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25th February - We woke up to a lovely hot day so we decided to walk along Hollywood Boulevard, which is located really close to our hotel but is a few miles long.The Boulevard contains the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where over 2000 stars of film, television, music and radio have been honoured with their own brass star embedded in the sidewalk (how American are we!We didn't call it a pavement!).There were many names we did not recognise but there were many that we did, and Ralph thought his mum would love it here as all her favourite movie actors had a star dedicated to them.A great thing here is that when the shops along the Boulevard pull down their shutters, many of them have had famous stars, such as Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe etc. painted on them.We arrived at the first examples of the famous movie theatres on this road; The 1922 Egyptian Theatre and the 1926 El Capitan Theatre, full of old school glamour.The road was still closed off due to the Oscars yesterday but surprisingly the Kodak Theatre, where the ceremony is held, was back open to the public.We took a look around and noticed that leading in to the Kodak Theatre there is a display which lists each year with the name of the film which won Best Motion Picture in that year listed underneath.We were surprised to see that last night's winner, "No Country for Old Men", was already in place - fast workers!!The setting of the Kodak Theatre is really nice in that it has shops all around it and a walkway which leads to a great view of the Hollywood sign.The walkway is made up of quotes from actors, directors, cameramen etc. relating to how they got into the business.We headed on to the 1927 Grauman's Chinese Theatre, next door to the Kodak Theatre, where all the celebrity lookalikes hang out, willing to have their picture taken with you for tips.We saw the worst Marilyn Monroe lookalike we have ever seen - she looked nothing at all like her apart from a bad blonde wig and was way too old to pull it off!!There are some good lookalikes though - Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean and a fat Elvis being some of the best.Outside the front of this movie theatre is also where movie stars have left their imprint in cement - mainly feet and hands but with the occasional difference (Harold Lloyd added his famous glasses to the mix!).I really liked trying to fit my hands and feet into the imprints left by the stars and found out that I have the same size hands and feet as Elizabeth Taylor (make of that what you will!!).We also found out that Will Smith has huge feet, as does George Clooney, although Mr Clooney is not that tall (discovered later in a visit to a museum which had some of his costumes from a film he was in).Hollywood is an exciting place.It's slightly seedy and more run down than we thought it would be, but something is always going on.We saw so many people filming shows and adverts and the whole place has an air of excitement and the possibilities that this industry can bring.As we started our walk back along Sunset Boulevard we got given tickets for a free pre-screening of a film tomorrow night at Grauman's Chinese Theatre - Forgetting Sarah Marshall with my hero and my crush - Russell Brand - I cannot wait for tomorrow night!!We got back to the hotel and then headed out to meet with my friend Hazel and her husband Regis again and they took us to an amazing British pub in Santa Monica.They had every British meal worth serving you could think of with gravy, mushy peas or any other British accompaniment you could want.I had Chicken Tikka Masala with rice and naan bread, Ralph had steak and kidney pie with gravy, Hazel had chicken and chips with curry sauce and Regis had bangers and mash - totally beautiful and although I was stuffed I HAD to have rhubarb crumble and custard which pushed Hazel and Regis to share bread and butter pudding.I was in heaven but we didn't really eat the next day as we were still so full!! After a quick drink in the bar Hazel took us back to her house to pick up our car in her lovely new car.We have to apologise to Regis and Hazel for such a late night - we keep forgetting that people have to work the next day now that we don't!!!
