The city of L.A

So, today we went on a city tour of Los Angeles. It was great, we cruised around the city in our air-conditioned bus and enjoyed sites such as Downtown L.A, the HOLLYWOOD sign, and Beverly Hills.

Our lovely tour guide was named Hal gave us a brilliant and insightful tour mentioning not only the history but the celebritiosity of the place. (officially coined that word)

On the walk of fame, we saw plenty of entrepreneurs who hung out taking tips for photos in their costumes. Some including Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper hanging out in front of the Chinese Theatre and a kind of creepy Willy Wonka outside a sweet shop whose costumes was amazing though.

 We also got a great look at the HOLLYWOOD sign. Unfortunately I somehow managed to close my eyes on this one... Luckily the smog had lifted by the time we arrived, however some of the earlier tours couldn't see it or the massive panorama of the city!

 Around Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive we saw plenty of fast cars and celebrity houses. All pointed out kindly by our guide Hal. There were $50 million houses owned by the likes of Tom Cruise and Madonna as well as restaurants regularly visited by Jennifer Aniston and Britney Spears.

For lunch we visited the Loteria grill in the farmers market. It was an amazing little Mexican place, which gave us some awesome burritos, enchiladas and absolutely legendary nachos! They cooked everything perfectly and gave us a really authentic experience.

Down-town L.A housed the amazing architectural work of Frank Gehry, completed in 2003 at the cost of a minor $130 million the Disney concert hall is now proudly the home of Los Angeles' Philharmonic. the magnificent building is reminiscent of the Sydney Opera House or even one of LA's popular skate parks. The The entire construction lines, angles and sweeping elevations/faces which catch the sunlight leave a lasting impression on your retina. Taking 4 years to create the original exterior panels had to be replaced from shiny,  'platinum' to a toned down matt finish to avoid the beaming midday LA sun causing heat and light issues with the surrounding buildings. In my opinion definately one of the most fascinating buildings of  LA which truly requires you to get up close and feel the interior lines and angles to get a true feeling of the engineering and ideas put into this construction. A modern architectural highlight with fresh ideas, not a glass walled white box void of character or humbling aesthetic design. (from Juliet x)

We also spent a little time in a Mexican market, giving us a chance to catch some rays and enjoy the Californian weather. We browsed the awesome wrestling masks and ponchos that are of course very stereotypical Mexican objects.

So, we really enjoyed our tour of L.A. Hal was awesome, and as you can see is right here in front of the tour bus with us! What an awesome guy :) After our tour, we freshened up and met the family downstairs. It was great to see them after around 8 years apart. We had a lovely meal and appreciated each others company during the evening. We ate at Tula's, the restaurant attached to the hotel and all really enjoyed ourselves!

 Watch the next post for our visit to Universal Studios!


Caroline & Juliet :)