Hollywood, Day Four - L.A. Tour

I think I wrote too much for my last post, so this time I'm going to give a quick run down of where we went and will chuck some photos at ya.

L.A. Tour:

Venice Beach
From Hollywood we went to Venice beach where we were given a history of the area and got to have a wander round. While walking, we were approached by a black guy called JP selling his CD. This seems to happen a lot in Hollywood with guys hustling their CD - they always make it clear that it's their music and they are building up their fan base. JP asked us if he scared us, but we laughed and said no (we're not sure if we were supposed to be scared or not).

Venice Beach was very misty, fog was very low and hung over L.A. for days and closed LAX (aiport) down for the day.

After Venice Beach, we went to Downtown via the Marina del Rey (a very exclusive area).

A canal just off Venice Beach - only a few canals remain


Venice Beach promenade


Cyclist on the Venice Beach promenade


Giant mime clown - it haunts my dreams


Downtown

Downtown was very colourful with Hispanic stores/stalls with souvenirs, Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) toys, religious pictures/symbols/sculptures etc. Very interesting and perhaps the closest we got to Mexico without crossing the border. Our tour driver explained the two sides of L.A. and Downtown is a part that many people never come to due to the reputation for roughness (perceived or actuality).

Downtown office blocks


Mural enroute to Downtown


Nativity scene in Downtown


Is this Mexico?


Hollywood

After Downtown, back to Hollywood for lunch - this time 'genuine New York style' pizza which was delicious and made up for the shocking Flintstones B-B-Q at Universal Studios. Back onto the bus and afternoon tour time around Hollywood and then to view the Hollywood sign.

At this point a woman from Perth joined the tour - she was amazed by everything and would loudly exclaim 'really!', 'no way!' and 'I love that show/movie/actor...' every time the tour driver pointed out something.

We got to see the hotel where Richard Gere sung to Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and then headed to the hills and along Mullholland Drive (great movie too).

Me & Sha with Hollywood sign


Hollywood Hills

After the sign, it was star houses and below are a few pictures of those we saw. For obvious reasons. whenever a star's residence is discovered they quickly move and therefore star maps are often out of date. One map had Tom & Nicole on it...so not sure how current the below photos are (and these A-listers can afford multiple homes!)

Jack Nicholson's house


Leonardo DiCaprio's house


John Travolta's house


Charlie Chaplin's house


Paparazzi on the prowl


We also drove past the playboy mansion, saw the outside of Michael Eisner's house (former Disney CEO), drove through Bel Air and went past the Spelling estate which seems to have cameras everywhere.

Rodeo Drive

After the star tour, we went on to Rodeo drive where the little things cost anything but little. Stores such as Bijon require an appointment before you can even set foot inside. Even the fire hydrants are silver rather than yellow.

Sunset Strip

Back to Hollywood via the Sunset Strip and we got to see the Viper Room, Whisky A-Go-Go (where the Doors played for a month as the house band), Chateau Marmont (where John Belushi died) and we also saw a swag of eating and drinking establishments frequented by the stars. A very informative day which has led me to write more than I wanted. Sorry.

Tomorrow - Disneyland - which I had been led to belive is the happiest place on Earth. Can it be true?