26th - We got up and headed to Long Beach, Los Angeles, around 30 miles south of Hollywood.We went straight to see the old British ocean liner, Queen Mary which is docked together with a Soviet submarine called Scorpion.The Queen Mary is larger than the Titanic (which was a real surprise as although big, it didn't look that big) and supposedly more luxurious.It was used to transport royals, dignitaries, immigrants and troops during its 1001 Atlantic crossings between 1936 and 1964.We were thinking of going to have a look inside both the liner and the submarine but the cost was $30.00 plus tax each, plus $15.00 for parking, and we didn't want to see them that much.We therefore headed to some beaches in the Long Beach area, such as Sunset Beach.They were, we are afraid to say, decidedly underwhelming after some of the beaches we have seen.They had really dark sand which looked like a mixture of sand and mud and looked on to what looked like an oil refinery and a chemical plant.We have been told that the beaches further north of Los Angeles (i.e. Santa Monica, Malibu etc.) are really lovely so we are looking forward to seeing those later in the trip.We headed back to the hotel via downtown Los Angeles which seems to be a really nice city.We passed through Chinatown and Little Tokyo as well as Toytown.Little Tokyo seemed odd as there were not many Japanese shops there, but Toytown was full of toymakers factories and shops.We then headed back to the hotel, got changed and headed out to see the pre-screening of the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall starring my favourite - Russell Brand.We had to wait for ages after we arrived at the theatre - about an hour of waiting as they let us into the theatre, got us seated and then waited for the film to start.There were loads of seats in front of us taped off (which we found out just before the movie started were for movie critics) and I kept joking with Ralph that Russell Brand might turn up to watch it and sit right in front of me - how would I see over his huge hair!I then got serious and told him that I knew that any stars who came to see how their new films went down with an audience always sneaked in at the back - I know I read too many celebrity magazines!!I then made jokes of turning round all the time to see if he was coming in, all the time not expecting that a British comedian would turn up in L.A. at a pre-screening of a film that he has a part in.Just then I saw a tall guy sitting down at the back and I wondered…Ralph said it was not him but then I saw his shoes go up on the seat in front - winkle pickers - Russell Brand for sure!I then saw the hair and started to shake…he stood up and Russell Brand was right behind me!!I thought I was going to have some sort of a panic attack and turned into one of those people who turns to jelly and starts acting like a total prat.I started waving at him every time he looked towards the audience (Why?!!It's not like he knows me!!) and then I noticed he was with none other than his friend Paul McKenna!!Anyway I finally got his attention and waved and he waved back and I tried to say "We've come from England" but all that came out was "England" so I felt a total fool.Luckily no one really noticed as, being British, none of the American audience had any clue as to who he was or how huge he is in the U.K.Then, the best bit, he smiled at me and said "I love it with all my heart".You could have carried me away right then!!The film started and was actually really good and totally funny.Russell Brand just plays himself so its no real stretch but its made by the same people as the guys who made Superbad and Knocked Up so if you like their movies it's a good bet.Once the film finished the lights were left off and we had to stumble down the stairs in the dark and just as we turned the corner the lights went up and I saw that Mr Brand was still there - excitement!I therefore made Ralph wait about 20 minutes outside to see if we could see him so that I could have my photo with him (they take your cameras and mobile phones off you when you go in and you have to get them back later) but after a while I asked the VIP guy and he said he had left about 10 minutes after the film finished through a different exit - gutted!Still I went back to the hotel a very happy girl!!
27th - We made our way back to Hollywood Boulevard to visit the Hollywood Museum which is housed in the old Max Factor building.It consists of 4 floors.The first floor gives information on the life and history of Max Factor and the actresses he worked with through make up and help with hair (he was the one who changed Marilyn Monroe from a brunette to a blonde!).The basement is a feature on films connected with Egypt (such as the Indiana Jones films, The Mummy, Quills, The Scorpion King, Cleopatra etc.) containing props, costumes and various memorabilia from the movies it featured.It also had the entire cell block from Silence of the Lambs which was very cool and actually very scary and I was happy when we got out of there!!The Second Floor had memorabilia from modern films, including those nominated for an Oscar at Sunday's ceremony, such as Juno, No Country for Old Men, Sweeney Todd, Moulin Rouge, Chicago etc.It also had items from Elvis' acting career including a monogrammed Elvis bathrobe, supposedly complete with stain, although we are happy to report we couldn't find it!!The Third floor has memorabilia from t.v. shows such as The Sopranos and Grey's Anatomy (my favourite) together with items from Charlie Chaplin and Mae West.After leaving the museum we headed to the CBS Studio to be audience members (or 'show enhancers' as the warm up guy insisted on calling us) for the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.This is a really good all round entertainment show