The Sights... Hollywood!

Hollywood Blvd and the Chinese Theater - many celebrities have imprinted hands and feet in cement outside of this theater. As I walked around and saw the famous names laid forever in dried mud, I wondered what it must be like as a current actor to be asked to lay your name beside the greats... I would never feel worthy enough.

Shirley Temple is one of favorite actresses. She was so young and spent many an hour inside bars with her mom and manager, while they discussed her work and pay she would just sit patiently and wait. My great-grandfather was a bartender inside a frequented bar and one day decided to create a special drink just for her, maybe you've heard of the Shirley Temple? When I was young, that too was my drink! So awesome!

Although difficult to see, in the upper left hand side is a sign at Hollywood and Vine. I knew this intersection was famous but could not recall what for, according to Wikipedia it gained fame in the 1920s for being the center of radio and movie-related businesses. Although there is not much there now, you can see that the sidewalk is adorned with Stars as part of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Hollywood sign - this is about as close as we could get. It sits amoung a beautiful area in the mountains and looks over the city, as seen in the picture below.

This is the Griffith Observatory. It's a great FREE way to learn a bit about space. The dome to the left contains a high powered telescope that scientists use to observe the sky, day and night. Of couse, it is also the location for many a movie scene. Can you think of your favorite?

For those of you that are fans of Kat Von D, here's a shot of her tatoo parlor, LA Ink. Only minutes from my cousin's apartment, it's not in the best part of town.

This picture did not turn out great, but the top sign is a higway marker for the famous Route 66. In my previous blog post I included a picture of the "End of the Road" in Santa Monica.

Although these are only a few of the sites to see in LA, we managed to cram it into a day and a half. Not too bad! I look forward to returning and being able to spend more time exploring to see the beauty and infamy that's almost at every corner!

Food!!!

Food - it wouldn't be vacation if I didn't talk about it!

There are so many famous places to eat in LA, but we had only so much time. One necessary stop was In-N-Out Burger. These will never move to Colorado because it would be too far to transport their never-frozen meat, so one must consume it when one can. We managed to squeeze into this one during the noon-hour and after fighting our way to a table, wolfed down fresh cut fries and yummy burgers!

As we walked toward Hollywood Blvd., we came across this gem. You may have seen Ron Howard hanging out here in the film American Graffiti (not exactly this location, but you get the point). We had already stuffed ourselves full of In-N-Out so stopping was out of the question, but still a great landmark!

Donut shops were a common site whilst driving around LA. I snapped a picture of this sign while we were stopped at a light, later I found out that it's actually part advertisement for a Neon Sign Museum - it's a shame we didn't have time to look around.

As I mentioned in the previous blog entry we ate at the North End Cafe and Pinkberrys, both mentioned on TV.

We were lucky in that our breakfast was provided by the hotel every morning. This made it easy for 4 of us girls to grab a quick bite and then get ready for the day. On Tuesday we visited Santa Monica and had dinner along the promenade at a great Italian place. The waitress, although nice, was a little overly excited about being in Hollywood and finding out about goings-on around town. She was giddy when my sister explained she had just tried out for The Voice... at least she's enthusiatic.

Wednesday night we treated my cousin to a mexican dinner at a great place on Sunset Blvd. The margaritas were huge and it put us in the mood for swimming!

Along our journey towards Hollywood Blvd., my cousin took us into Yammy's Pizza. Come to find out her roommate is empolyed there and is trying to make it a landmark in LA. They recently installed wood panelling on the front of the counter - sign your name and praise the pizza!!!

Adventures in LA - Days 1 and 2

My sister decided to try out for a reality show called "The Voice" where the producers are looking for talented singers. My sister chose a try-out location of Los Angeles, California. Our adventures began on August 29th. We flew to LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) in the afternoon. Our cousin, Jenny, was nice enough to pick us up. I have to admit that LAX is a bit intimidating probably because it's in the middle of the city, whereas Denver's airport is in the middle of nowhere. Immediately I caused us to take a wrong turn because A. I didn't read the directions correctly and B. I was under pressure. Jenny managed to turn the car around and we headed in what we thought to be the correct direction, but the signs weren't matching up to what we knew to be the way, so AGAIN we had to turn around. My mistake in the beginning was actually the right way! Awesome... Finally headed in the right direction we managed to merge onto the highway amoungst other cars headed home for the day. The driving reminded me of living in the UAE and dodging crazy drivers. Jenny fit in perfectly - even though she's only been here for 4 months. Without flaw we found our hotel and checked in.

After getting settled in it was time for dinner. I convinced everyone to check out a place at Manhanttan Beach called the North End Caffe. It was only a 20 minute drive down the highway and we saw an amazing sunset when we arrived (hence the top picture!). The North End Caffe was visited by Guy Fieri of "Diners, DriveIns, and Dives" on the Food Network and he made it sound fantastic. We were a bit disappointed except for the kalua pork egg rolls, so it's great for a quick snack after the beach, but not so much for great food. Oh well, at least we know!

Day 2 in LA brought us to "The Voice" auditions. My sister's check in time was 2 pm, so we hung out at the hotel and allowed her to practice and prepare. Everything was very organized and she was in and out in 2 hours. Although they did not accept her for the show she said she had an amazing experience and met with some very interesting people.

