camera’s on the sidewalk, that indicate that there are tapings going on down the street. I shuffle a little closer to the orange-clothed man, and overhear someone asking him what these tapings are for. “Yes, I would like to know that too please,” I think to myself. “Modern Family,” he says.

Its a common sight across LA- live filming and celebrities!

MODERN FAMILY?!? Are you kidding me?

For those of you who might not know this, Modern Family is a well-known American sit-com, one that I personally have been watching for many years. And now, here I am, standing right on the set. It has not even been 24 hours since I landed in LA to begin my California holiday, and all of a sudden I am watching the tapings of a big Hollywood production.

I then look a bit further and see some faces that I recognize; Ed O’Neill (who plays Jay Pritchett), Ty Burrell (as Phil Dunphy) and Sofia Vergara (in the role of Gloria Delgado) are standing right there, only a couple feet away. Everyone who is taking (or attempting to take any photos) or videos is being sent away immediately by the security that I am only now noticing, so to avoid that I put my phone away and enjoy the experience.

I cannot believe this is happening. Somebody pinch me. I feel like I am about to pass out.

Nobody is allowed to walk up to them. Which makes sense, because they are in the middle of a scene. That is why people are not allowed to walk past there right now, of course. For a couple of seconds I contemplate trying to run past the security, shouting “I love you, guys!,” or anything like that, but I quickly decide against it. I am not some crazy person, so I keep it in and try to stay calm. Plus, I am not trying to get myself arrested on the first day of my holiday in America! That would not be good.

The Dunphy family house in Cheviot Hills, West Los Angeles

Unfortunately, I am too far from the actors to hear exactly what they are saying. There is only one line I manage to discern: Sofia Vergara (Gloria Delgado in the TV series) at some point shouted something along the lines of “I will kick you in the knee!” If you ever hear anything like that in any of the episodes of the upcoming season, maybe you will think back to my story, and you will know I was there. You might even see me somewhere in the background without even knowing.

Just know that I will be watching from home, trying to find the exact scene that I witnessed. That will forever be one of the memories I have of my American holiday in Los Angeles.
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Confession time: Do you remember that I said nobody was allowed to take any pictures earlier in this article? Well, I have to admit that admit I do have one picture, but I took it accidentally. Right before stumbling upon the set I took a picture of a sign that said “Westwood.” Looking through my pictures later, I noticed Ty Burrell was in the background of the picture. But, let’s just keep that our little secret, okay? No one ever has to know ;)