Last day in Hollywood

So on my last day in Hollywood, I did some of the most touristy things here, starting with a tour of Paramount Pictures Studios, the only major studio actually located in Hollywood.

Due to the strike, there is currently nothing filming on the Paramount lot, so it was rather empty there. But it's always interesting to get a guided tour of such a major movie studio, where countless films and tv shows have filmed over the years.

Among other things, we saw a location that was used for a scene in the 4th Indiana Jones movie, and The Godfather movies also shot several scenes there.

After Paramount, I went on another tour - this time a guided bus tour around the Hollywood and Beverly Hills area. I have actually been friends with the tour guide since first doing a tour with him back in 2011. He is quite entertaining and has a wealth of knowledge of all things Hollywood.

He is now doing a brand new tour called Hollywood Dreams and Nightmares. I think today was the first day they did the tour actually, and there were only two of us on the tour!

While I have previously visited most of the areas we passed on the two-hour tour, the tour guide pointed out many points of interest along the way, and lots of fun facts. We also visited a cemetery (!) where many celebrities have been laid to rest, including Marilyn Monroe and Dean Martin.

In the evening, I had dinner at Yamashiro, located up in the hills, with a stunning view of Los Angeles.

I ended the evening with a movie at the Chinese Theatre, the one used for most Hollywood red carpet premieres over the past many decades.Read more