After ten great days in Las Vegas and San Francisco, we were excited to be going on the Hollywood home…Los Angeles.
A recent article said that Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States, was the second most visited city by foreign visitors behind the US’s largest city, New York.
Los Angeles is a very young city. When you talk about something “historical” in Los Angeles, you’re probably talking about the 1920s. L.A. without the historical centre of movies, stars, gossip, scandals, decadent excesses is unimaginable and therefore Hollywood is definitely worth a visit once in a life.
The Coast Highway between San Francisco and Los Angeles it is a leisurely drive and reveals some lesser known California secrets and many pleasant landscapes. Even though it is a day long drive, every gorgeous view you came across will made you love every bit of it.
After the accommodation, in Hollywood district of Los Angeles, very close to Hollywood boulevard, we start the day, of course, in Hollywood by getting all the tourist attractions out of the way. It is a must to see at least where thousands of famous people from the past and present have treaded.
We found affordable parking at the Hollywood and Highland Centre mall garage ($4 for 4 hours). The Hollywood and Highland Centre mall has a great view with the Hollywood sign backdrop, so we had the advantage to take some pic there. Then we “chased” the stars on Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame. We took some pictures by our favourite stars and watched out for funny guys dressed up as superheroes. It’s a good option and cheaper pay-couple of dollars, for some pictures with a superhero, instead of spending hundreds for a Disneyland ticket.
Hollywood takes up a huge strip of street that along the way includes attractions like Dolby Theatre (formerly known as the Kodak Theatre) which is having hosted the Oscar awards annually since 2002, Hard Rock Café, the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre which is a cinema place with the most distinctive features: the concrete blocks bearing the signatures, footprints and handprints of popular personalities from 1920s to the present days.
I admit that I had high expectations and the Hollywood Boulevard walk was a little bit disappointing for me. Hollywood it wasn’t the Hollywood that I was thinking of and what some visitors drowns is a bit of myth. Hollywood is not a glamorous boulevard with movie stars spilling out of limousines in their expensive clothes and jewels at movie premieres, unless you catch a Red Carpet Event. It is just a street where celebrity close encounters are much rarer than I’d think.
Unfortunately, on the back way we found out that L.A. it’s actually the prime spot for run-away kids, drug addicts and drunken street people. In our last day we saw from the distance a chasing scene, in downtown L.A. We were coming back from Beverly Hills and we just parked the car when a LAPD helicopter circling overhead at low altitude caught our attention. We found out later that a shootout had happened a long time ago and the suspects were arrested.
As second biggest city in the US, L.A. is huge and spread out, everybody can find something nice to do and Hollywood, as I said right before, definitely worth a visit once in a life. In and around the Los Angeles area you’ll find beaches, amusement parks, museums and Hollywood movie attractions.
The public transportation options are limited so most people find that they need to rent a car which unfortunately means you get stuck in a traffic jam at least. But You will save money with the Celebrity And Movie Stars Homes Tours.
The Samuel Oschin Planetarium is one of the best planetariums in the world and a well-liked feature of the Griffith Observatory. This popular Southern California attraction is visible from many parts of the Los Angeles basin, so you not only get a great view of the sky but also of LA. This attraction is closed on Mondays so don’t plan your visit then.
It is sad that tourist spend so much time and gas driving to see the Hollywood sign when only way to get really close to or is to hike up to it by parking north of 6363 Deronda Dr or see it from Griffiths Park, so you can enjoy the observatory too.
Visit Universal Studious to get a small taste of Hollywood. While here take a behind-the-scenes tour of the world’s largest working movie studio to learn about special effects and other movie making practices, and then get into the action of some of your favourite Hollywood flicks with the action-packed rides and attractions offered at this theme park.
Due to our tight scheduled, we preferred Beverly Hills instead of Universal Studious.
Anaheim is an hour-and-a-half away from LA. There is the attraction known as the “Happiest Place on Earth”: the Disneyland Park and the Disney California Adventure Park with Disney and Pixar stories come to life through its entertainment and attractions.
Santa Monica Pier just about has it all. You can swim, surf, sunbathe or walk along the beach. You can take a bike ride along their bike path that goes 22 miles to Torrance, Calif. You can also fish, see street performers and ride on some of the thrill rides at Pacific Park.
You can also grab a bite at one of the restaurants or from one of the food carts at Santa Monica Pier. With three miles of beach, numerous activities always going on and an average of more than 300 days of sunshine each year, this is one LA experience you must have.
Venice Beach is an area that could thoroughly entertain you or just shock you. All different kinds of people flock here, but it’s a known hangout for the more creative and artistic types.
Beverly Hills
Every time I think of Beverly Hills, I always think of 90210, Beverly Hills Cop & of course Pretty Woman. Home to dozens of stars and finest shops, this is the closest to perfection anywhere. All it takes is a small fortune to get started.
Most parts of LA are not really walkable. Not, Beverly Hills. Not only are the streets walkable but the streets are kept pretty clean too!
The neighborhoods are beautiful! A lot of trees and a lot of green grass everywhere! There are also a lot of unique looking homes. From luxurious, to contemporary, to just plain unique (ex: I saw a “witch house”).
the Spadena House – Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Considering that LAX is only a few miles south, the air quality in Beverly Hills seems pretty good compared to other parts of Los Angeles County.
Sometimes we even park the car and stroll the neighbourhoods uphill from Sunset, and the locals I pass on the street almost always say, “Hi”. So I’m not really seeing BH as Snob Central. For the most part, I find it to be breathtakingly lovely, a protected jewel with a rich history.
The fire hydrants in BH are silver, though….shouldn’t they be gold? A Beverly Hills pooch deserves only the best (I’m a fire protection system engineer, I couldn’t notice this :D).
If I were a multimillionaire and had a desire to live in a huge city long term, then Beverly Hills would be a first on my list!
Famous Rodeo Drive…Famous for what? What you see on the movie screens and reality TV shows, is really all there.
Rodeo Drive is a famous and fancy shopping street in Beverly Hills and well-known worldwide for its luxury-goods stores. It is a catwalk for fashion-people. Very chic ambiance and good atmosphere – strolling around there is a must, but This is not something you would do twice. It is certainly something you want to be able to say you have been there.
The area is highlighted by loads of luxurious cars and High End retailers. If you want to buy expensive things or if you are fashion addicted, yes it might a place for you. Otherwise, is just a typical street and nothing much you can see and enjoy.
If you saw the Pretty Woman movie, this area is where she shopped. Most stores have unfriendly staff but I was super delighted to see the hotel where the film Pretty Woman was filmed, as well as the shop where “Vivian” says to the ladies “big mistake, huge mistake”.
Oh and there are scenes from ” Beverley Hills Cop ” just around the corner. I saw police there frequently…..making presence known, but no issues. The Beverly Hills PD is one of the best paid and one of the most assertive.
For the car watchers, we had the following sightings in just a few minutes – one red Ferrarri, Porsches, Maseratti, Jaguars and a couple of Rolls Royce Silver Seraphs. The whole place just shouts wealth.
It is worth a drive through!!!!
The 1971 Bond Film Diamonds Are Forever was shot in Los Angeles. Some other famous Hollywood films shot here are City Of Angels,Gone In 60 Seconds (1974 and 2000), Father Of The Bride (I and II) and Iron Man (I, II and III).
