Day 112 - Speedy Sightseeing in LA

We were up and in reception for 09:00 in time for the pick-up from VIP Tours who took us to their main property about a mile and a half away. Here we got our tickets and then got onto the relevant bus after helping ourselves to some of the free popcorn on offer at the office. Then we were off in the small bus and making our way through all of LA’s main attractions. We drove through many places including: Marina Del Ray, Fisherman’s Village, Venice Beach, Farmers Market, The Grove, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Rodeo Drive, Chinatown, Kodak Theatre, and the walk of fame. We made a couple of half hour stops too along the way (Venice Beach, Farmers Market & The Grove, and Mann’s Chinese Theatre.)

Venice Beach was ok but not very appealing; mainly due to the cloudy weather and slightly run-down look to it. The tons of homeless people didn’t really increase the appeal either; we found it odd that so many celebrities have homes or offices here. The skateboarding scene is pretty big here and is quite cool, as is street basketball with all the courts here. The big thing for Venice Beach is the gyms, with the original muscle beach being in this location. Most of the working-out is done indoors now but there are still the odd few outdoor gyms for the monstrously huge body builders to pump iron at on the sunny days. Even the seagulls seemed to have been making use of these facilities as they were humongous. The beach was very quiet also, again probably down to the cloudy skies.

Filming for an advert along one of the streets at VB

The drive along Rodeo Drive was interesting to see all of the posh shops and flash cars and this could be a place we come back to have a stroll along later on in our travels.

Bugatti Veyron parked up on Rodeo Drive

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Farmers Market was good to look around and a great lunch stop though we both wanted more time to have a look around the neighbouring The Grove so this may be one of our stops to come back to.

At the Chinese Theatre we saw all the stars in the paving stones of the walk of fame and then the elite of these in the imprints of the cement in front of the theatre itself. We may be back to visit here also, especially seeing as we couldn’t see the Hollywood sign from this location because of the low lying clouds.

It was a good trip out and gave us a very informative insight into the sights of LA, along with lots of little stories about the histories, celebrities, and stupid money involved with this huge place. The driver also pointed out some of the places to avoid, especially if we’d be driving around ourselves, due to the infamous gangs of the states. He also pointed out that it was 20 years since the LA riots which was a massive event and would be covered a lot in the news tonight.

One of the areas not to go in LA

We grabbed a Subway sarni for tea and then got an early one.