It’s Always Sunny in California!..Eh?...L’il Bit! About This Page:

[jenseib]

Stacy tried to get me a closer look at the Hollywood sign. I just kept taking pictures one right after another. I was sure one would turn out decent. LOL.







This one is probably the best one I got.



She even dropped me off along the road and then drove up and turned around to pick me up so I could try some shots, but there were too many trees in my way.



We then set off again and I believe this is the Capital record building if memory serves me right.



And then we passed the Hollywood Tower and as any good Disney fan should know, this was the inspiration for Tower of Terror…..Ok, I actually forgot till I saw it that there really was a Hollywood Tower! OOPS!







We soon were passing the Hollywood walk of fame with all the stars on the side walk!




We found a parking spot and got out and of course my search was on! There are a LOT of stars but soon I found the one I was looking for!

You wouldn’t even believe how hard it was to get a picture. So many RUDE people walking all over his star!!!!



I was so happy to have found it and we then made our way down to see the Chinese Theatre and I took pictures along the way.

Notice the creepy Mickey in the corner of the picture. Also a bad imitation of Captain Jack Sparrow. They had tons of people dressed up as characters along the way and you could get your picture taken with them for a fee.



Minnie just does not look right.



They did have a dead ringer for Michael Jackson and Johnny Depp though.
We passed the Dolby theatre and they were setting up for the Oscars for the following Sunday. They had bleachers out front and Stacy said they closed the road down and put the red carpet right there.





And the theatre is just down the road.





And this is the first one I see!





There was quite a few people looking around and we searched and searched the names. I swore Walt had one here, but I think I was wrong. After I got home I looked it up and didn’t see his name on the list.

I did however find another one of my favorite stars.



There were a lot of names that I didn’t recognized too. It was really interesting. I had heard that sometimes they move these around so that the more popular ones are easier to get to. I am not sure if that is true or not, but some did look like they could be dug up and moved.

We soon were running out of time so we headed back towards the car.

Again we passed the Dolby Theatre.





And I took a few shots as we walked.



Yes, this is where Jimmy Kimmel is filmed.



And my favorite star once again.

[chezp]

I am so with you about how rude people are when you're taking photos of the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I couldn't believe that the last time we were there.

[rhinohunter]

Nice visit to Hollywood. Love the pictures.

[JBelle]

FUN!!!!

I love old Hollywood and learning all about it. Your pics of the Hollywood sign are so neat-- it's interesting to see pics of how busy it is now and how it was when they first put the sign up when it was called Hollywoodland.
And every time I see the sign I can't help but think about that lady who jumped to her death off of the letter 'H'.

The people dressed as characters out in front of the theater scared me half to death when I was there. I was not comfortable at all.

I don't know if this is how you felt but the strangest thing to me was how different it all is in person. On TV you think it's glitzy and glamorous where they have the Oscars but getting there and all around it is totally opposite of that. Lots of homeless people and drug addicts roaming around. Scary.

It really did prove to me that it's all an illusion created for outsiders to just be spectators to their fantasy.

I'm enjoying your TR. Thanks for a neat update!!

[lfredsbo]

What a great photo walk!!! And I hear you about rude people.....see it all the time
Those Mickey and Minnie's remind me of the ones you see in NYC! Scary looking!

[jenseib]

Originally Posted by chezp

I am so with you about how rude people are when you're taking photos of the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I couldn't believe that the last time we were there.

I know! I was standing right there with a camera in hand ready to shoot and people would practically walk right into me. How could they not see me? I am not a small person!

Originally Posted by rhinohunter

Nice visit to Hollywood. Love the pictures.

It was such a treat to see it all.

Originally Posted by JBelle

FUN!!!!

I love old Hollywood and learning all about it. Your pics of the Hollywood sign are so neat-- it's interesting to see pics of how busy it is now and how it was when they first put the sign up when it was called Hollywoodland.
And every time I see the sign I can't help but think about that lady who jumped to her death off of the letter 'H'.

The people dressed as characters out in front of the theater scared me half to death when I was there. I was not comfortable at all.

I don't know if this is how you felt but the strangest thing to me was how different it all is in person. On TV you think it's glitzy and glamorous where they have the Oscars but getting there and all around it is totally opposite of that. Lots of homeless people and drug addicts roaming around. Scary.

It really did prove to me that it's all an illusion created for outsiders to just be spectators to their fantasy.

I'm enjoying your TR. Thanks for a neat update!!

I read about the lady that killed herself. So sad. It is weird that when that sign went up it was to promote a development. And now look at the area!


