September 29 - Los Angeles, CA

Walk of Fame

Weather – morning was super cloudy and gloomy,
but not cold - 19º, high of 23º, sun came out late afternoon, definitely humid

Steps – 26,084! 19.6 Km

Our original thought for the day was a Hop-on Hop-off bus tour. We’ve been on many of these over the years over the world. While they are VERY touristy (we acknowledge we are tourists who want touristy things) they give a great overview of a place while providing transportation to far-flung places we can’t quite walk to, and we are

no caption needed

ahhhh, America!

very capable and happy to walk…FAR…today may actually be a record – I can’t actually remember how many steps we had in England once…over 20,000 for sure.

Anyway…after some research, we realized LA’s HOHOs probably weren’t that great. We decided to

Michael Jackson died here

walk to Hollywood, check out the Walk of Fame, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Boulevard, get some lunch and do a celebrity homes tour, oh and people watch…there’s plenty of people watching.

Laugh Factory

Our hotel is in East Beverley Hills, almost West Hollywood, about 6K south of Hollywood or 90 minutes walk. This was a lot. Plus…Getting to Hollywood takes at least one block of very hilly walking…no gym necessary today. We knew what we were getting into, but our 2-pint lunch was a sight for sore eyes, by the time we were sipping it was actually 9K!

I wasn’t looking for a 2-pint lunch, but it was forced upon me. OK, not exactly FORCED, but drinks were 2for1. This is the second time I’ve had a second drink FORCED upon me (remember Miami Mom?) this time we weren’t surprised. Sure we could have each had one, but that would have meant that we would have had to drink the same drink…it’s not 2for1 of any combination…it’s 2for1 of the exact same drink. Chris wanted Guinness and I will drink pretty much anything EXCEPT Guinness.

might do some shopping

After lunch was a 2-hour, 8 person, open-top vehicle tour of celebrity homes. We saw the Hollywood sign, homes of the Kardashians, Justin Timberlake, Quinten Tarantino, and Brono Mars, and Jennifer Lopez. We also drove up Rodeo Drive and down Sunset Strip. This all was

narrated by our drive/guide giving stories and gossip. This was the perfect tour…not too long, not too many people and to places we’d never see on our own. Bel Air was definitely the crème-de-la-crème of the fancy-schmancy neighborhoods. But…no actual celebrities were spotted.  If I had to choose, I’d choose Bel Air for my LA pad…the streets were narrow, so that trees from both sides formed a canopy – very charming. Who knows what the houses actually look like…mostly we saw gates and high walls, but the area…pretty nice.

By 4:15 we were done with the tour and headed back to the hotel. This was just the right time for happy hours all along Sunset Blvd and we were a bit parched. We found a charming wine bar with great staff, great prices ($5 for a glass of rosé) and great volume of vehicles zooming by.

Whisky a Go Go

We had absolutely no desire to stop for another glass until Hunter the door guy at a West Hollywood bar convinced us to have one more $5 glass of wine. Chris was over-dressed for this place…the fashion for guys was muscle shirts and short-shorts and the fashion for women…well, there weren’t many women.

Chinese Theatre

One quick stop at the CVS across the street from the hotel for a giant beer to share, a few snacks and we were in for the evening. It was only 8:00, but we were done.

Stacey…it’s only day 2, but so far I have no regrets on the carryon front. Not too much room for shopping, but I’m never a big shopper, did bring an emergency tote bag that currently is taking up little room and can be used if I NEED to check the carryon on the way home. Don’t want to be forced to, but can if a shopping spree breaks out.

$5 wine!

Lori…thanks, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to your mom too!

trek to Hollywood