This change over nearly ten years was also noticeable taking the Starline Tours ‘Hollywood Homes’ to

Los Angeles carnival cruises florida from the Hollywood hills; downtown skyscrapers in the distance. carnival cruises florida They say L.A. is a great big freeway . That may be true but you don t have to use them all the time. The hills and canyons are a great place to get some perspective, on smaller roads. You really do need a car to get around carnival cruises florida though.
I read a great quote recently; I don't remember exactly where – but upon investigation it is originally attributed to Canadian born American writer Saul Bellow – and it goes something like this: Whenever America tilts, anything that isn't tightly screwed down rolls west to Southern California; and I suspect to Los Angeles in particular.
When I started to write this instalment of my California Odyssey I struggled; until the realisation dawned upon me that despite the fact I have spent more time in Los Angeles than in any other city in America, it is ironically the place I feel I know the least.
Part of the reason for this I suspect is the socio-geographical nature of Los Angeles. Whilst it may not be a city without a heart, both geographically and culturally it is difficult to find it. There is a 'downtown' area of course; a business centre whose towering skyscrapers can be seen vaguely through the smog from most other parts of the city. But beyond that Los Angeles is a vast sprawl of townships, neighbourhoods, districts and indistinct quarters like no other I have ever experienced. A place you must alternately dive into, and occasionally step back from, just to get your bearings.
And you do need to keep your bearings; because if you get lost in the wrong part of the city, you could get yourself into trouble. That s because L.A. is also a heady, at once seductive and at the same time occasionally repulsive blend of natural beauty, great climate, carnival cruises florida money and power; but crucially it is markedly polarised (often along ethnic lines) carnival cruises florida between those who have it and want to hang on to it, and those who don t and desperately want it; with the rest of the population caught in a sometimes uncomfortable carnival cruises florida no-man s land in the middle. A real social and cultural melting-pot.
Covering around 500 square miles, the edges of the city and associated county are indistinct, with inland communities such as Pomona in the east and beach communities such as Venice and Santa Monica on the west coast; it stretches from Burbank and Hollywood in the north down through downtown and the business districts to Long Beach and beyond as far as Orange County and Disneyland in the south; with incredible natural, social and economic highs and lows throughout. As an outsider, navigating it, let alone exploring it, is not for the faint-hearted.
Whilst I can't tell you authoritatively everything (or perhaps anything) about Los Angeles, I can tell you the reasons that drew (and continue carnival cruises florida to draw) me to it. Visiting L.A. has always been an ambition carnival cruises florida for me, simply because so much of the American culture I have long been fascinated with originated not just in California, but in and around Los Angeles in particular. As a child of the 1970s, a diet of American TV meant a diet of Los Angeles. L.A. is of course carnival cruises florida the home of American moviemaking (and later television); originally in Hollywood, now further north in Burbank and Studio City. Surfing and beach culture carnival cruises florida were born here; along with other counter-cultures like hot-rodding, car-customising and drag racing. The music business has also thrived here; landmarks like the Capitol Records building on Sunset Boulevard testaments to its presence.
carnival cruises florida It was with these cultural touchstones very much in mind I first visited in 2000, and again in 2009. Fascinating, intoxicating yet sometimes somewhat carnival cruises florida menacing – like playing with fire I'll try and give you a flavour carnival cruises florida of what I saw, sought out, and had thrust upon me, in the hope that it may help you navigate this sometimes bewildering and sprawling metropolis; if not to find the elusive carnival cruises florida heart within, at least to find some of its most iconic cultural history and a cross-section of places to start your exploration.
We first arrived in L.A. in March of 2000, ironically not on a freeway at all; but via Sunset Boulevard. Winding its way all the way from the Pacific Coast Highway (our route south from San Francisco), Sunset carnival cruises florida took us all the way from the ocean through Beverley Hills to Hollywood. Being a movie nut, it was in Hollywood we'd be staying; specifically at the iconic carnival cruises florida Roosevelt Hotel.
I knew Hollywood was no longer the moviemaking centre of the city of course; and indeed it had been through carnival cruises florida an era of decline into a seedy underworld since its long-past heyday (along with parts of iconic Sunset Boulevard at its eastern end); but the word was that Hollywood in particular had cleaned up its act, and for tourists still had enough carnival cruises florida of its long-gone moviemaking history and faded glamour to be worth a visit.
Riding along Sunset from the coast through Beverley Hills in the late afternoon was pretty relaxed carnival cruises florida compared to freeway driving; and by the time we turned north into West Hollywood, heading for Hollywood Boulevard, we had already seen some of the landmarks we recognised from movies, television and tourist guidebooks.
