Los Angeles/Hollywood - Day 2 - Friday 27th June

Friday 27th June

Day 2 Hollywood/Los Angeles

 

 

 

 

That is us up and out early and at the bus stop for about 9.45am!

 

 

So the brochure says Los Angeles is so big that they recommend doing 2 routes in a day but you know us we are going to try and do 3!!!  We are always up for the challenge!!!!

 

 

The Gazebo looking thing with Marilyn Monroe at the very top and famous woman around the outside can’t remember who though!!

 

This is where Brad Pitt had his first job as a youngster dressed as a chicken!!

 

The bronze building is supposed to be in a shape of a roll of film, pretty cool!

 

Oh yeah that Moet sounds a good deal Col!!!  You could jump off and get me some, it is a Hop on Hop off

 bus after all!!

 

Where celeb’s hang out!

 

We are now on the Sunset Boulevard

 

Where Go Go Dancers started off as this was the first bar to have dancers above the bar in cages and where the Doors played before they were discovered

Now we cross over to Beverly Hills on Santa Monica Boulevard

 

 



 

These beautiful trees look like massive Magnolia trees with beautiful big white flowers and the smell is gorgeous! 

 

All the streets off the Santa Monica Boulevard have all the same trees lining the avenue and the fire hydrants are painted silver as the residents wanted them to blend in rather than look out of place.  They also have lanes at the back of the houses so the trash men can take the carts away from the rear of the properties rather than having the trash carts out front!

 

Beverly Hills Town Hall with the tower

 

We have jumped onto the Yellow line now which we waited 30 minutes for but time passed quickly as we were standing chatting to a couple from New Zealand who own an orchard and are doing a bit of a tour of USA so we shared stories of where we had travelled!

 

 

Newly erected sign of Beverly Hills



 

Weird flower sculptures in the gardens

 

Here we are back on Rodeo Drive again, just love driving down this street!!

 

So here is the House of Bijam which is the most expensive shop on Rodeo Drive and you can only enter the shop if you have an appointment with one of their personal shoppers, WOW $$$$$$$

 

The Centre for Media where they restore and preserve old films

 

Colin thinks he has spied Tom Cruise in the black Yute type vehicle, really I’m not sure!!

 

The church where Frank Sinatra’s funeral was held and where Elizabeth Taylor married for the first time when it lasted 3 months!

 

The twin towers where Moonlighting was filmed what a blast from the past, used to love watching that when I was younger!!

 

 

Building where the offices are of agents to Justin Beiber, Tom Cruise and he listed a few more I can’t remember

 

Fox Plaza building where they filmed die Hard and they blew out the windows on the building but they used sugar glass rather than ruining the building!

 

Fox Studio’s the most up-to-date studios in Hollywood where they filmed Titanic and Independence Day

 

Golf course for the rich and famous!

 

Military cemetery with the area covering 1,400 acres including the training campuses

 

Cool Cadillac!!

 

Here we are we have jumped off one bus which covered the yellow route and we have jumped onto another bus that covers the green route so we are coming back to Santa Monica Pier later after the green route!!

 

 

Our first glimpse of the beach, looks lovely!!   

 

 We were due to stop at Venice Canals to then walk up to Venice Beach but the bus driver unbeknown to us is running late so missed off some of the stops and one of the ones he missed was our stop!!  How rude Mr Bus Driver do you not know that we are on Challenge Anneka we have to do 3 routes today!!!  So anyway we went all the way round the green route and got off at a similar point on the opposite side of the road!

 

So we ended up at the Marina Del Rey where there are 5,000+ boats and yachts moored

 

And then we stopped at Fisherman’s village for a few minutes then headed back to Venice Beach

 

The start of the Venice Beach shops!

 

We see a bicycle with a police officer standing next to it, then a man is on the deck with his hands cuffed, then the chopper is hovering at the same time and then a police car arrives!!!  Wow what excitement and we literally have just arrived in the Venice Beach area and not even at the beach yet!!

 

Venice Boardwalk where there were some random and zany stalls and shops.  A few people had dressed their dogs up and had a poster up saying they were model dogs and if you wanted to take a photograph, it would cost $$!!  But in amongst the stalls and just behind the stalls on the grass areas were large numbers of homeless people camping out.  In some cities the homeless population are a hidden community but they are very visible here on Venice Beach. 

 

 

Here is the 27,000sq ft skate park.  I didn’t realise LA was the birthplace of Skateboarding as Surfers were using bits of wood to help them practice surfing when the weather wasn’t good, then the skateboard was developed.  In the winter months when the houses drained their pools skateboarders started using the empty pools to practice surfing on skateboards pretending the lip of the pool was a wave and that was how skate parks were developed too.  I didn’t know any of that until the guide told us, fascinating!

