Hurray for Hollywood ~ Part Two

If you haven't read Part One of our LA Tour, you'll need to head back one post to catch up.

During our lunch break on our day long LA Tour, Hubby and I wandered along Hollywood Boulevard to check out the well-known sites:

The Kodak Theatre,  home of the Academy Awards and American Idol finale looked so much smaller than it does on t.v.

 Kodak Theatre

Hubby and I stood in the footprints of classic stars of yesteryear in the cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre...

Grauman's Chinese Theatre

... and of course our "boys" had to find Charles Schulz' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Our "Boys" and their Granddaddy!

Soon we were back on the bus and headed out to the Hollywood Hills in search of celebrity homes.  One of our first stops was the Las Palmas Hotel, famously captured on film as the apartment building Richard Gere rescued his "princess" , Julia Roberts from the balcony at the end of "Pretty Woman".

Las Palmas Hotel, from Pretty Woman

Our next stop was at the top of Mulholland Drive where we got a great view of the famous Hollywood sign.  Many have heard in the past that originally the sign read "Hollywoodland", but did you know that the sign was actually an advertisement for a new subdivision called "Hollywoodland".  When the "land" got worn and dilapidated, they removed it and the sign then became synonymous with the entertainment world of Hollywood.  Just a little trivia for you!  Here was the view we saw from this vista:

First, the Hollywood Sign

Then, the Griffith Park Observatory

   Yes Man, Rebel Without A Cause and many other movies were filmed here

The Hollywood Bowl

As seen on Beaches, Some Kind of Wonderful and Yes Man to name a few

And Downtown LA

You could even see the old Capitol Records building from this vantage point.  Can you find it in the picture above?  If not, here is a closer pic:

Can you remember your old 45 "Capitol" record collection?  I can!

We hopped back in our bus from this point and winded our way over Mulholland Drive where our tour guide pointed out (correctly and incorrectly) homes of celebrities and other notorious persons.  Seriously, if the guy mentioned once he must have mentioned about TEN times about the Charles Manson murders.  If we'd had alcohol on the bus we were going to start a drinking game with the amounts of referrals to the evil murderer.  Sheesh!  Get a new hero pal!

Here are a couple points of interest along this leg of our journey (at least what I can remember):

This first home was built at least in part and lived in by former carpenter, Harrison Ford during his Star Wars days.

Harrison Ford Former Home

This Spanish looking Hacienda was home to Brittany Spears in her early days of fame.  She chose this home so she could have her own wing while living with her parents.

Brittany Spears Former Home

This next one, if I remember correctly, is Leonardo DiCaprio's home.  Rather large for a single guy I think!

Leonardo DiCaprio's House

I took a whack of other photos along this tour but do you think I can remember whose house is whose?  Nope!  I did pick up this amazing book, The Ultimate Hollywood Tour Book, when we were at the WB Tour, so if I googled the addresses in the book I might figure out some of my pics.  That's the problem with a tour ... especially our tour guide.  He blurted out all the information before you could register it.  I really would have fared better with a video camera instead of a camera!

Our last stop on the tour was in Beverly Hills and the famous Rodeo Drive.  At one point wandering around this overpriced shopping area, Hubby was offered a glass of champagne to "come on in and try on a suit" at Dolce and Gabbana.  Uh... NO THANKS!

The closest I'll get to shopping on Rodeo Drive!

By the end of the tour I have to admit I was a little bummed to have not seen a single celebrity.  Isn't this where they live??  Fortunately, our fearless tour guide, "Donny Dangerfield" had his radar on and while he was taking his break during our Rodeo Drive shopping spree, he spotted Valerie Bertinelli at an outside table at a Beverly Hills restaurant.  Yay... a celebrity!!

Woohoo... a real live celebrity!

As our tour came to an end, we made our way along Sunset Blvd. past the celebrity nightclub hangouts like The Viper Club, The Roxy (where Night at the Roxbury was filmed), The Comedy Store and various hotels with sorted histories, like the Chalet Marmont where John Belushi was found dead in 1982.

We were driven back to our hotel where we rested before our next day full of entertainment excitement.  I'll post about that in another post!