There were 2 girls dressed in some cutesy pirate outfits trying to get people to take a picture with them. No one would because they were dressed like no one special. LOL

Actually I was pretty impressed with Hollywood compared to what I thought it would be. Everyone told me it was bad and junky and I didn't think it was all that bad at all, at least where we went and I mentioned that to Stacy. She told me they are really working on cleaning it up lately and it was looking better. I mean it wasn't fabulous, but it was much better than I expected it to be.

Originally Posted by lfredsbo

What a great photo walk!!! And I hear you about rude people.....see it all the time
Those Mickey and Minnie's remind me of the ones you see in NYC! Scary looking!

Yes, there were a lot of rude..and strange people there. There were a ton of tourist there that day too. It was interesting to just take it all in.

[jenseib]

As we walked back to the car, Stacy would point out different places and what some of them were. I know this place was something, but I don’t remember what.





This place totally cracked me up. The Rusty Mullet.



Totally creepy.



And we were off once again and heading towards Universal.







Soon we arrived at Universal.



Technically, we were not sure if we could take pictures, so I put my big camera away and had my point and shoot ready. I also took phone pictures, so as I post them they may not be in the correct order, but I think I used the phone first then switched to the point and shoot.

We were let in and given passes and found a spot to park. We then went to Stacy’s BF’s building and he had to come and let us in…..basically because we went in at the wrong spot. LOL.
We both had to use the bathroom and then her BF showed me where he worked and what movie he was working on right now. I forget the name, but something like under the stairs and it was a kids movie out several years ago and I believe they were adding a foreign language to it. He said the movie is awful and after watching it over and over it’s even worse. LOL.

Once we had used the restroom he took us out to a golf cart and we started carting around, with Stacy and I on the back and Mark as our chauffer.

I took a few quick shots as we set off. The sun was not my friend today.



We also drove right by the stage where they were setting up the stage for the Voice. I am not sure why it had been taken down, but it was quite the project going on and we did peek in there later and it looked like a big mess to me.

I believe these were props in storage.



This was a set used in a lot of movies and they just change things around for each movie.







I believe this was a western set.



Be careful!!! There is a Jaws set here somewhere!!!!





It was super hilly here and we got some great views.



Not very good pictures, but we just passed Whoville.





They also pointed out a few stars offices. I forget which ones were there, but Stacy has gone to some for meetings in the past.

I missed the hotel as we drove by…but you should all recognize the creepy house at the top of the hill…..Can anyone say psycho!!!!



And we went up to the top of the hill and around the house and I got a side shot.



This set is from War of the Worlds.



Those are airplane parts. Good thing I didn’t see that earlier this morning.



Kind of funny to see the War of the World set with the Psycho house in the background.

[chezp]

Very cool shots from Universal!

[pamcarey]

Cool! So you are in the area where the theme park tour goes?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

[jenseib]

Originally Posted by chezp

Very cool shots from Universal!

Thanks

Originally Posted by pamcarey

Cool! So you are in the area where the theme park tour goes?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

Part of where went was.

[jenseib]

As we rode around we did see the parks backlot tour come around and at times we had to wait for the tram to go by.
We then came to this hill and wow!!!!! What a view!



At this point a tour tram came by and noticed us on the golf cart and we heard comments like “They must be VIP’s”. We just laughed at that one. Sure, we are celebrities! Take our picture!!!!
I then decided to pull out my point and shoot since the people on the tram were taking pictures in this area anyways.

I took more pictures of the gorgeous view.







Mark pointed out Warner Bros. And he said off in the distance was Disney Studios, but I could never make it out where he was exactly pointing.





On we went then.



This lot is super hilly and we were going up and down hills constantly.

There’s a tram on tour.



At one point we went by the Jaws set but it was completely drained out and they weren’t sure if it is going under maintenance or of it’s going to be demolished for something else. I did not take a picture though…probably because it looked very creepy.

This area used to be an amphitheater but it has been torn down. Stacy was bummed about that as she has seen some great concerts here and she said it was a great venue. But I was excited for the reason it was torn down. Something new is coming to Universal Hollywood! Something I will enjoy!!!! Harry Potter!



No one seems to have the official word on what ride is coming, but the way I have read it, it sounds like Forbidden Journey and the Hogwarts castle.



As we drove by here you could see people leaving and entering the park part of Universal.



I believe this was also part of the Harry Potter construction.



Another quick shot of the fabulous views.



The golf cart would really pick up speed when we went downhill.



In that past picture you can see the backs of signs along the road. Each sign had a name of a movie made by Universal.

Universal has its own fire department.



Squeezing between stages.







Mark gave lots of info as we went around too. He was a great tour guide and of course Stacy had some info on things as well. I was really thankful for such a wonderful tour…and day!



