Santa Monica

Found the boulevard really interesting with great shopping and also fantastic eateries. Lively atmosphere with lots of street shows in the evenings.
There are five shopping areas in Santa Monica, each with its own style and pace.

►Within the downtown center is the world famous Third Street Promenade, an open-air pedestrian promenade alive with cafés, bookstores, kiosks, cinemas, fashion boutiques and novelty shops; Santa Monica Place, an ocean-view shopping mall, designed by world-renowned architect Frank O. Gehry, with 140 unique places to buy the best of what the world has to offer; and along the surrounding streets are myriad galleries, shops and restaurants to satisfy every taste. Find everything from toys to top-designer fashions for you and your well-dressed home.

►Twelve-blocks long, Main Street combines beach casualness with an eclectic collection of galleries, jewelry and craft shops, design studios and antique collections accented by cafés, coffeehouses, and restaurants. Don’t miss the intriguing courtyards and the side-street shops just two blocks from the sand.

►The Ocean Avenue and Pier district, including Ocean Front Walk and the Santa Monica Pier is a year-round shore-side carnival with ocean side and ocean view eateries, souvenir shops, bike and surfboard rentals, an historic carousel and a brand-new by-the-sea amusement park.

►In the midst of Santa Monica’s prominent residential area is Montana Avenue where you’ll find 130 sophisticated, upscale, one-of-a-kind shops that cater to elegant taste in fashion for men, women, children and the home. This is a favored spot to sight celebrities who live nearby and frequent the world-class stores and 19 amazing restaurant.

Directions: Take I-10 West until the end. For surface streets, go west on Wilshire Blvd. until you see the Pacific Ocean. MTA Bus Routes 20 and 720 connects Downtown L.A. with Santa Monica via Wilshire Blvd.

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Santa Monica

Disneyland, Los Angeles

When Walt Disney Draw a figure of a mouse in the 1920's when he was just a struggling animator in the depths of despair at not succeding at that time, never did he realized that he was setting the foundation of a Worldwide Entertainment Empire and the "Happiest Place on Earth", This Disneyland started it all when it opened in 1955 in the LA suburb of Anaheim which was a backwater then. Today, about 520 million people have visited this theme park and many have been repeat performers (like me). Disneyland revolutionized the way that theme parks will become a total package for families and groups. Again, it all started with one anonymous pet mouse of Walt Disney!

It Gives you the goosebumps upon entering disneyland since the last time i've been here was when a was 18 years old (ages ago!) and again back for the 50th anniversary in 2005. Disneyland is divided into Themes or realms which radiate like the four cardinal points of the compass from Central Plaza, and well-concealed backstage areas. These themes are the ff: Main Street USA, Adventureland, New Orleans Square, Frontierland, Critter Country, Fantasyland, Mickey's Toontown and Frontierland. There's different rides and attractions for the whole family and it was a good thing that the last time i've been here was late september so it was a lean season unlike in summer or spring break so you can ride almost all rides in one day without buying front of line passes.

Opens everday: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm

2008 Theme Park Tickets Ages 3-9 Ages 10+

2-Day Park Hopper® Ticket
Valid now thru January 5, 2010. $123.00 143.00

1-Day Park Hopper® Ticket $84.00 $94.00

Single-Day Theme Park Ticket $59.00 $69.00

(hopper ticket means you can go to both Disneyland and California Adventure Parks)

Phone: (714)781-4565/520-5060/781-4000

Directions: 1313 S. 1313 S Harbor Blvd, Anaheim, CA 92802

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Disneyland, Los Angeles

Hollywood Walk of Fame

Take a stroll down Hollywood Blvd. - there's lots to see. First and foremost the STARS! The "Walk of Fame" goes along Hollywood Blvd. from La Brea all the way down to Gower, as well as along Vine Street down to Sunset. But don't forget to look up as well as you walk amongst the Stars - there are many sights to see: Galaxy Theater Complex, Chinese Theater, Kodak Theater shopping complex, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the El Capitan Theater, Max Factor museum (on Highland), Hollywood Wax Museum, Ridgley's Believe it or not, Guiness World of Records, Frederick's of Hollywood, the Pig-n-Whistle restaurant, the Egyptian Theater, mixed in between numerous little souvenier-shops, as well as tatoo-parlors, and punk-rock stores. Of course there are also many little eateries and bars, and a variety of street-performers. Plenty of stuff to fill an entire afternoon and evening.

Factoid: besides tourists, Hollywood Blvd. has also a tendency to attract riff-raff and low-lives. So hold on to your purses. We'd recommend you stay in the LaBrea/Highland area (around the Chinese theater) at evening and night time. Oh yeah - also be aware: you might get offered a "free stress test" - this is a service from the people of Scientology! (A religion founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard.))