With some of the afternoon and rest of the evening remaining our cousin suggested Santa Monica pier. We drove north and walked along the pier with tourists and beach-goers alike, it was beautiful and amazing!

Santa Monica is also the end of the infamous Highway 66, which 'back in day' was THE highway to travel. It's a classic road that people struggle to help us remember (did you see the movie "Cars?")

We ended the day walking along the promenade and window shopping. We stopped to eat at a little Italian place and then made our way to Pinkberry. I wanted to stop there due to the fact I saw it on a show called "Ugly Americans" just last week. It's just your typical frozen yogurt shoppe but apparently I'm a sucker. It was a great end to a beautiful day! On to more adventures!!!

Under the Chocolate Weather

My mom started feeling ill last night and went to bed very early. I could hear her coughing during the night and knew that she was going to miss out on the awesome chocolate festival in Glendale today! My grandpa's wife had the great idea to visit the Chocolate Affaire of Glendale this weekend. There was a preview on the news last night, so we knew it was for us. My mom did make it out of bed long enough to wish us well and then we were off.

Before filling our stomachs with sugary goodness we needed to make an important stop at Der Weinersnitzel. This fast-food institution, celebrating their 50th birthday, is a favorite of my aunt's. A round of chili-cheese dogs for everyone!

Now, on to chocolate...

It was your basic people's fair with craft booths and bands playing in the street. There were not as many chocolate vendors as I had thought there would be. At least four booths came into my eyeline, but there could have been others. Each booth had huge lines and we were reluctant to stand in one. Eventually we found a short one that had such things as coconut haystacks, turtles, and bon bons, so we stood in line. But our eyes were looking for something more, i.e. chocolate dipped strawberries and bananas! We gave in to our cravings and stood in line for these most sought after treats. We even splurged on some chocolate dipped marshmallows.

After fighting crowds and standing in line we decided to get out of there and head home for dinner. Chocolate in hand we were back on the road again. As we pulled into the driveway we could see some plastic grocery bags laying by the front door. There were 3 bags filled full with more oranges and tangerines from the neighbor. So, tomorrow we have to look forward to more fresh squeezed juice - awesome!

The chocolate was a great treat after dinner and everyone was able to partake, even mom! Yummy!!!!

We sat around a bit after dinner and let grandpa talk stories, but soon we realized that it was bedtime. Renting a car from Advantage Rent-a-Car turned out to be not the best choice. Our reservation is for 4 days, so if we are not back precisely 96 hours after our check-out then we will be charged $18.99 per hour. This is causing us to be at the airport 3 hours before our flight takes off - what a pain! I do admit that we are adding to this ourselves by making an all important stop at In-N-Out Burger by the airport. By my calculations we need an extra half-hour to make it work. In order to make a 2 pm flight we are leaving my grandpa's house at 9:30 am!!! Silly us :)

Desert Phoenix

Well, here I go, it's been awhile since I've written! Hailing today from Phoenix, Arizona. It's supposed to be dry desert country, just like the UAE, but when we arrived on Wednesday morning it was 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Unbelievable! Arizonians were experiencing a cold snap, and quite a big one. My aunt, my mom, and I were coming from a frigid -17 degrees Fahrenheit, so we were glad for warmer weather that didn't necessitate mittens and fluffy coats. Our mission was to arrive safe and sound at Grandpa Evans' house in Glendale, just north of Phoenix.

Upon our arrival breakfast was waiting, even though it was noon. We ate heartily! Who can deny home cooked goodness? It included fresh squeezed orange/tangerine juice, the citrus being acquired from a neighbor. Afterwards, we sat around the kitchen table and let grandpa talk stories to us all day. Stories about buying his first horse for $60 (including "a 300 year old saddle") and being so proud, then having his uncle comment on how big the horse's feet were, and having his heart sink. Others about trying to slide across a type of zip line but falling and having the pulley land right on his head and splitting it open. Grandpa had us in tears because we were laughing so hard! Boy, can he tell a story! Around 7:30 pm, my aunt, mom, and I wandered off to bed as we had been up since 4:30 am (or earlier!). Out for the night.

On Thursday all the old folks decided to go gambling at the local Native American casinos. I, on the other hand, stayed at home to work on homework. It was a quiet day, and no one won any money, so it wasn't a lucky one :( Dinner at the Big Apple was delicious though - all you can eat beef ribs for just $12. Again, food I couldn't say no to!

IKEA was Friday's stop. My aunt had never been, but her daughter had been boasting about it for months, so she was excited to see what the fuss was all about. She spent most of the time exclaiming, "wow! The prices are so low! Look at this, it's only $30!" It was great fun! My whole intention was to buy another computer desk, similar to the one we bought in the UAE, but they didn't have the table top I wanted. I was disappointed, but IKEA will soon be gracing Colorado with it's presence so it's not out of my reach just yet!

Happy after a day of shopping, we arrived back at my grandpa's to find a home cooked Mexican meal! Oh yum! Beef enchiladas, home-made tortillas, tamales, rice, and fresh cooked beans. I shall be 800 pounds when I leave this state!!!!