The "Touristy Things"

Wednesday March 12, 2014

Today was going to be our “tourist” day. We decided what we wanted to see, did some research and mapped it out before we left.

Our first stop was the Griffith Observatory. This is actually a very educational place located atop a high hill  (I’m not sure if you would consider it a mountain?) We didn’t know there was a parking lot at the top of the hill, so when we noticed people parking along the street up the hill we did the same. That’s okay, a walk is always good for you. When we got to the top the parking lot seemed pretty full anyway, so don’t count on being able to park up there.

I’m going to be honest with you, the reason I wanted to go here, is because it is one of the best places to see the Hollywood sign. 😀  

Did you know it originally said “Hollywoodland” and was never suppose to be permanent? We did see it, we took pictures of it… but since we were here decided to check out the observatory. It was FREE, if you can imagine! The building and the setting were quite beautiful. I can imagine if we lived here I’d probably come here a few times a year.

The view from the top of the building looks over Los Angeles towards the ocean and is incredibly beautiful. We noticed some people hiking up trails towards the observatory, and there seemed to be lots of other trails around. I know there is a trail that takes you closer to the Hollywood sign, but I’m not sure exactly where it is.

I am thinking the observatory is probably mainly funded by philanthropy because there were some famous named “Halls” in the building (Leonard Nimoy being one of them). If you wanted to watch the planetarium show you had to pay for that, but everything else was free. There were lots of interesting exhibits, a telescope, etc.

Our next stop was the Hollywood Walk of Fame. First challenge was to find parking. We ended up parking at the Hollywood and Highland lot, which is GIGANTIC. If you miss the first entrance (which we did), there is another entrance on Orange, which we accidentally found.

Number one on the list was to get some lunch. We checked out the restaurants and decided on one on the top floor (5^th I think). We were able to sit outside and look over the courtyard while we ate. If you are looking to take advantage of the sunshine this is a good way to do it. The guys who worked at the restaurant were very helpful and answered quite a few questions for us. We asked questions like “Where exactly are we?” 😁 We were at the Hollywood and Highland Center. Now that I look it up, it is the home of the Dolby Theatre (formerly known as the Kodak Theatre) which is where they host the Academy Awards. So close to greatness… and all I could think about was lunch! If you didn’t make it up to the observatory to take a picture of the Hollywood sign, there is a good spot on the walkway to take a picture from here.

After lunch we walked out to Hollywood Blvd. to see the stars on the sidewalk. Steve took photos of his favourites (Halle Berry, Stan Lee, etc.). 

I didn’t get a photo of my favourite, but just so you know it was Judge Judy. 😉  We walked by the Chinese Theatre, which was totally blocked off for a movie premier for Veronica Mars that evening. I was very eager to see the handprints of the stars, but we couldn’t figure out where they were. When I looked it up later, I realized they are right in front of the Chinese Theatre, which was all fenced off and covered with red carpet.

We walked down to the end and saw a Gazebo known as “The Four Ladies of Hollywood” (I didn’t know that at the time, but looked it up later.) Steve did his best lady pose for a photo and we continued back up the other side of Hollywood Blvd.

Our final stop was Rodeo Drive. We headed off in the car and managed to successfully navigate our way there. On your way you pass by the Beverly Hills sign. You could probably stop for a photo there if you want, but we didn’t.

We got ourselves on to Beverly Drive (one block before Rodeo Drive) and found a parking garage that said two hours free parking! Woohoo! Then we walked right over and were on Rodeo Drive. The section you want to be in to see all the fancy stores is between Santa Monica Blvd. and Wilshire.

First we ended up on this little street, which is an offshoot of Rodeo Drive, that is called Two Rodeo Drive. This is actually quite a charming little pedestrian street that has a European feel to it. The building facades look European, and the cobblestone paths add to the ambience. We checked out this street and then walked Rodeo Drive. We didn’t play “Pretty Woman” because unfortunately we haven’t won the lottery yet, but did take the obligatory picture in front of Jimmy Choo. We saw a few fancy cars (The Bugatti being the most expensive I think at a cool 1.3 million dollars … more than my house is worth for the record…), but I don’t think we saw any celebrities. Mostly just tourists like us doing a bit of window shopping. We also saw the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on the corner. I knew it was one of the famous ones, but we couldn’t see a sign. Perhaps if you don’t know what it is you aren’t rich enough to go in? Anyway, I looked it up later to satisfy my curiousity, and discovered it is the Beverly Wilshire where they filmed Pretty Woman. After our walk up and down Rodeo Drive we headed back to our apartment for the evening.

 

Thursday March 13, 2014

Today we had planned to see another beach area… there are so many, but in the end decided just to go to our own beach. There was a possibility that American Ninja Warrior was doing some filming, and we (we meaning Steve) did not want to miss that! First we stopped for lunch at one of the restaurants along the boardwalk. I think it was called the Ale House. It was delicious, and the portions were huge. I keep forgetting how big they are going to be when I order! Also if you are at a place that seems to be serving relatively healthy food, don’t you think the portions should be reasonably small?

We were out on the patio and enjoyed the people watching as we ate. There were all kinds of interesting people including: the middle aged man hula hooping with a full 2 litre bottle of water on his head, the church people with the drums, and the guy playing drums on a moving dolly. There was also a guy playing electric guitar right outside the restaurant. It got really interesting when he started playing “Darling Nikki” by Prince and singing the lyrics. (For all of you with children, Venice Beach is full of things and clientele that are not particularly child appropriate!)

As we walked along the boardwalk we noticed many interesting things… most notable were the “Green Doctors”. Yep, that is exactly what they called themselves, and I’m pretty sure you can figure out what that was. I saw at least 3 of these little stalls mixed in with the tourist shops.

Next we headed down over by the Ninja Warrior set and noticed people going through the different stages of the course. We think they let the public in to give it a try, but are unsure how they got in as they were already going when we got there. We watched each stage and commented on how hard they were. It should be no surprise that I could not have completed any of them, but I think Steve could probably do most of them. Steve tried to take photos, but SOMEONE had left the batteries at home because she was charging them and then forgot about them… not mentioning any names...

After they were done we headed down to the beach. It is so big and relatively empty that it was hard to choose a spot. Isn’t that strange? Just like when a restaurant as a giant menu, it’s harder to picked when you are spoiled for choices. We spent some time reading and just relaxing.

Tomorrow we head to Santa Barbara!