DisneyFeast West&East:Day 8 Hollywood Hills,Heights&Sights

[WileyCoyote]

But first, I keep meaning to post this re-assuring extract from the hotel guide in Pismo



And so on to our day in Hollywood ...

Depressingly we are awake at 6, after fully expecting to be comatose for hours from yesterdays marathon theme park epic. Not to be. Our room is really good, but overlooks the road and there is traffic noise . We have a very nice in-room coffee and I make a trip to do more laundry. The boys are awake when I get back but are not bothered about breakfast so Andy and I go and have some and leave them in bed. This is all very nice although the breakfast area is very busy and our leisurely approach to our breakfast attracts scathing looks from would be eaters who covet our table – well, they should have got up earlier then !







A more relaxed start to the day and we are setting off around 1100. I do feel a bit queasy though and not really enjoying the drive over to Beverly Hills. This is not helped by the SatNav refusing to recognise Rodeo Drive , so we type in a road we think is near there, but its not, its miles away and in an area that looks more like the Bronx so a swiftly executed U turn in the middle of the road and we are heading back. Surely this place cant be that hard to find so we try again – Im not at all sure whether we might need to make an emergency stop for me to be sick – we decide that outside the scary FBI building behind all these flags





probably isn’t the best choice so carry on. Miracles do happen and lo, we see the sign we have been looking out for











All very nice I must say but no space to park – all taken up by personal shoppers and show offs. We go past the car park , confident a second circuit will yield a space. This is where one way systems can defeat you so its not quite as straightforward as it looks. We do spot some troll being papped walking into a restaurant – no idea who it was – she clearly had a botox overload which hadn’t done anything for her turkey neck or legs – star spotting count very disappointing. Back onto Rodeo Drive for circuit number two and no spaces – so this time we try the car park ( genius , I know) and there are spaces but you need the exact change – which we don’t have. So Andy sets off to a posh shop to see if they will change a dollar for him which finally they do but it sounds like it was quite a negotiation ( this is Beverly Hills Dahling, we just don’t DO cash). Hurrah, finally we are parked .

We wander along, the boys are not remotely interested , only in this Bugatti – which must be there all the time as I have seen it on other days in other people’s trippies.











We exclaim outrage that someone’s posh dog has pooped on the sidewalk and its been left there – shocking ( do remember this poop, it features it again). Money doesn’t buy you class does it !
Up and down we go and the boys do their best to look miserable and completely spoil the pictures – me really in my element and three miserable Neanderthals ( well, definitely two) lugging along. I am satisfied though that now I have my “ I was here” pictures, we can leave.

[WileyCoyote]

I have no intention of buying anything so we walk back up and as a bit of playful boy argy bargy ensues , who gets pushed in the dog poop ? ME

They have the whole street to mess about , I come all the way to ruddy Beverly Hills and get pushed in posh dog muck by my own son ! :angry:

See the funny side – not. I am wearing open sandals which makes it even less funny. Fortunately , I have an endless supply of wipes in my bag .

So poopgate aside, we head off to the Farmers market – the fresh air ( minus the carbon monoxide of the Ferraris, lambos and other boys toys) seems to have quelled my queasiness and having had no breakfast , the boys are starving. No problem, the LA Farmers Market is just round the corner.

Yes , indeed it is if you type in 63330 and not 6330 – see one digit makes a whole lotta difference – like 60 minutes, 20 miles and a trip all round downtown LA, past the convention centre , past the Commercial market ( which I kept telling everyone is NOT the place we are looking for just because it says market ) and through the jewellery quarter which whilst very interesting was also quite scary. So we pull over and after much scratching of head and probably some shouting , the correct address is entered and we are on our way – back to just round the corner from where we set off. Now is not the time to fess up that it was me who put the address in incorrectly first time around

scenic downtown LA





to be continued - photobucket is really playing me up tonight

[KarenG]

Im too early, as you've not finished but I do at least have to say - dog poop in Beverley Hills that you end up in - must be several jokes in there! Poor you though, that's really not nice

[tonymc]

Another "too early"! Enjoying your reports, and getting ideas for our own visit to CA next year - looking forward to the rest.