that is on every week night and hosted by newly made American citizen (although he is Scottish with a strong Scottish accent) Craig Ferguson.We had to arrive and be assessed (we seriously believe it was for attractiveness or presentability) and a woman wrote a number on our hands.She wrote the number 1 on our hands and we decided that was either really good or really bad!We then had to wait outside (luckily it was blazing sunshine) for about 30 minutes and were then taken into the studio where we once again lined up and then were put into certain seats (depending on attractiveness still we think!!) ready for the show.The set was really small, we just couldn't believe it!It looks really spacious and big on t.v. but it looked so small in real life and the back drop bricks which look like the L.A. skyline were made of foam!We then got a warm up guy who was the spitting image of Ray Liotta (but fat) who told us in no uncertain terms that we had to laugh out loud at the slightest funny thing that might be said on the show.This went on for about 30 minutes with him telling crap jokes and making us clap and laugh like loons.The only break was when the band that were playing for the show, called The Grizzly Bears, came out, played their song, and then left…done and dusted in about 3 minutes.I know I can be naive but I was gobsmacked that they did not play their song when the show was going and when the host was in place, they simply play with just the audience watching and then its spliced into the show later at the right point and then even cut in shots of the host tapping along, even though he wasn't even there - the wonders of television!Craig Ferguson came out and was really charming and spoke to us a bit during filming but we worked out that he only has to film about 30 minutes worth of t.v. (he did it in 5 minute batches before he signed off for commercial breaks which there are loads of during each programme here) - not a bad job if you can get it.He interviewed Aussie actor Eric Bana and then actress Patricia Clarkson and then we were done.The strangest thing came when he said goodbye to us…we were told to stay behind as they needed more clapping, cheering and whooping from us as Barry Manilow had filmed in the studio in private and we had to pretend we were there so they could edit our cheers over the top!Wild!Ralph said he was glad he didn't have to see The Manilow and started clapping for the first time at this point, quite happy to cheer the fact that he wasn't there!!We left the studios and headed back into downtown L.A. to have a meal in Chinatown and it was worth it - really delicious.We then headed back to the hotel to see the show we had watched being recorded in the day on t.v. (the show if filmed at about 5 p.m. and is put out at around midnight the same day).
28th - We woke to another scorching hot day in Los Angeles.The weather has definitely turned again and is once again fantastically hot and sunny.We headed into downtown Los Angeles to take a look around.We parked in Chinatown which is one of the cheapest places to park around that area (L.A. is expensive to park but you can get all day secured parking in Chinatown for $3.00).We took a look around Chinatown in the daytime and Kirsty was thrilled to be able to buy a massive bag of fortune cookies for $1.00 (about £0.50), the problem is we just can't stop eating them - still, we now know we will be lucky, have money and jewels, have lots of friends and our hidden talents will soon be revealed to the world!We also took a look in the local supermarkets to get an idea of the weird and wonderful meats (chickens' feet, cow stomach and pig snouts!), fruits and vegetables available to buy.We then took a walk to Olvera Street which is a Mexican flavoured alleyway where you can buy Mexican souvenirs and food.Not wanting to miss out we had to share a beef burrito!Olvera Street is a really good place to go to get a flavour of Mexico as it has Mexican music playing, musicians playing on the bandstand whilst we were there and it also has L.A.'s oldest building, the 1818 Avila Adobe, which we were able to take a walk around for free. Really, if you are in LA and want a flavour of Mexico border towns without having to go across the border, this a safe and hassle-free authentic facsimile. We then headed to Union Station, classed as one of the last grand railroad stations built in the U.S.It looks Spanish from the outside but inside it's beautifully art deco, with a Spanish colonial roof.Its truly beautiful and the seats for passengers waiting for trains are like something from a by-gone era, each like an individual leather armchair!It was hard to get us out of those.Pressing on, we went to the 1928 City Hall, which was used as the Daily Planet in the Superman TV series.Although you have to sign in and present identification, you are allowed up the high tower (27 floors) for free.The Governator (as the locals call him) Arnold Schwarzenegger was in residence but unfortunately we didn't get to see him.The views from the top of the tower are really great, but the hard thing is choosing a day without much smog.Smog is a huge problem is L.A. and seeing things in the distance, even on roads, can be difficult.The smog was bad today but we were still able to see a hazy Hollywood sign, as well as Dodgers Stadium and other landmarks.We weren't able to resist having a go on The Terminator's mike which had been left on, we were just concerned after a while of messing around on it that it might be being broadcast to the entire building!Making a sharp exit we will thrilled when we happened upon a market where we were able to get our Obama bumper sticker for our car and an Obama badge!We know we can't vote but it's the support that counts!!We then headed through L.A.'s oldest public park, Pershing