CITY OF ANGLES 2

CITY OF ANGLES FAVOURITE DESTINATION AND FANTASTIC MEMORIES IN MY LIFE.! LOS ANGLES

Iam Dona Nirosha, from the Airlines. He consistently encour- nights swept with worry when beautiful green island of ages me to be an innovative indi- they get sick or not being able to Sri Lanka. My hometown vidual and creative designer. help much when they are under is Kiribathgoda; it is located 20 Although I love exploring my stress they get from exams. km from Colombo (The Cap- passions in-depth, the highlight Riding rollercoasters and hiking ital of Sri Lanka). I current- of my life has been giving birth to up mountains are adventures I ly live in my second home in my two children, Ikya (17 years typically love to enjoy. With my Dubai with my lovely family. old) and Sethika (11 years old). thrilling personality, I love visit- I’m a special Educator, Graphic From experiencing their first ing new places and travelling with designer, and crafter. Also, I love steps to watching them gradu- the people I love. Before the pan- to travel and enjoy life with my ate school with flying colours, I demic constrained us, my family loved ones. Behind my success, have loved motherhood every and I were prominent travellers. I have a fantastic partner, my step of the way. However, it’s not In 2019, we took a trip to Califor- husband, Shantha. He works as all peaches and cream; there have nia in the United States. a Software Engineer at Emirates been tough times like spending

It was mid-July early morn- whelmed Potter! It was surreal to see how ing; after an exhausting 16- by the vi- brant signs and they replicated the architecture hour flight, we were drag- variety of areas to visit. Thanks to of the settings in the movie. ging our feet through the my daughter’s well-planned itin- airport. As we walked out erary, we knew exactly where to She was extremely excited to of the airport doors, we go first. My son was so excited to buy her own Gryffindor robe were greeted by a breeze see the first item on our list as it Hermoine’s wand and try out of frosty air. It was 17 had been one of his dreams to do the different magic spells in degrees celsius, which, so. We made our way through the the village. There were too compared to the 45-de- bustling crowds into a predomi- many rides and attractions gree weather in Dubai, nantly yellow cave covered to cover in one day, so we had was excruciatingly cold for with drawings of bananas. booked tickets for a second us. If you are a fan of a few tiny day. We mainly tried the rides The Hilton LA hotel came yellow beings, you would and exhilarating roller coasters and pickup us up from the have already guessed what on our second day, such as drag- airport. Although my daugh- on rides, Harry Potter wizarding ter had a whole itinerary our first stop was. It rides, etc. We also took the Uni- planned, we decided to rest was Despicable Me versal Studio tour, which lasted for the first day as our eyelids Minion Mayhem! for about an hour. We learned pooled with sleep due to the After a thrilling many things, such as how they jet lag. We finally followed adventure through had created and developed the our itinerary on the second Gru’s Lab and a Hollywood film industry into day, feasted on a big breakfast wonderful AR ex- what it is now. We even got to at the hotel, and made our perience on the be on the set of the movie Jaws! way to Universal Studios on roller coaster, we It was unbelievable. We had a the LA Metro.\\ headed towards my lovely time, and we enjoyed our- The employees guided us to daughter’s favour- selves a lot. a cart that took us up a hill ite area.\\ and to the front gate of Uni- versal Studios. We were over- The Wizarding World of Harry



The next day, we saw the icon- Californian pizza, ic Hollywood Sign and Griffith we took some aes- Observatory. Then, after a ride thetic family pic- through the city on public trans- tures. However, we port, we finally arrived at the couldn’t dip in the entrance to the hiking trail. We water because the hiked up the mountain as the lac- weather was too tic acid built up in our legs; we chilly and the wind slowly gave up and considered was too strong. retreating to the bottom. But just as we were about to head down, my daughter screamed, “I see it!”. I let out a sigh of relief, and we took some fantastic pictures. We also took a trip to the Hol- lywood Walk of Fame. We visit- ed the wax house to meet a few phenomenal celebrities like Mark Zuckerberg and Beyonce. As a fan of the outdoors, I insisted we visit Santa Monica Beach! After watching a fantastic street dance show and feasting on a beautiful

San Francisco

After our stay in LA, we took never experienced before. Af- history. Alcatraz reveals stories a 6-hour long bus ride to San ter strolling around Fisherman’s of American incarceration, jus- Francisco. We stayed at a vin- Wharf, we made our way to Pier tice, and our shared humanity. tage hotel and were introduced 39 to view the seals that rest on This small island was once a fort, to a fantastic phenomenon called the decks. Next, it was intriguing a military prison, and a maxi- Happy Hour. They gave out free to visit vintage candy shops at mum-security federal peniten- snacks and drinks to all the cus- Pier 39 and try the famous Ghil- tiary. In 1969, the Indians of All tomers at the hotel. This was an lidari ice cream! Another unique Tribes occupied Alcatraz for 19 absolute delight! Next, we visited aspect of our trip was getting to months in the name of freedom Fisherman’s Wharf and tasted the see the Alcatraz prison. This pris- and Native American civil rights. famous sourdough, which I had on was a huge part of American

Golden Gate Bridge

Overall, my trip to the US was an enlightening experience and reminded me why travelling has been such a significant part of my happiness. As a little girl, I was confined to a small town in the neighbourhood of Colombo and nev- er got to enjoy the outside world much. Thus, travelling to different countries allowed me to make up for the adventure I had missed out on as a child. I want to end with a quote that I live by “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow” – Anita Desai.