The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, at the time a Clarion hotel, sits on the south side of Hollywood Boulevard, right on the walk of fame and opposite Mann's (originally Grauman's) Chinese Theatre. Built in 1928 by a group including Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin carnival cruises florida (who together founded United Artists), it hosted the first ever Academy Awards in its Blossom Room in 1929. The hotel is steeped in the history of old Hollywood. Famous residents include Marilyn Monroe; and Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson carnival cruises florida allegedly taught Shirley Temple tap dance routines on the bottom carnival cruises florida steps of its lobby staircase.
The walk of fame right outside with its terrazzo and brass star-studded pavement, and the forecourt of Grauman's Theatre opposite with its foot, handprints and signatures of Hollywood's great and good may be typical carnival cruises florida 'tourist' attractions; but for anyone interested in cinema and cinema carnival cruises florida history they are nevertheless worth a visit.
By the time we returned to Hollywood in 2009, this western carnival cruises florida end of Hollywood Boulevard had been somewhat eclipsed by the new Kodak Theatre (and associated shopping mall) at the east end, which is now of course the 'new' home of the Oscars. I have to say that I found this new development a little soulless carnival cruises florida and corporate; even faded 'old' Hollywood held more interest carnival cruises florida for me.
This change over nearly ten years was also noticeable taking the Starline Tours 'Hollywood Homes' tour again; to some a slightly uncomfortable mix of tacky tourist ride and almost blatant voyeurism, it did at least give you a good orientation of the area and its various residential neighbourhoods, a glimpse (albeit over high hedges, gates and security carnival cruises florida patrolled walls) of some of the still-abundant wealth in parts of Los Angeles, carnival cruises florida and some fascinating insights into some of the stars and studio heads who built old Hollywood. By 2009 though, there was more emphasis on Hugh Grant, Dr Phil and Paris Hilton than on Louis B Mayer, Humphrey Bogart and Gregory Peck. This shift, carnival cruises florida this slipping away of old Hollywood history, hit home for me when our tour guide did not know that the original owner of the eerily abandoned and long derelict Nicolosi Estate at 414 Saint Pierre Road, designed by American architect Paul Revere Williams, with its now overgrown serpentine swimming pool and long dead waterfalls was none other than the original carnival cruises florida Tarzan himself (and Olympic swimming hero) Johnny Weissmuller. If you want history of old Hollywood, you may have to go digging for it.
In 2009 indeed Hollywood felt more like a superficial tourist attraction than ever; with visitors shuttling back and forth on tours and visits to Universal Studios just up the freeway in Studio City. Make no mistake though – I would hazard a guess that you should still keep your wits about you on Hollywood Boulevard at night, and on neighbouring Sunset Boulevard too.
Sunset Boulevard is a great way to shuttle between West Hollywood and the coastal resort of Santa Monica and the beach. If you're passing through anyway, you really have to visit Beverley Hills, even if it's just for a half hour, to marvel at the conspicuous wealth carnival cruises florida on display; shuttling daily between high-dollar carnival cruises florida cars at the kerbside and high-dollar shops on Rodeo Drive. Forget shopping though. If you have to ask the price of anything then you really can't afford it; and unless you're known at some of the stores and/or have an appointment, chances are you won't even get through the door.
Starline Tours take in some of the residential areas of Beverley Hills, along with Bel Air and Holmby Hills on their tours, which is a great way to get an air-conditioned, guided tour of some exclusive real estate without the danger of being arrested (or even worse, shot for trespassing). Make no mistake many of these areas are gated communities, with private, armed security – so don't go wandering around carnival cruises florida peering over hedges on your own. Though most of the homes are understandably hidden behind walls, gates and hedges, it is nevertheless interesting to see just how comfortably the rich and famous can live in Los Angeles; and just how jealously (and perhaps necessarily) they guard their privacy, security and property.
A much more free and easy (but equally beautiful) way to enjoy the north-west area of L.A. is to escape up into the Hollywood hills; driving carnival cruises florida the length of Mulholland Drive is highly recommended for a little peace and tranquility, with great scenery and views across the city to the south and Burbank to the north. Indeed this was a favourite pastime of British artist David Hockney. You may also get the occasional glimpse of some of the architectural wonders that make up the sparse but prime real estate up here. There are such notable examples as The Ennis House , designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, to be found in the hills in the Los Feliz area, south of Griffith Park; and