Los Angeles

Well, there’s not a lot to say about Los Angeles except that it’s full of things you recognise from the movies but have never seen in real life, everything seems very familiar.  Without the glitz and glamour of the red carpet it’s a bit of a seedy place really, quite tacky.  However, our tour guide took us up into Beverley Hills and Bel Air, a very short drive across, not along, Rodeo Drive because the rich people don’t like tour buses and a walk along the stars of Hollywood Boulevard … did you know they charge you $75,000 for a star?  They’re not free and despite what Nickelback say in their single Rockstar … “somewhere between Cher and James Dean is fine for me …”  you do not get to choose where you star is and bearing in mind they run for about 2 miles you could be in the Outer Hebrides!

Anyway, we’ve seen the stars’ homes, we’ve walked the path of the red carpet to the Sony Theatre where they held the Oscars last Sunday (albeit the red carpet had gone by then), we had the best burger in the world, the sun was shining, we were in an open-sided bus in glorious weather, we saw the Hollywood sign and some movie scenes … that’ll do for us 😊

Max Factor is an actual person … it’s the same as Estee Lauder – you think she’s just a man-made smell! 

This could be anything, but I promise you this is the Beatles’ stars outside of Capitol Records!

A full Greta Garbo, an upside Olivia Newton-John and half a Ricky Martin!

The stars go on for miles! The only star not on the floor is Muhammed Ali … his religion forbade anyone to walk on his name.

The Dolby Theatre, home of the Oscars … only last Sunday.

The Hollywood sign … “proper” and then with us about a million miles away in the background!

The famous Viper Room … a place where a lot of nutters, albeit famous nutters, met their maker through drugs overdoses, River Phoenix to mention one.

Off to the movies …

Where the taxi pulled into to drop the Fresh Prince of Bel Air at Uncle Phil’s.

Where Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) climbs the fire escape to rescue Vivienne (Julia Roberts) in Pretty Woman.