Universal Studios: I kinda like Universal Studios, but it is absolutely not worth the $75 to get in. Plus you have to pay like $15 for parking. Anyhoo, I go for the studio tour mainly, but some of the rides are fun. You're usually done with the park within about 2 hours, but hey it's really close to where we live.
Hollywood - Walk of Fame, Chinese Theatre, Freaks: Yes, you have to go at least once and that's about all you need for the rest of your life. It's cool to see, but it is crowded with tourists and filled with all sorts of crazies! People dressed up as comic book characters, cartoon characters, hollywood icons and some people just dressed up like weirdos. You can smell the desperation mixed in with car exhaust, sunscreen and BO.
Hollywood Bus Tour: The one we went on was pretty lame. I don't even remember one cool thing that we saw. The highlight of the tour was the El Pollo Loco where Brad Pitt once worked as a chicken. Seriously. The tour was crappy, but hey at least someone else was driving.
Griffith Park: I like Griffith Park. It's free and has the best views of the city. However, a gazillion people are there everyday so you have to park 2 miles down the mountain and hike up to the observatory. You do have a pretty good view of the Hollywood sign, though.
Sony Studios Tour: Ok, so we took this tour on a trip to LA several years ago, but I think it's worth a mention. I LOVED this tour! I don't remember the price, but I think it was pretty reasonable. Not many people know about this tour, so we only had like 6 of us in the tour group. This is a walking tour around Sony Studios. Because our group was small, our tour guide snuck us in to several working sound stages and other places not typically seen on the tour. It was awesome.
Warner Brothers Studio Tour: This one was kinda pricey, but I think we got a pretty good value for our money. Also, it's right by our house so we had to go. This is a mix between a tram and walking tour and you see a lot of stuff including just about all of their back lots. We even got to get out and explore some of the houses on the back lot and that was really cool.
Beverly Hills/Rodeo Drive: Meh. It's fancy and I guess that's cool, but clearly I can't afford anything there, so it's not that fun. Oh and there aren't any public bathrooms!! UGH! There is a Crumbs Cupcake shop, so that may be worth the trip.
The Jay Leno Show/Tonight Show: We've been several times cause it's really easy to get free tickets. However, you do have to wait in line for at least 2 hours and if you get there late you may not be seated. Anyway, it's neat to see and if you're lucky to go on a night with a really cool star, then it's definitely worth it. I do think Conan is WAY better still...
Santa Monica Pier and Beach: Parking sucks. It smells like fish. There's not much do on the actual pier. The beach is nice. And I guess that's about it.
Malibu: We ate at a nice restaurant right on the water and that was fun, but it was really windy at the beach so that didn't make it very enjoyable.
The Getty Center: Another free thing to do in LA. Well, the museum is free, but parking is like $10 or something. Pretty cool museum, if you're into museums, and a stunning building and location. I'm not much into museums, but it's cool to see that stuff at least once.
The Groundlings: This was great!! Tickets are pretty cheap and the show is hilarious. We even had a guest star in our show - Groundlings alum Mindy Sterling (Frau Farbissina in Austin Powers movies). She was hilarious! Anyway don't miss this one!
Several Theatres: The Falcon, The Colony, Glendale Centre Theatre, A Noise Within, Luna Playhouse...all pretty good shows!
Disneyland: Ok, so I really, really like Disneyland (and Disney world for that matter) and this trip didn't disappoint. If you are gonna go, especially from the Valley, go early on Sunday mornings. We shot on down there within 30 minutes on a route that takes at least 2 hours any other day of the week. Nearly $100 each for Disneyland and California Adventure, but I think it's worth it. We filled our day riding rides and only had one ride where we waited more than 20 minutes. It was great!
The Grilled Cheese Truck: Some people may scoff at this as an attraction or LA hot spot, but it is...for us anyway! This gourmet food truck travels around to a new destination everyday and serves up the best grilled cheese sandwiches ever! Mmmmmm....I had a brie with smoked turkey, pears and honey and it was fabulous! You can follow them on twitter to see where they are grilling on a particular day, so if ever they are in your neighborhood, be sure to go!!
And...I guess that's it so far. We still have a lot to see and do, like:
- Mulholland Drive
- San Diego
- Knotts Berry Farm
- Medieval Times
- Paramount Studios Tour
- LA Zoo
- Six Flags
- La Brea Tarpits
- And about 6 billion other things...
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