The train Journey takes about an hour in total with one change at Union Station, we get off at the station on the junction of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland. As with all public transport we have used in the US it is very cheap, we purchased a day pass which gives unlimited use of the LA metro system for only $5 each. The first part of the journey is above ground so we get a good view of our entry into LA, the second part however across LA and into Hollywood is below ground.
We emerge back into daylight in the middle of Hollywood’s walk of fame, here the stars of the stars are laid out in the sidewalk, if you are not careful you can be walking on Betty Davis, Sting, or Harrison Ford! The walk of fame is not only lined with stars, it is also lined with people in costumes, most of them pretty bad, who will happily pose with you for a photo then ask for a small demonstration of your gratitude, by the number of them there it must be quite a lucrative business. The worst we see has to be a Homer Simpson, the head of the costume does not even fit the person wearing it properly, there is also a Marilyn Monroe who was probably as old as Marilyn’s Mother was when Marilyn died.
We head down the walk of fame to the Chinese Theatre, the site of many movie premieres and where the hand and footprints of the stars fill the courtyard, from here we are going to take a guided tour of the homes of the stars, a bit cheesy but Baggage really wants to do it. Lisa opts out of this tour, it is two hours with no stops, and elects to see the sights from a hop on hop off bus tour instead, so Baggage and I pay our Dollars and hop aboard. The tour is given in a convertible minibus, which with the sun beating down today is a great way to get around and be able to get good photos at the same time.
The tour takes us through Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Sunset Strip, Bel Aire and the Hollywood Hills, we see the famous Beverly Hills and Hollywood signs and the houses of numerous stars, or at least in some case the gates as the houses are well back off the road and there are tall hedges for privacy in front of most of them. Among those we see are Madonna, Elton John, Phil Collins, Nicholas Cage, Larry King, the Playboy Mansion and where the Fresh Prince of Bel Aire was set. If you want to see the homes of the stars and only have a day in the area a tour like this is fine, though if you have longer and a car you would probably have much more fun if you were to buy a star map and do the tour yourself, after all you could even do it early in the morning and stop for Breakfast with Larry King as he frequents the same coffee shop every morning, or get a takeout coffee and enjoy it in the park near Bel Aire where a number of the rich and famous are known to take their morning jog. Whilst driving down Sunset Strip Baggage and I see a chap in a white classic Mercedes, it may not have been Orlando Bloom, but if it was not he was a very close look alike, unfortunately I was not quick enough to get a photo so we could have been sure.
Back in town we have to wait nearly 45 minutes for Lisa to turn up, much to Baggage’s frustration as she seems to have less and less patience the longer we are travelling. Lisa had in fact not hopped off her bus at all and had gone for a two hour route which when you allowed for all the stops and the traffic had taken longer. Her route had been similar to ours though a bit wider in radius and no driving up and down the residential streets.
For lunch we find a nice flat bread cafe, Lisa and Baggage both have wraps, I have a flat bread grill which is like a pizza on a wrap.
After lunch we do the tour of the Chinese theatre which is very interesting, we get to see the biggest theatre screen in the US and behind the scenes where in the past the stars would have readied themselves for a premiere. Baggage and I also get to try out the new D-Max, sight and sensation seats, where your seat moves in relation to the movie you are watching to ‘complete the movie experience’
Our next stop is El Capitain, the Walt Disney flagship theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, here we watch Up, though the experience is not the same as it would have been in any other theatre. Firstly there is a live organist playing music before the film starts, as there would have been in most theatres in days gone by, then after the trailers (and there are no adds) a dance troupe take to the stage and you get a Magic Kingdom style song and dance show for about 20 minutes before the main feature. We had no expectation of this when we bought our tickets, though it did add up to a movie experience I doubt we will ever forget.
After the movie it is time for something to eat so we head for Mel’s Diner, a Hollywood institution since the 50s and have a great, and surprisingly very reasonably priced meal. The place does not look like it has changed much inside since the 50s, though I guess that is part of it’s appeal. I opt for the American standard of Burger and Chips, Lisa has Fish and Chips and Baggage has Chicken Noodle Soup.
After the diner we wander on down Hollywood Boulevard towards Hollywood and Vine and are once again able to see the famous Hollywood sign between the buildings. At the Junction of Hollywood and Vine lisa asks at the Pantages theatre if they have a public restroom to be told they do not and she could not be let around the back, one of the security guards then talks to us, shows Lisa where a bar is she can go to but when he discovers Baggage also needs to use the toilet he lets us in around the back of the theatre so she can go. When we are in there he then lets us into the back of the auditorium to see a bit of Dirty Dancing that is being performed on the stage, it is a presentation of the original Broadway production. We watch about 5 minutes before we gesture we probably need to leave as we want to catch the subway, I wonder how long he would have let us stay there if we had nowhere else to go?
We catch the train back to Pasadena and eventually get back to our hotel after 10pm, we are all exhausted after a full day in the city.
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