In La La Land

Hollywood

We took advantage of several vending machines at the motel to have breakfast in our room (coffee and Danish pastries), and were able to make an early start to our sightseeing.

2017 comment: Chris took this photo in part because at the time his father owned an army surplus store in Gateshaed and we knew he would be interested to see the sign on this one

Firstly we drove to the centre of the Hollywood area where we found a convenient car park. We set off to walk along Hollywood Boulevard, starting at the famous junction of Hollywood and Vine. As with most of the area, it was very obvious that the glamourous film industry had moved on, leaving a very ordinary, scruffy street by LA standards – but full of interest to us. We saw the Capitol Records Tower, which was designed to look like a stack of records.

We then followed the Walk of Fame – stars set into the sidewalk bearing the name of a famous movie or singing star.

Further along the street we came to the very swish Roosevelt Hotel, where we had a coffee in the Stargazer’s Café, before crossing the road to the famous sight opposite, Grauman’s Chinese Theater. The morning had started dull but by now the sun was breaking through the smog and we were able to take some photos of the exotic architecture.

However we spent most of our time spotting our favourites among the many stars who have left their hand- and foot-prints in the concrete in the forecourt. These included Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, the Marx Brothers and Jimmy Durante (with a nose-print!)

We then walked back along Hollywood Boulevard, stopping off at several shops selling old movie magazines, scripts and posters. We also went in a fascinating (but expensive) shop selling autographed photos of the stars. I would have loved to have bought the one of Bogart and Bacall but it would have doubled the cost of the holiday at a stroke!

When we got back to the car we drove up into the Hollywood Hills area, where we parked in a side street recommended in a guidebook as giving an excellent view of the famous HOLLYWOOD sign, which it did.

After taking some photos and admiring the smart houses we drove over to West Hollywood and again found free, easy parking just off Melrose Avenue.

This was a very different Hollywood from the faded stardom further east – young, rather zany, with an odd assortment of shops and fewer tourists. We had lunch in a strange Japanese shop-cum-sandwich bar, and coffee in a café with a good photo exhibition on the walls (pictures of various places in California, including Mono Lake). In between we strolled around and peered into various weird ‘antique’ shops (mostly fifties memorabilia and old movie props such as monsters). We also spotted several interesting restaurants and decided to return for dinner in the evening.

Our next visit for the afternoon was to Beverley Hills, and our parking this time was in typical LA style – valet parking. We saw the famous Rodeo Drive and Wilshire Boulevard, and took a guided tour on a sightseeing trolley. This took us past very expensive-looking houses (including the homes of several stars) and also the Beverley Hills Hotel.

Next we returned to our car and drove up into this ultra-smart area to go ‘star home spotting’. We found the houses of Jack Benny (which used to feature on his TV show), Lucile Ball and James Stewart (the latter still lives here).

2017 comment: not any longer – James Stewart died in July 1997, six years after our visit, here in his home in Beverley Hills.

James Stewart's home

We also saw the house which William Hearst gave to Marion Davies – lovely, but hardly a patch on his own San Simeon which we had visited near the start of the trip.

In fact, all the homes, while large and very attractive, were not quite the palatial mansions we had expected. Still, the lawns were clustered with boards advertising the presence of alarms, the streets were patrolled by security guards, and the only other people to be seen were tourists like ourselves. It felt very exclusive.

To return to Melrose Avenue for the evening we drove along the iconic Sunset Strip, only slightly smarter than our own stretch of Sunset Boulevard. We chose a Cuban restaurant for our last dinner in the States – a chance to try something different. We enjoyed our meal, and also enjoyed watching the waiter’s one-man campaign against a curious pigeon that kept wandering into the restaurant!

We then drove back to the motel for our last evening’s viewing of US TV, including catching a few games of tennis slotted among the Wimbledon showers.

Total miles for day: 37