Square (we were not very impressed by it!), through the jewellery district and Grand Central Market, past lavish movie theatres dating from 1913, to the Bradbury Building.This building is known for its dazzling architecture and was used in the film Blade Runner.Ralph in particular was thrilled to see this famous building and it was truly beautiful inside.We then walked back to the car and took a drive past Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympic Games were held.Unfortunately we were unable to go inside so we headed off to see another free pre-screening of a film called Step Brothers starring Will Ferrell (Ralph is a huge fan) and John Reilly.The traffic in L.A. is the worst we have encountered in the whole of the U.S. and any journey you take takes at least double the time it should.This 20 minute journey took us 1 hour and 20 minutes and so we were late for the film.When we got there the bouncer-like officials were turning people away and told a guy in front of us that he could not go in.We were then asked our ages and asked to wait.The guy in front of us was understandably unhappy at this and asked why he was being told to leave while we were being told to wait and they told him he wasn't in the right demographic!Harsh!We then had to wait about 20 minutes and another guy finally came up the queue asking everyone's age.When he got to us he said that luckily they were looking for people in their 30s to fill the last few seats (right demographic I suppose) and told us to skip the queue (there were about 50 people there) and head up the stairs.We went up and joined another queue of about 70 people all waiting to see if they had seats.Then a guy came out, pointed at us and said "I will take you two".He then picked another 4 people and that was it, we filled the last 6 seats and everyone else was turned away - how lucky (once again!) were we?!Anyway, we are not legally allowed to tell you what the film was like as it has not been cut/edited/sound adjusted etc. yet, but all we can say is Ralph's comment as we were leaving was: "It doesn't matter how much you like Will Ferrell, that was" Still Heaped In Tragedy!!
29th - Another warm and sunny day and, after briefly going to a couple of stores (Ralph is determined to get a new camera), we headed, via Beverley Hills and Bel Air, to Griffith Park Observatory, which has great views of L.A.Unfortunately the smog was still bad but we managed to get some pictures through the haze.We then headed on to Westwood Memorial Park, the final resting place of Marilyn Monroe, Roy Orbison (although we couldn't find him in there!), Dean Martin and a host of other famous names.Although it's right in the middle of a busy part of L.A. and surrounded by offices etc., its actually quite a tranquil place.Later we went back to Chinatown for our evening meal - Ralph is going to miss this place!!
1st March - Kirsty had been waiting for this day since we left England. She had seen on the internet a place in the Mojave Desert called Peaceful Valley that rescues and looks after donkeys - lots of donkeys - over 600 of them. The drive there, about 2½ hours, was a hive of expectation and excitement.The weather got colder and colder as we made our way there.The people at the rescue centre were lovely, offering to let us hold other types of animals which they also take in if they are abandoned, such as snakes, bearded dragons, rabbits, hissing cockroaches etc.After bravely touching and stroking most of the animals offered, we were told that we could take a driving tour around the ranch to look at the donkeys and then we would be met at the adoption paddock.We took a drive and saw the sweetest donkeys and burros, some so old that we were sure they will not be around for much longer.After much stroking over the fences we made our way to the adoption paddock.Usually in Britain, when you are asked to adopt an animal, you are simply asked to pay an amount which will pay towards the animals upkeep for the year.However here, the adoption donkeys were just that, donkeys for you to adopt and take home with you to look after.Kirsty was thrilled to be invited into the adoption paddock where there were about 30 donkeys, chosen especially for their good nature and love of affection and people.As soon as you entered the paddock loads of donkeys surrounded you, desperate to be stroked, rubbed etc.After spending time with a few of them a certain donkey caught our eye.Called Blackjack he was the most affectionate, gentle, placid, loving donkey we have ever known.He just loved to follow us round wherever we walked and would often snuggle into Kirsty's coat, wanting to be hugged. She also found that if she put her head near his and made a kissing sound, he would lift his head and kiss her!Apparently he is the favourite donkey of one of the volunteers and this is a game that they play.Happily, there was a couple there looking for donkey to join one that they already have at home and, after lots of decision time and with a little convincing from Kirsty, they decided to take Blackjack, so he should soon have a new home.We gave Peaceful Valley a donation to help keep them going, as it costs nothing to visit, and Kirsty came away happy and with a new t-shirt.We drove the 2.5 hours back and decided to once again to go to Santa Monica to visit the British pub which we had been to earlier in the week with Hazel and Regis.The pub has a British shop attached to it selling all things we would associate with home (Heinz beans, Bachelors peas, English sausage, English bacon etc.).Kirsty was happy to come away with copies of her favourite Heat magazine and Cadbury's Twirls and I was able to get a Milkybar and some other Cadbury's chocolate.We then had meals in the pub of fish and chips and steak and kidney pie - a true taste of home.