 

 

We went past Venice Beach Freak Show where they had ….

 

 

Two headed Turtles on display, weird!!!  We didn’t go in!

 

Hooray we have now got Amy a new hat that she likes and will wear, wow that has taken a while!!!

 

This was where Baywatch was filmed watch out Pamela Anderson your younger sister is going to audition for your part Angela Anderson (watch out the Anderson sisters will be famous one day) ha ha!!!

 

Ooooh another Tsunami warning

 

We are having a leisurely stroll along beside the beach, we thought we would walk along the beach but the sand is tooooooo hot!!!

 

 

A guy practicing his violin or so we thought but he didn’t have any strings on the violin must have just been doing it for the enjoyment!

 

Cool helicopter flying by!

 

Oh look what we have come across!!!

 

The seat is like a rollercoaster ride, hold on Daddy is pushing!!!!

 

Amy practising her surf moves for Oz!!  Maybe with a little assistance!!!

 

Here is a slide with rollers on it, presume to save the slide getting hot, Amy flew down it, cool fun!

 

Strutting along!  Really good sidewalk as there are two lanes for bicycles and a walkway!

 

Cool Police vehicle on the beach!

 

Here is Muscle Beach!!!  Colin put your top back on you will just embarrass the poor fellows with showing off your muscles, only joking!!

 

 

Not many guys out showing off their muscles today!!  This guy is on the swing handles wow!  So high and so fast but you can still see the love he has for himself!!!

 

Here we are nearly at Santa Monica Pier

 

We have made it!!!

 

Holy moly watch out Amy you are inside a Dragon’s mouth!!

 

Here we are on the Pier now and it reminds us of Brighton and Bournemouth Piers with the arcades and fair rides on them.  This one is different though as cars can park on the Pier but when the cars go over the sleepers the wood starts creaking and groaning, oh dear I don’t like the noise as it feels like it is going to give way any second!!  Keep up Amy!!

 

Plenty of police presence around about here!

 

Entrance to the rides, we only want to go on the world’s only Solar Panelled Ferris Wheel that gives you views over the Pacific Ocean, sounds like a nice relaxing ride after our long walk along the Beachfront

 

Here we are on the Ferris Wheel and it is still sunny so no fear of being stuck up the top if it clouds over ha ha!!!  I am sure they have reserves of power somewhere!

 

Woop woop!!!

 

The view along the Pier

 

Looking along the beach front, wow the sea must be warm as there are loads of people in it!

 

 

Muscle Beach

 

Look is it The Hoff (David Hasselhoff) on watch, showing my age!!

 

We enjoyed the smooth ride on the Ferris Wheel but when we are coming out of the Pier there are people celebrating their wedding in the Amusement Arcade, takes all sorts really!

 

We are now standing waiting for the bus for the yellow line to take us back to the connection for the red line which will take us back to the start and near our suite!!  Phew take a breath!!!  Colin doesn’t want to wait for the bus he would rather go in this truck, mmmm I wonder why?!?!?!

 

Yorkie has enjoyed her trip to Venice Beach, we have waited half an hour for the bus so we are messing about now as we are getting impatient!!

 

The palm trees here have been imported too from Hawaii, Australia and South America

 

The entrance to the Los Angeles Military Cemetery

UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles) university campus covers 490 acres and has an intake of 35,000 students per year!!!

 



 

Hammer Museum Art Collections

 

 

We have passed this hotel a few times and I was unable to get the sign but this is where the Golden Globe awards take place and also where Whitney Houston died

This hotel is at the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevard

 

Stella McCartney’s Paul’s daughters fashion store

 

This is where the celeb’s go shopping and hang out

 

 

John Wayne bronze statue

 

Wilshire Boulevard was where the first left turn lane was introduced. 

Wilshire Boulevard is 16 miles long, wow!

 

 

Entrance to the Museum of Art

 

 

CBS Studios

 

Pink’s Hot Dogs where celeb’s have been in and made up their own hot dog and burger flavours

 

Hollywood sign in the distance

 

Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences

 

Chase Bank, nice entrance

 

Do you think Tom Cruise or John Travolta is hanging out there???  If they are still believing?!!

 

Here we are back on Hollywood Boulevard and on the Walk of Fame

 

The final stop and the buskers are out in full force, one man with a snake around his neck, Batman, Darth Vader, Basketball player, singers and just random people doing zany things trying to get noticed

 

Shower before bed and some M&M’s for pudding hence the blue tongue!!!

That is LA done!!!  We are flying through the places now as we take things in our stride!!

We only have 4 more places to visit before we hit Adelaide on the 17^th July, that is starting to make things a bit real that we are actually going to jump off the hamster wheel that has been taking us round the world and we are going to settle down and get ourselves into a routine of ‘normal life’!!  Can't wait!!!