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Hollywood Walk of Fame

Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Wow, this place really has something for just about everyone! I'm not always into traditional museums, they wear on me after a while; I think it's because I feel like I should like something that I really don't. That being said, the Getty was perfect! There was modern art, architectural displays, furniture, traditional oils and watercolors, and more! I do love Van Gogh and I was able to ponder his painting of the Iris'. One of my favorite exhibits was on post war Japan's modern art movement - Art, anit-art, non-art. There was even a phone that Yoko Ono supposedly calls in on occasionally :)

The gardens alone took a huge chunk of our time They were fun, interesting and the flowers were in full bloom. It seems they had just reopened after maintenance and renovation ... so the grass was nonexistent from a recent reseeding. The views of the city was wonderful despite the overcast day, and with the air pollution issues in LA, I suspect most days are a bit overcast. I'll build a TL of my garden pics later for you to enjoy.

Parking, even for a weekend was not too bad, and the tram from the parking area to the museum complex was a little bit fun. Though the parking fee was a bit shocking at $8 a car, I later discovered this is the only fee you pay to enter the museum, and since the fee is per car, this is an amazingly cheap day. Handicapped vehicles park for free BTW :) The complex is too huge to take in everything in just one day, so don't try. Do pick up a program from the tram station to help you prioritize your day.

Handicapped access was easy and smooth - but if you are NOT on wheels, you'll want to borrow one from the museum complex - distances are a bit difficult with assistive devices. And another thing that I just LOVE, being all fair skinned and all, is that they have umbrellas around the complex to borrow - for rain or much needed shade.

All in all, I do look forward to heading out there again for another day of fun, art, and to perhaps ponder yet another painting or two.

Directions: Exit the 405 onto Getty Center Drive. Follow the signs.

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Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Grauman's Chinese Theatre: Mann's Chinese Theatre

Mann's Chinese Theatre opened over 70 years ago and is one of the most famous landmarks in Los Angeles. The first film ever shown here was the silent film "King of Kings," produced by the legendary Cecil B. DeMille. Since then, the Chinese Theatre has been the site of more Hollywood movie premieres than any other theatre. The outside of the theatre was updated a few years ago, so it is more accessible than ever. This is a great place to see a movie while you are in town!

Mann's Chinese Theatre was orginally called Grauman's Chinese Theatre, after owner Sid Grauman. You'll still hear it refered to as such in Los Angeles. Sid was the one who came up with the idea of putting the stars' handprints and footprints in wet cement in front of the theatre in order to attract more customers. Now, the large entryway is covered with them. A little known fact.... Sid's co-owners were Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks!

Inside the theatre, there are 2,200 bright red seats and red carpeting. Overhead, a chandelier is set in the center of a large, ornate starburst, surrounded by a ring of dragons - which is, in turn, encircled by a ring of icons portraying scenes from Chinese drama. Smaller Oriental lamps glow at the sides of the auditorium, hanging between intricately-carved stone columns; black & white murals of trees and pagodas fill the spaces in between.

The Chinese Theatre now offers a half-hour guided walking tour of the theatre. The charge is $5 (and kids under 5 are free). The tour takes guests inside the historic theatre, and the guide tells guests about the the history of the theatre, the footprints in the forecourt, the architecture, and the premieres that have been held there.

Phone: (323) 464-8111

Directions: The Chinese Theatre is located at the northeast corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Orange Drive, just west of Highland Avenue, and just eleven blocks west of the corner of Hollywood & Vine.

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Grauman's Chinese Theatre: Mann's Chinese Theatre

Universal Studios, Hollywood

You know the dance with this place - theme park / studio tour.

Was expecting a little more from both.

Firstly, Universal Studios only has 2 decent rides - The Revenge of the Mummy, a slow ghost train with animatronics, turning into a pitch black roller coaster, with operators that clap and whoop like demented sea-lions with the arrival and departure of every kart, and Jurassic Park, which is your typical log-flume style ride but with unfortunately only ONE proper drop. All the other rides are BOBBINS - inc the much celebrated Back To The Future which would be even an embarrassment to most UK theme parks. As for the shows - Terminator is fairly good, Shrek is a similar style but for kids. The best is by far Waterworld which has some awesome effects - including a full size plane being thrown over the set towards the audience. Whoops, I've just ruined it.

The second part is the famous (but predictable) studio tour.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Most of Universal's attractions are shows, so check the daily show schedule first. We saw Waterworlds last performance and it was a sell-out. Try to arrive at the theatre at least 15 mins before the show time listed in the handout.

Sit on the left (drivers side) of the tour bus for better views.

Do the lower lot first. Most people start at the Upper Lot and you can see them go "downstairs" massively in the afternoon. The lower lot typically opens an hour or so after the park, so use that first hour to visit the most popular of the upper attractions.

To avoid the crowds, try not to visit on weekends, school vacations, and Japanese holidays.

If you're willing to pay extra money to save the hassle of standing in line, the park offers a "Front of Line" pass, as well as VIP passes (private tours). You can also purchase and print your tickets online. Although the park wasn't that busy, we had the front of line passes and it meant we got on The Mummy about 12 times. Buy normal tickets on-line, and then if the park is busy, buy the FOL separately at their in-park ticket booth.

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Universal Studios, Hollywood