Our last couple of days in Los Angeles were pretty busy as we tried to pack in as much sightseeing as possible.
On Wednesday we bought tickets for the Big Red Bus. We have discovered that these 'hop on and off' buses are a great way to see as much as possible in a short time. They also give you a chance to see which attractios you would like to get back to for closer inspection. They are usually double decker Englsh buses and give great views from the top story.
Our first stop was Rodeo Drive, obviously not for shopping (!!!) but it was fascinating to see all the famous designer names and drool through the windows! We then headed for the Santa Monica Pier. This place is fantastic. It is a huge old pier which is lined with places to eat, souvenirs, games, carnival rides and a roller coaster. It is quite a long walk so there was plenty of exercise involved as well. After looking around I knew I wanted to ride the roller coaster. Knowing that Russ absolutely hates rides of all kinds, especially roller coasters, I was ready to go on my own, but he totally surprised me by offering to ride too. I would really like to report that he had a great time, but he was all gritted teeth, closed eyes and clench hands!!! I, on the other hand, loved it and could have happily gone around a few more times!
Once Russ was able to retrieve his stomach we decided to have some lunch. We chose a place called Bubba Gump. This place is made to look like a hillbilly shack and has lots of references to Forest Gump around. There arlocals of humerous signs hanging around and each table hs two signs - Run Forest Run /Stop Forest Stop - which are used to signal whether you need attention from your waiter.
The menu is seafood based, especially shrimp, which suited me as I am currently having a love affair with prawns! We shared a entree size tasting platter which was more than enough food for us (and a few more)!!! after a stroll along the very beautiful (and extremely wide) Santa Monica beach we jumped back on the bus and headed back to town.
Our next planned stop was going to be the La Brea Tar Pits museum but as time was running out we passed that and had a look around the Farmer's Market instead. It was getting late so we took the bus back to Hollywood Boulevarde, checked out the hand and footprints in concrete outside Graumann's Chinese Theatre and then packed it in for the day!
Our last day in LA we had to catch up on some domestic chores like mailing stuff home and doing the washing. I had a swim in the pool and at lunchtime we went to Paramount Studios for a tour. We met our guide, Betty, and after the introductory talk boarded the golf-cart. Our first stop was an empty studio. It looked like a huge aircraft hangar and the walls were lined with excess military mattresses for sound-proofing. The ceiling consisted of wide beams for hanging cameras and lighting plus an office area for production work. The next few studios were in various states of being set up or broken down for different productions.
We saw the area where Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez had their dressing rooms, production offices and a small apartment for when filming went late. It was all built around a replica of Lucille Ball's garden at hoe to make her feel more comfortable. The garden is also used for filming various shows including The Brady Bunch, 90210 and Glee. We were told the story that when Ball and Arnez divorced, he moved out of his dressing room and Lucille Ball had the doorway concreted over to indicate the relationship was done and dusted. It stays that way today!!!
I was then very excited when our next stop was Dr Phil's studio. He only records from August to February , so because it was not being used, we were able to check it all out. We saw backstage where Dr Phil and Robyn have their make-up done, the gym where he works out 4 hours a day, the green room and of course the set. I even got to sit in Robyn's chair in the audience, which has special lighting hidden under the seat in front so she always looks perfect. Her box of tissues was sitting ready under her seat and I could not resist pinching a couple of tissues as a souvenir!!!
Next stop was the area called New York where they have permanent street facades of each area of the city. It was so interesting walking up the steps to a building to find it only about 4 foot wide behind the door! Buildings that look like huge towers in films are actually only 4 stories, which are duplicated electronically for film.
Our last stop was the huge water tank where all underwater scenes are filmed including some from Titanic and the parting of the waters in the Ten Commandments. While we were touring around, hundreds of people were preparing the whole place for a huge party the next day to celebrate Paramount's 100th anniversary. It was looking amazing and really made me wish I was famous enough to attend!!!
We caught a taxi back to our apartment, quickly changed and headed out to CBS studios. I had managed to pick up two free tickets for the taping of the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. I love this show and watch it as often as I can at home so I was rapt to see it in person. We had a terrific time watching the interaction between Craig and his gay skeleton side-kick, Geoffrey Peterson. His guest was some lame comedian flogging his we book but on the whole it was a good night.
So that was our time in Los Angeles. We loved it but were very excited to be heading for Las Vegas despite our 5am pick up time!!!!
I am sorry I have been so slack in blogging but I promise to keep up better now. Thanks for hanging in there.
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