20. Beverly Hills 90210
We said our goodbyes to Denise and Steve and flew down from Missoula to Los Angeles (via Portland) on the Monday evening before checking in to a quirky little bijou hotel in Beverly Hills. One full day was left in the city so we had booked a tour described as "LA in a day" and off we went early next morning.
The first photo stop was Santa Monica pier, followed by a bit of a walk around at Venice Beach. It all looked rather run down and not particularly attractive or exciting...maybe it looks better in the height of summer.
Next was a look at Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive which boasts the most expensive shopping in the world. For example, just to get an appointment at gentlemans outfitters, Bijan will set you back a non refundable $1,500. Unfortunately I had a prior engagement. Still, it was a very pleasant part of the city in which to have a meander.
Lunch was at the Farmers Market...think London's Covent Garden and you will get the idea. We just had a tuna melt sandwich whilst, somewhat bizarrely, mixing with the locals watching Liverpool beating Barcelona in the Champions League.
Once refreshed we drove on to Griffiths Park. The park boasts an impressive observatory at the top along with views of the iconic "Hollywood" sign and of the entire Los Angeles area.
Lastly we visited the famous "Walk of Fame" along Hollywood Boulevard. There are over 2,000 stars/names along the walk which runs for several blocks. Being a big tourist trap it was a case of having to run the gauntlet of hawkers, advertisers, street theatre beggars etc. and altogether not a place I'd particularly want to visit again.
The tour itself did what it says on the tin and was indeed a good way to see most of the top sights in a few hours. Our guide was humourous and pointed out many famous movie locations, homes of actors and other interesting information. In summary, I'm not over enamoured with Los Angeles, but it's been good to see a number of famous landmarks first hand.
We ended the day having a brief look around some of the Beverly Hills streets before settling on a very agreeable Italian restaurant for dinner. It's undoubtedly the best area to stay and signs of wealth are everywhere. No more beat up Montana style trucks around here....every other car is a Porsche or Mercedes or something equally expensive.
Tomorrow we begin the journey home. I'll do my best to write one further post before getting back to Jersey.
The first photo stop was Santa Monica pier, followed by a bit of a walk around at Venice Beach. It all looked rather run down and not particularly attractive or exciting...maybe it looks better in the height of summer.
Next was a look at Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive which boasts the most expensive shopping in the world. For example, just to get an appointment at gentlemans outfitters, Bijan will set you back a non refundable $1,500. Unfortunately I had a prior engagement. Still, it was a very pleasant part of the city in which to have a meander.
Lunch was at the Farmers Market...think London's Covent Garden and you will get the idea. We just had a tuna melt sandwich whilst, somewhat bizarrely, mixing with the locals watching Liverpool beating Barcelona in the Champions League.
Once refreshed we drove on to Griffiths Park. The park boasts an impressive observatory at the top along with views of the iconic "Hollywood" sign and of the entire Los Angeles area.
Lastly we visited the famous "Walk of Fame" along Hollywood Boulevard. There are over 2,000 stars/names along the walk which runs for several blocks. Being a big tourist trap it was a case of having to run the gauntlet of hawkers, advertisers, street theatre beggars etc. and altogether not a place I'd particularly want to visit again.
The tour itself did what it says on the tin and was indeed a good way to see most of the top sights in a few hours. Our guide was humourous and pointed out many famous movie locations, homes of actors and other interesting information. In summary, I'm not over enamoured with Los Angeles, but it's been good to see a number of famous landmarks first hand.
We ended the day having a brief look around some of the Beverly Hills streets before settling on a very agreeable Italian restaurant for dinner. It's undoubtedly the best area to stay and signs of wealth are everywhere. No more beat up Montana style trucks around here....every other car is a Porsche or Mercedes or something equally expensive.
Tomorrow we begin the journey home. I'll do my best to write one further post before getting back to Jersey.
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