[ginger ninja]

too posh to pick up poop - disgusting

[GIDDYKIPPER]

can't wait for more

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by KarenG

Im too early, as you've not finished but I do at least have to say - dog poop in Beverley Hills that you end up in - must be several jokes in there! Poor you though, that's really not nice

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I couldnt believe it - the whole blooming street and I end up in that exact spot. The son responsible, not being named for shame purposes, was horrified and in such a tizzy that I couldnt stay cross for very long so by the time we had got back the car we did all see the funny side

Originally Posted by tonymc

Another "too early"! Enjoying your reports, and getting ideas for our own visit to CA next year - looking forward to the rest.

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thanks - its a big place - have been reading other trippies thinking" wish we had done that " ourselves

Originally Posted by ginger ninja

too posh to pick up poop - disgusting

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Yep, thats what we thought - as dog owners oursleves we always have the trusty tesco carrier bag in coat pockets ready for the poop scoop business - clearly not something one does with Tiffany or Prada bags though !

Originally Posted by GIDDYKIPPER

can't wait for more

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thanks - we had really slow internet last night so I gave up

[WileyCoyote]

We get to the Farmers Market around 2pm and I am glad that we stuck it out to get here – it’s a really great place – and allows us all to choose something different. Jamie opts for a tuna sandwich and Nick and Connor want pizza so we sort them out and settle them at a table to eat while we have a look around to explore and choose something. Andy wants a kebab ( kabob) but they only do lamb or chicken and he has some difficulty explaining that at home he can get a “mixed” one from the van down the road – Finally he concedes defeat and just chooses a lamb one. I go back to where the boys are and have a meatball Panini – which is massive and Andy ends up eating half.














We do another circuit of the market, taking in the sights and smells and purchase a corkscrew in the French shop at the end before crossing out over into the Grove shopping area.

[WileyCoyote]

Stopping in here is apparently a must



so I sit and soak up the lovely atmosphere , watching the fountains and fish and lazing in the heat – this is indeed the life and really rather nice.

[WileyCoyote]

After a brief wander round , with no further purchases being made we set off in our quest to see the Hollwywood sign, having googled the best place from which to see it – safely and correctly entered into the SatNav.





Its about 4pm and the SatNav takes us on a very bendy route up to the viewing point , we do get excited as we round the corner, thinking we have really scored here coming on this residential route – to turn the corner and see that had we come the other (sensible way) with its nice wide road, that this is clearly marked out for all to see that its an oservation point. No matter, we got here first time round and another very nice English family even take our photo for us . Job done, sight ticked off list.







First we need to refuel , as its running very low and we don’t fancy the walk. Incredibly the SatNavs “points of interest” includes petrol stations and it takes us straight to one – its almost forgiven its previous misdemeanours. We drive past here on the way – we didn’t get to go in as we picked Universal over the WB studio tour.



Its around 5.30 when we get back to the hotel and drop the car off for our walk to the strip. Its busy as expected and having foolishly left the guide map as to where each star is , we are left to our own intuition to find the ones we want to see. I do though concede that I just cant be bothered to walk all the way to Vineland to see the Duran Duran star. Its not as easy as you think negotiating all these people while looking downwards !















We get hussled by some of the lookylikeys and Jamie discovers that he is in fact taller than some people, a fact which delights him being on the rather shorter side of life. So we snap away at lots of stars – they all look pretty similar and after a while the novelty does wear off – as does the business of negotiating peoples feet– I wonder when people get given a star if they are then disappointed to find it’s a long way off from the main strip ?









I found this very poignant - an army recruiting station at the end of the Boulevard



We have loads of snaps of stars - they all look pretty much the same !
I can see the sun has reflected off some of them - I am by Elvis Presley , my childhood hero, and Connor is by Bob Marley, long story but relates to a hat I once made him wear as a small child, for which I am eternally reminded ...

to be continued as I have to get the kids out of bed