The Hollywood Pilgrimage

As many of you will probably appreciate, coming to Hollywood is kind of a big deal for me. I've been planning this particular segment of my trip for many months as it needed to be perfect. I had such high expectations about my first trip to LA I needed to make sure I did it right. The first consideration was which Studio Tours should I undertake? After considerable research it looked like the best were Paramount and Warner Bros. I decided against Universal on the basis that I felt it was more of a theme park than a full working studio tour. I'm probably a little misguided on that but those that have been will catch my drift. The final consideration is whether or not I would visit Disneyland. Bear in mind Anaheim is the first Disneyland the part that Walt himself created. For over a month, I ruled it out. Kate did not have the same attachment to Hollywood as me and so she had opted to partake in a Yosemite Trek whilst I did my Hollywood thing. This meant I'd have to do Disney on my own which at first was not at all appealing. I had visions of me sat on a bench with droopy Minnie Mouse ears crying into my ice cream. However, with thanks to my fellow Disney fans and those that know me well, I was persuaded otherwise. More on that in a subsequent post.

The day started with my separation from Kate at LA Greyhound Station. If ever there was a more depressing place, I'm not sure I've seen it. It's a little bit like purgatory - full of diversely different characters all waiting to get to their next destination. It was from here that Susan (the sat nav) and I fell out as I attempted to find a Target and we drove around in circles as she failed to give me enough notice for lane changes and I generally stopped listening.

In our wisdom we kept a can of chopped tomatoes in the boot of the car from a previous shop which had leaked and caused a rather unpleasant smell in our brand new car whilst we were on our trek. After purchasing air freshener, lemon cleaning spray and a cradle for Susan (I was going to have to treat her nicely if she was going to help me find my way around LA) I set off for Griffith Observatory. Kate and I had failed to visit it the other night due to heavy traffic so I was pleased to find an accessible and free park and ride at the bottom of the hill.

For those of you that don't know, Griffith Observatory is important for two reasons. Firstly, it has a magnificent view across the city and the Hollywood sign. Secondly, it was a key location in the recent Oscar winning film La La Land which has rapidly climbed into my top 10 films ever made. I know, some of you saw it and thought it was pants. You are entitled to your opinions. I, however, thought it was beautiful and the epitomy of what cinema was invented for.

I was pleased to discover I had time for a planetarium screening so eagerly bought my $7 ticket and made calls to home whilst I waited. The show started well... I wish I could tell you all about it. However to my shame, I fell asleep in my comfortable reclining chair only to be awoken by 'The Big Bang' in 'The Story of the Universe' with a bit of a jolt. Not long after the lights came up and I very dozily made my way down the big hill to the car. I think the trek was starting to catch up on me.

I had a 2.30pm tour at Paramount booked and I was hoping I would wake up enough to fully appreciate it! I really did. The tour lasted about 3 hours and consisted of a very well researched and educated tour guide taking a group of 5 of us on a gold buggy around the Paramount lot. Highlights for me were the original infamous gates, Forest Gump's bench, seeing the sound stage where Cheers was filmed and Ted Danson and Woody Harrelsons mischievous handprints and signatures in a piece of sidewalk oh and meeting Optimus Prime and Bumble Bee (Transformers). This especially amused me as Kate and I had been spotting wagons on the interstate that could be Optimus and then I saw the real thing! Squeeeeee!

I had never before fully appreciated the sheer scale of Hollywood lots. They have literally thought of everything. Every single building on the site is purposefully designed to look like something else - a motel, a hospital, a school. They even have a car park with sloped edges which can be filled with water to create an ocean. There are of course streets of facades to look like New York and Chicago as well as bus stops and subway entry points from which you'll never get anywhere. I am still in awe of it all. We were fortunate enough to take a sneak peak of some live sets too in particular the set for new TV series 'School of Rock' which is based in the film. I nearly fainted when our tour guide pointed out the original director, Richard Linklater (one of my idols), was producing. I casually asked if he was 'about' but was told he was more of a figurehead producer so wasn't on set. Gutted. Our tour guide, Jessica, was really great. It transpired she was a recent film graduate and this was her first job in Hollywood. I'd have been pretty made up with that if I'd landed that straight out of Falmouth! We exchanged details and have endeavoured to stay in touch whilst we both pursue our dreams.

From the studio I popped into the Hollywood Forever cemetery around the corner to see if I could find any significant gravestones. Silent star Douglas Fairbanks, Cecil B De Mille and Judy Garland are buried there. Sadly I failed to find any of them but the atmosphere there at least was quite special as it looked up on the Hollywood sign. Interestingly Paramount is the only studio from which the Hollywood sign can be seen.

I ventured back to our beloved Air BnB from there and enjoyed it's beautiful pool in the late afternoon sun. I realise I've get to divulge a secret about my temporary LA pad. Like with the rest of the planning, I wanted my accomodation to befit the nature of the trip and I was fortunate to find a beautiful room in an apartment at the foot of Griffith Park just off Franklin Avenue. I was so pleased with my find despite it being over my budget I felt it would be worthwhile. Whilst making enquiries with the host, I told him my plans and he happened to mention he worked in the business. Even better. What he had deliberately failed to mention is that he was an actor on a pretty well known intergalactic TV series! Kate recognised him instantly and was shy and a little iddy for the rest for the first evening. Needless to say I thought this was wonderful. I can't give you more details on here but if you're a fan of such a show and want to know more I'm happy to divulge more details in message form! I messaged Dad that evening to tell him of my fortune and he thought I was pulling his leg.

I had intended to head up to Griffith Park for a Hollywood Sunset but as with the nature of my last visit I awoke around 21:30 amongst my things on the bed. I needed an early night especially with more studio treats in store tomorrow.Read more