So, for our second and third days in L.A., we had a a long list of places to visit, but still managed to squeeze in some impromptu activities. So let's get rolling!
Unrelated to movies but very unique are the La Brea Tar Pits & Museum. And yes, it smells like tar, and yes, it's still bubbling! The dioramas in the museum (and in the huge pit outside) are fantastic, and we learned a lot about the Ice Age. You can even see archaeologists digging up fossils from the different pits and paleontologists sorting and cleaning them in the lab. There's also a nice burrito place close by, can't remember the name though. 😕 In the picture with the orange light, those are wolf skulls, just to give you an idea how many animals died in those pits!
Now, let's get back to Hollywood! Ok, so the first picture is not in L.A., that's Pasadena's city hall. But it's pretty! Anyway, on the second picture you can see the famous Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where people like Judy Garland, Toto (yes, the dog from the Wizard of Oz), Johnny Ramone, and tons of silver screen stars now lay to rest. We drove through (it's huge, and the parking is expensive and packed) and had fun spotting the famous names. We also checked out the Bronson Cave, where you can get a really good picture of the Hollywood sign. And guess what? This is also the famous Batcave! 🦇
Of course, there's also the famous Walk of Fame and the hand and footprints in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater. We only checked out a few stars and prints, because there are thousands of them... but you could walk around with the app and have fun spotting your favourite people's stars! There's also the Babylon Court that's quite impressive. If you get on one of the platforms in the door, you'll also see the Hollywood sign.
Joel at this point decided we should take a celebrity house tour, you know, because it's a tourist thing to do AND you can never feel like you have money ever again. So we hopped on a 2-hour Hollywood Bus Tour with Jason. We had to visit Beverly Hills early because, believe it or not, Donald Trump was coming to town and we had to be out of there before they closed down the neighborhood! We even spotted his helicopters above downtown. Anyway, we checked out Sunset Boulevard and Rodeo Drive (the ultra expensive street), saw dozens of jaw-dropping celebrity houses, and got a great view of L.A. The house below belongs to the DJ who remixed "I Like to Move It" from the movie Madagascar. Don't care much for the celeb, but that house is cool!
Of course, we also checked out Madame Tussaud's to get a few pictures with our favourite stars! And there was a ball pool for grown-ups in the 90's section, over Hollywood Boulevard! I don't see how much cooler a museum can get. They even have a Beyonce model at the end in different stages in the making of a wax model. As you can see, we had a lot of fun.
Across the street, you'll probably spot the retro sign of the El Capitan Theater. When we were there, The Nightmare Before Christmas 4-D was screening, and since it was quite cheap, we decided it would be a nice activity to try. 🎃💀 Oh boy were we in for a surprise! Not only were there special effects to complement the action, but the whole theater was decorated for Halloween, and we had an organ player instead of pesky ads before the movie! And the organ descended into the floor when the movie started! I can't recommend this place enough. There was even an exhibit downstairs with props from the movie!
Because we loved the Studio Tour in Universal Studios so much, we decided that although it would (again) break the bank, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour would be a great way to fill in our last day in the city. And they delivered! We were most looking forward to seeing a real filming studio, but we got so much for our money. We learned how they make three-sided buildings (one side could be a school, another looks like a city hall, and another looks like a court of law, for example), and how they use the same buildings and streets again and again by just changing the decoration. 😮 We saw the famous stretch of "forest" (a few trees and some trailers covered in leaves) where the T-Rex chases the car in Jurassic Park. And that last picture of a patch of grass? That was Central Park in the series Friends. 😂
We were also treated to an incredible collection of Batmobiles, and we got to see plenty of movie props from Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Harry Potter, and many others. We also visited a set where there was actual filming; no pictures allowed, but it was so cool!
And I was very happy about this (always knew I was a good fit for Slytherin):
Another highlight: we got to sit in Sheldon's spot from the Big Bang Theory! 🖖 Knock-knock-knock Penny!
The studio also offered the possibility to take pictures in front of a green screen (too expensive to our liking) and on the Friends set. We checked out a short presentation on how they create sounds and atmosphere for a movie, and learned a lot about casting and writing storyboards and scripts. Joel even held a real Oscar!
We ended up spending some time (and money) in the souvenir shop after all that. Overall, a really good way to spend a half-day! And that's about all we had time to do in our short visit to L.A. I think we did pretty good! Our next destination was quite close this time: San Diego, here we come! Stay tuned, folks! 💜
TL;DR: There's so much to do in L.A.! If you're up for learning about nature, check out the unique La Brea Tar Pits & Museum. Everything else is related to movies: the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the Bronson Cave (the real-life Batcave and best views of the Hollywood sign!), the Walk of Fame and Grauman's Chinese Theater. For endless fun, there's also Madame Tussaud's Hollywood, and for hardcore fans there's always a Celebrity Homes Bus Tour available. Also try to squeeze in a visit to the Warner Bros. Studios!
Comments