Where have you been?

"Rodeo Drive - where the stars shop." Sure why not? We didn't stop but rather just drove very slowly. It was probably a good thing too because there were many, many expensive cars about (see the Lamborghini to the left?) - a slight fender bender would probably set you back about $100K!


We have a video of Rodeo Drive too so after I come back from our wedding I will try and get both of them (Rodeo and Mulholand Drives) posted.

From Hollywood we drove along Mulholland Drive across to Brendwood, Beverly Hills, and eventually Rodeo Drive. Mulholland is a fantastically curvy road and while the surface at place sucks it is a blast to drive along. I have a short video but I am not entirely sure how to post it. Some day...

Along Mulholland at various places you can see the San Fernando Valley. Know as "the Valley" it is famous for being the home for the Porn industry. According to HBO approximately 90% of porn is either made there or by companies based there.

Dispite America's love affair with the automobile (LA's especially) there have been attempts to make LA a public transportation city. Here you can see a schematic of the commuter train system. If you live along one of the train routes then I am sure it is supper convenient. Unfortunately enough people cling to their cars (like others cling to their gods and guns) and the system's overall development has been slow. People are more interested in building more Diamond lanes (lanes on freeways which are reserved for cars with more than one person in them) than a functional bus/train system. Someday, when petrol cost about twenty dollars a gallon, people might get interested...

Another "site" is the famous Hollywood sign. Only problem is that you can't actually go up to see it. Too many people jumped off of it in the past or something so it has been fenced off. But there is a nice, new mall right on Holly Blvd. that has a great view (where these photos are taken from).


Here is a conversation I have with most of my non-LA friends when they visit me:
"Where is the Hollywood sign?"
"Well, Hollywood is 30 miles north of Torrance, you can't see it from here."
"Really, I though you could see the Hollywood sign from everywhere in southern California."
"Not exactly."


As we can see from this picture it's even somewhat difficult to see it from Hollywood. And lets not mention the hazy days in Los Angeles when you can't even see the mountains!

Naturally a big draw to Hollywood is the Walk of Fame. Much like the other sites, however, after looking at the ground for a few minutes it gets sort of old.


My recommendation is to figure out the location of some stars you are intersted in and sort of go on a treasure hunt. That would make it a bit more interesting for a bit longer. Use a tool like this one to find the address and away you go.


We didn't plan anything but rather just walked around. Our favorites included Nicolas Cage, Michael Jackson, and Chevy Chase.


One of my all time favorites happens to be the famous Polish-American actor, Ted Knight. He was born Tadeusz Władysław Konopka to a Polish family in Connecticut. He is most famous for his acting on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and as Henry Rush on Too Close for Comfort by I love him for his role of Judge Smails in the cult classic Caddyshack. Chevy Chase is also in it as well. He plays Ty Webb. I love that movie!

Even Snoopy is popular in Hollywood! Notice the cheap souvenirs in the shop.


A banner for the Polish Film Festival along with the Wax Museum and El Capitan Theatre, both important historic sites, in the background.


Me standing on Hollywood Boulevard with Mel's Diner in the background. Hollywood and Vine are just up the street to the right (my left).


Seeing Mel's Diner motivated us to eat classic so we decided to eat lunch in a "real" 50's diner. Johnny Rocket's is an international chain but it still keeps (mostly) to the theme. Good burgers and cherry Coke. Yummy. My fiancee' tried her first chili cheese fries that day.


We also saw a stretched Chrysler 300M. Very nice.

And the wannabes.


I wasn't kidding.

Marilyn Monroe


Kevin Costner


Sean Connery


And the rest.

After the long and lonely night drive from Las Vegas to Los Angeles we were greeted by yet another bright and sunny day. We decided to head up to Hollywood to see what we could see.


What is there to really say about Hollywood? It's a normal city like any other yet everyone who has never been there seems to thinks it must be a paridise full of beautiful people and movie stars. Well, it sort of is but it is actually quite boring too.


Grauman's Chinese Theatre, seen in the photos here, is a good example. There is an immense amount of movie, and therefore cultural, history saved forever in the hard concrete in the forecourt. Charlie Chaplin, Joan Crawford, Shirley Temple, Judy Garland, Bob Hope, Gene Autry, Dick Van Dyke, George Burns, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, and Robin Williams just to name a few.


But after looking for minute or two what do you do, talk to one of the out of work actors dressed up like Batman or Jack Sparrow for tourist's photos?

The family visit done, we raced back to Los Angeles one evening with only a few more days left. With the main driving portion of our trip done we had Hollywood, the beaches, and some fine dining left to accomplish.


We passed through Vegas at night and took a few final shots of the lights.