In the early days of film, it was rumoured that a budding star only had to parade around the junction of Hollywood and Vine to be spotted by the film directors who drank coffee in restaurants here. Turning off the Boulevard, we saw the famous Hollywood sign high on the hills above and passed the iconic Capitol Records Tower, resembling a stack of 45rpm records, and actually visible from our bathroom window.
We are staying right in the middle of all this nostalgia at The Hotel Hollywood where the famous have stayed including James Dean and Marilyn herself.
Today, the pavement is inlaid with metallic stars …
… celebrating the famous and also in truth the not so famous and even cartoon characters.
Following the Walk of Fame along Hollywood Boulevard, we passed cafes and bars, souvenir shops and touts offering tours of star’s homes and movie locations. The gems are the remaining theatres, richly decorated in over the top styles, including The Egyptian Theatre which hosted the very first Hollywood Premier – Robin Hood in 1922 …
… and the El Capitan with a south-sea interior, although we would have needed to go to see the new Cinderella film to gain entry!
The Chinese Theatre was the most prestigious spot for a premiere for many years and the collection of hand and foot prints in the courtyard began with Douglas Fairbanks Sr and Mary Pickford and still continues today.
The Kodak Theatre, now renamed the Dolby has hosted the Academy Awards since 2002 and is surrounded by the Babylonian columns and elephants of a shopping centre.
Hollywood & Vine Metro station has film reels on the ceiling and is adorned with palm trees.
We took an easy 30 minute trip to Downtown LA, arriving at the Mission-style Union Station built in the 1930s.
Next a step back in time to the founding of LA as El Pueblo de Los Angeles when 44 settlers of Native American, African and European heritage travelled 1000 miles from Mexico to establish a farming community here in 1871. In the 1920s the last few building were saved from demolition and today the Plaza and Olvera Street remain as a memorial to the city’s roots.
Fortified with the local speciality of Taquitos with avocado sauce, we headed to City Hall, where we took the lifts to the top for a great views over the city.
We also explored the Financial district of Bunker Hill, Central Library and the Grand Central Market, together with the Angels Flight Railway …
… the stunning Bradbury Building atrium famous from Blade Runner …
… and had a restorative cup of tea in the very fancy Biltmore Hotel.
As we left we bumped into a film crew in Pershing Square, shooting a fight scene for a Chinese film and chatted to a couple of the production team and the stunt double for one of the actors.
We also passed another crew filming inside a bar, with all their paraphernalia lining the street outside.
The other thing we saw on the streets and couldn’t ignore was the huge number of homeless people living rough. Apparently they aren’t moved on here, unlike other places in the US, and with the mild climate and lots of tourists passing through with possibly a little cash to spare, Los Angeles has become a magnet, some being quite inventive with a proper little camp set-up, including water supply.
The star though was The Walt Disney Concert Hall, designed by Frank Gehry, with the stainless steel cladding looking fabulous against the blue sky.
We returned in the evening for a Mozart chamber concert and the inside was just as stunning, with acoustics enabling you to hear a pin drop!
One evening, going out to eat, the road was closed and we saw the odd cowboy, horse and stock transport with what looked like cattle inside. We found out we had just missed the World Movie Premiere for The Longest Ride at the Chinese Theatre, a film by Nicolas Sparks and starring Alan Alda among others, available to see in a movie theatre near you soon!
After dark, there is sparkle but some of it shows the other side of town …
Avoiding the Hollywood Tours, we cruised down Sunset Strip, by public bus in the daytime, then through Beverley Hills and Bel Air too! Our destination was The Getty Centre, a museum and research complex for the vast art collection of oil mogul J Paul Getty, designed by Richard Meier. The interconnecting buildings are separated by courtyards and gardens with fabulous views towards the hills and LA. Constructed of stainless steel and concrete, the walls are clad in 30 inches square panels using travertine marble, some polished and some split to show the rough fossil-bearing sandstone inside and contrasting with other areas finished in aluminium. Together with the careful mixing of straight lines and curves and taken against the stunning blue sky, it was another photographer’s dream! The only shame was that due to the drought in LA, the water features which usually consume 2500 gallons of water each day were turned off over a year ago to conserve water. So taken were we by the building and garden, the only paintings we went in to see were Irises by Van Gogh, especially as I have visited the garden in Provence where they were painted, and Manet’s Spring, new to the Getty and previously privately owned.
Returning, we got off the bus outside Amoeba Records, the world’s largest independent record store, just in time to catch Mark Ronson do a DJ set promoting his new album, Uptown Special. The store was filled with aisle upon aisle of everything you could think of and didn’t know existed – new, preloved, vinyl – with a crowd squeezed between enjoying the free show.
We also got entertained while we dined at Micelli’s, the oldest Italian restaurant in Hollywood, with red and white check tablecloths and wicker covered Chianti bottles hanging from the ceiling and the home of singing waiters and waitresses! The pianist accompanied dinner and our waiter who had toured Europe in the Lion King sang a couple of songs between courses … great fun!
Another fun meal was at Mel’s diner, a taste of yesteryear Americana complete with jukeboxes on the tables so you can pick the tunes and seating in cosy booths. Camille looked after us beautifully and the food was good.
So good in fact that we returned for an Elvis Sramble and Short Stack for breakfast before heading to LAX for our final flight of our 101 day round the world trip … home!
Thanks for travelling with us, and just for the record, the only things we didn’t get to see were whales and hobbits!
Off Travelling Together 