Fee loves Travelling: Free stuff to do in and around California

As you might have already read I've spent 3 months in California end of 2012 studying at the University of California Riverside.
I had lots of free time and tried to use every second of it exploring Cali. And I found a few cool things you can do in (or around) Cali that are completely FREE! (wohoo! - who doesn't like that?)

1. So number one is a seemingly not that much of a special thing but if you don't usually live close to it THE OCEAN is pretty special! I love swimming or tanning at the beach although I don't really get a tan, I just turn red like a lobster.

Anyway the ocean is great. I went surfing when I was in Cali and it's the best workout you can get. My muscles hurt for several days afterwards.
And what's also great about the ocean especially in the US are the piers! Basically every Beach town has long wooden pier with ice cream shops and stuff...it's awesome, I love them!

Santa Barbara Ocean

Laguna Beach

San Clemente Surfing

San Clemente

Santa Monica Pier

2. I've been to free University concerts in Germany but the Stars you see there are nothing compared to FREE UNIVERSITY CONCERTS in the States. At UCR Block Party in October the main act was Nelly. There were tons of people and they were all singing along when Nelly performed "Hot in here"...really cool atmosphere!
As far as I know there are free concerts at many Colleges during every semester - just check one out! (oh and sorry for the bad quality of the pictures...only had my phone with me)

UCR Bell tower

3. FREE STUFF IN VEGAS (I know, I know - it's not California) - Vegas is obviously a must! It's not completely free of course - far from it. You can certainly spend a fortune there or win one if you're lucky. But there are quite a lot of cool things you can do or see for free.
Like the little daily shows in front of some of the hotels. The Sirens of TI Show in front of the Treasure Island, the Fountains of the Bellagio or the Volcano in front of the Mirage - just to name some. The really big shows - every hotel has one - are not free of course, but the choice is awesome and I guess that every one of it is worth a visit.

The next thing might sound a bit naive but I was really surprised to find that you get free cocktails while you gamble! Believe me, I really exploited that! I lost a bit of money at the one-armed bandits but I got all of it back in fluids - which was a fair trade, I think! :D

The coolest thing I did in Vegas was a helicopter ride over the city which my friends had given to me for my birthday which I was celebrating there. Little tip for birthdays: always say it's your 21st birthday and you'll get almost all your drinks for free cause every guy wants to be the one to buy you your "first legal drink". But no more details, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas :). But it certainly is the coolest place to celebrate your birthday!

Fountains of Bellagio

The Treasure Island and the Siren show set

The Venetian

Well, not everything is free...

4. And here's number four: FREE CITY TOURS IN SAN FRANCISCO! There are tons of free city tours that are offered by volunteers. Check them out at http://www.sfcityguides.org/!
I took the Haight-Ashbury one and it was awesome. It went on for 2 whole hours! Our guide was a tall chubby guy who really knew his stuff and told some cool anecdotes. He intoduced us to the "Painted Ladies", showed us in which of the victorians Janis Joplin had lived for a while, and where all the hippie movement started.

If you wanna go to SF and not just trot around by yourself I really recommend you do one of the many walking tours they offer. Maybe the Hitchcock Tour or the Ghost Walk or the Earthquake and Fire Tour. And give the guide a little tip afterwards! It's such a cool offer and really worth a few bucks!

Lots of Painted Ladies

More Painted Ladies

Cable Car - only a tourist attraction now, but still fun

remains from those hippie days

and SF's most famours landmark

5. And last but not least the coolest thing ever!! Going to FREE TV SHOW TAPINGS!
I wasn't aware of this until I came to Cali but most of the American SitComs are taped in front of a live audience. They film an episode a week and they always need people to fill the seats in the audience and to record their laughter. I went to a taping of The Big Bang Theory (S6 E12 - The Egg Salad Equivaleny) at the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank. I've always liked the show, but now I'm a huge fan.
It was hard to get tickets, because they're free and therefore many people want to do this. But me and a friend were lucky. We got Stand-By tickets which meant that they had over-booked the taping and we had to get there crazy-early to secure seats for us. But it worked, we got in!
They film one episode within about 3 hours and the audience is not only there for recording the laughs but also as guinea pigs. If a joke doesn't get the response the writers and directors want they just change the punchline within a few minutes - they did it twice when I was there. Like in one scene when the gang waits in front of the counselor's office Wolowitz advises them to turn off their "I like big butts"-ringtone before they go see Mrs. Davis. The original joke was supposed to go like that: "...and saying that you voted for Obama doesn't get you as many points as you might think".
It's just so cool to see the actors and the production crew do their jobs. It was a great experience!
Oh and here's where you get the tickets: http://www.tvtickets.com/
A few of the other shows you can go to are: Two and a half Men, 2 Broke Girls, Mike & Molly and many more!

Unfortunately it wasn't allowed to bring camera to the taping, but I did the Warner Bros. Studio Tour a few days before so here are a few pictures of some film sets they have there.