While we were there we worried about running late for dinner, so Stacy called our restaurant and moved the dinner reservation from 5 to 5:30. Mark asked if we wanted to see a few other things, but we knew we had limited time so we headed out towards the restaurant and Mark was going to close up his stuff and meet us there.

As we buzzed down the road….again with hardly any traffic…we went by the other side of the Hollywood Tower and I took a couple really quick shots as we whizzed by.





We were making really good time and we drove by Paramount at one point and Stacy said there was a cemetery in there as well for many old stars.

It is called the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, but I think Stacy told me it was named something else previously.
Since we made good time, we went around the block to go and see if it was still open. I know this sounds weird, but when Stacy and I were young, we used to love to go to cemeteries and look around at the grave sites and names. Sadly, as we pulled up they were shutting the gate and I looked at my watch and it was just a few minutes after 5, so we assumed 5 must be the closing time.
Since I have gotten home, I looked it up to see if I recognized any of the people buried there. There are a lot of names I do not recognize at all, but here are a few I did…. Cecil B. DeMille, Marion Davies (who was Hearst’s mistress…. the one who had lived in Stacy’s apartment building), George Harrison, and this one I found kind of funny….. Terry (1933–1945), dog actress, best known for playing Toto in The Wizard of Oz. Terry has a cenotaph (empty tomb); following her death in 1945, she was buried on owner/trainer Carl Spitz's ranch in Studio City, Los Angeles. The grave was subsequently destroyed during the construction of the Ventura Freeway in 1958.

Since it was closed, we gave up on that idea and then slowly made our way to the restaurant. Dinner tonight was at Osteria Mamma, a favorite Italian restaurant of Mark and Stacy’s. Stacy said Mark will use any excuse to go there and so he decided it was important for me to try it and to sweeten the pot, he said he would treat me as well. Hey, I have no problem eating Italian, and when it’s free, it even tastes slightly better.

We arrived early since the traffic was pretty good and we found a parking spot right alongside the place, so we stood outside a few minutes and chatted and then headed in. The place was practically empty. We were seated at a corner table near the window and we talked and Stacy told me what she liked from the menu and gave me suggestions.

Stacy ordered her favorite appetizer which I believe was called Carpaccio Di Filetto, Fillet mignon carpaccio with arugula and Grana Padano cheese. She had been telling me about this all day long. I was leery because the meat is raw!!! I just found that really weird. But she insisted it was good and I wouldn’t get sick. LOL. Now I like my meat pretty red, but raw always seems unsafe to me.

Mark soon joined us and our appetizer was brought out. I did try it and it wasn’t bad. I had to work past my mental fears, but it was pretty good, but not something I would rave over, but still good. We also got bread, and I am a breadaholic and ate way too much of that.

For dinner Stacy and I both ordered the Spaghetti Meno Male, Fresh tomato, basil and fresh mozzarella. She ordered hers first and then I said I would like the same thing. When they brought it out, they brought just a serving for her and an extra plate for me. LOL. We quickly told them no, I wanted my own plate, there is no sharing going on tonight.
I am sad to say that we were talking so much that I just didn’t think to take pictures and when I did, I had eaten half of my portion. I fixed it nicely and then took a blurry shot.



This was to die for! I would come back here at any time. Very good food and a friendly staff. Since we had been the only people in there for a bit, the staff was falling over backwards to serve us, but by the time we were ready to leave, the place had really filled up.

We did have Mark take 1 picture of us with our phones. Mine was awful. I have learned that when we do flash pictures on my phone the flash goes into the case and makes them foggy. This was the result.



Finally it was time to go. I still had more activities planned for the evening. We walked outside and I thanked Mark for the dinner and wonderful time at Universal. He said it was wonderful meeting me and Stacy and I started laughing. She told him quickly he had met me about a year ago when they both had come to Ohio. I am not surprised he didn’t remember as he met so many people that trip and it was a stressful time for them.

We said our good byes and we headed off to Disneyland Resort. Stacy had debated on what would be the best route and the best way to get on the freeway. I programed my phone and she had printed out directions, so we figured between the 2 we would be fine. We jumped on the freeway and it was a little heavier with traffic tonight. As we went along she pointed out a few spots, but since it was dark, it was harder to see.
Stacy pointed out something Disney, and I took a crappy phone picture as we drove by.

[chezp]

What a great tour at Universal - I love the photos of the beautiful view from there and it sounds like a wonderful dinner as well.

[KimmyAnn1147]

Can't wait to hear about your DLR experience!

[MayraLR]

What a cool tour of Universal Studios!

[pamcarey]

How great to get such a cool, insider tour of Universal Studios!