Time to blog a little about our trip to Los Angeles and our time in Hollywood.
It was indeed wonderful, but honestly it was more weird than wonderful!
We booked a hotel room right around the corner from Hollywood Blvd., which was great because we were just five minutes walk away from all the 'action' and yet far enough away from all the noise that goes along with it! Hollywood Blvd., is, of course, where the stars have their names engraved in stars in the pavement. You can see them being trampled on by tourists in some of my photos below.
Shopping Centre at Hollywood and Highland, five minutes from our hotel. Just five tourists climbed out of that limo - that's doing Hollywood in style!
Just to the left of centre, you will see people standing on a balcony (click to enlarge). They are facing the Hollywood Hills and taking photos of the famous "Hollywood" sign.
The day we took our photos it was pretty hazy, but we managed to capture it.
Did you know this history of the sign?
"The sign was first erected in 1923 and originally read "HOLLYWOODLAND". Its purpose was to advertise the name of a new housing development in the hills above the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. ...more "
And did you know that the sign is famous as the site of a tragic suicide?
The history makes for interesting reading, and you can find a pictorial history of it here
A close up of the inside of the shopping centre, and the photo-op balcony facing Hollywood Hills
Apparently the complex's courtyard was inspired by the D.W. Griffith film Intolerance - from the Babylon scene - massive elephants included.
Down below, the streets at Hollywood and Highland were the centre of much of the tourist attention: the weird and wonderful, I guess! - no comments really necessary!
She got someone's attention!
We dropped in to see some friends from American Idol, who were hanging out on Hollywood Blvd.,
Simon Cowell, pondering our visit and wondering just how WE talentless people made it to Hollywood
Jennifer Lopez, also not too happy to see us
Ryan Seacrest, always happy to see any contestant
DOTH and I are absolutely sold on Hoppa Buses (hop on/hop off) for sightseeing. We've used them in Toronto, Barcelona, Chester UK and now Hollywood. The absolute best way to see a city. You can buy a one or two day pass and get on and off at will.
My next post will take us on the bus tour of Hollywood Hills and the stars homes, downtown LA (some more weird and wonderful sights) and Santa Monica Beach...so stay tuned!
Yup! Weird and wonderful says it all! You know how much I love cities. Guess I'll take my patio. Looking forward to seeing the rest of them. I have wondered how your trip up there went. Our trip to Idaho and my surgery kind of made the last three weeks a blur.
ReplyDeleteWow! All that glamour :) What a cool trip. I hope mixing with all those stars has not turned your heads. I won’t ‘wax’ too strongly in their praise, but they seem to have demonstrated ‘model’ behaviour.
ReplyDeleteNot many people now know the origin of the word glamour. It is derived from an old Celtic word for a kind of deceptive fairy magic, meaning something worthless that has been made by magic to look wonderful. I think it is very appropriate how the word has come to be used today, as some of your pictures demonstrate. I think one picture reflects one of Kylie Minogue’s infamous statements, ‘If you have a good bum, why not show it’.
PS, I like the elephants, not at all ostentatious, I think I may hve one like that put over my front door.
Unfortunately, snafu, the stars were a little 'mum' about our visit with them - I think they were having an off day. I like your definition of glamour - very true of Hollywood.
ReplyDeleteYes - the elephants. Well, there is little about Hollywood that's NOT ostentatious!
chrisJ -- it wasn't my most favourite place to be - and it didn't live up to any of my expectations (although I am not sure what I expected). It was more like downtown Niagara Falls, which I detest. So commercialized and a great way to detract from one of the most spectacular views in the world!