2nd - We spent 2 hours this morning on webcam to our mums - Happy Mother's Day!!!It was lovely to speak to them both and Ralph is now salivating since Mummy Ainsworth told him she has blanched and frozen some sprouts ready for the Christmas dinner she is cooking us the day after we arrive back in the UK!!We had a problem sending Mother's Day cards as they don't celebrate it here until May and so we couldn't buy any, and e-cards were the way forward.We set off to see Venice, and thought we would spend a little time there before heading on to see some of the other Los Angeles beach resorts - how wrong we were!Venice turned out to be a real gem and we were still there as the sun went down.Venice was founded in 1905 by a tobacco heir as an amusement park called "Venice of America" where Italian gondolieri poled visitors around the canals.Most of these canals vanished underneath the roads but some have been restored and we therefore took the Venice Canal Walk, a wonderful walk down the sides of these canals through a truly idyllic area mainly consisting of pretty houses covered in flowers.After that we headed to Ocean Front Walk, another car free walkway which runs along the side of the beach.This place is truly amazing and somewhere you have to see.We first of all came across the famous Muscle Beach, where muscle bound men and gym addicts work out on gym equipment outside in the sun.This is where 'The Governator' Arnold Schwarzenegger worked out to get his body building awards.Behind this was a large area covered in fitness equipment installed by L.A. county.It was full of people working out and getting fit.We then saw a sort of skateboarding park which had bleachers so that people could sit and watch their skills.We sat and saw a boy no more than 5 or 6, skateboarding like a pro.The funniest thing was that this little kid was telling teenagers of around 15 years old where they were going wrong with their jumps and tricks - he was so sweet and ultra confident!Moving on there were around 10 huge concrete basketball courts, again with bleachers so people could watch the informal games.We sat and watched a fantastic, competitive and highly skilled game of basketball with some truly amazing players that I was sure could turn professional.The guys had a fantastic sense of humour and commentated on themselves throughout the match.There was also one white guy in the team of otherwise black guys, and they jokingly referred to him as Michael J Fox, or Teen Wolf! (he did actually look a bit like him!!) Moving on, the entire Ocean Front Walk was covered with side-by-side stalls set up on the ground, selling things like bags, henna tattoos, jewellery, smoothies, juices, Chinese massage, hash pipes etc.We watched a street dancing team who were a really entertaining young group of guys and then saw a huge gathering on one part of the beach and made our way over.It was a group of around 200 hippies playing any instruments they had brought with them (mainly bongos, drums, tom toms etc.).The majority were stoned out of their minds but having the best time dancing to the music as they watched the sun come down (we didn't partake in either the dancing or the hash-taking but had fun watching them for a while!).Venice is a wonderful place which we both fell in love with.Its really laid back and chilled (perhaps all that hash helps!) and everyone feels happy just to be themselves, without any pretences.We saw guys with 20 different colours of dreadlocks wearing swimming goggle for no apparent reason, 70 year old hippies raving with the rest of them, everyone seemed to be happy just to be themselves, and no one had an issue with that.It's a place not to be missed.When we finally had to leave we headed to Santa Monica again as Ralph wanted to go to a Mexican restaurant called El Cholo that film stars such as Harold Lloyd, Gary Cooper and Bing Crosby have frequented since the 1920s and where nachos were invented.
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