What a day!
It’s Fathers’ Day & I was awoken by my kids jumping on me in bed & “gently informing” me that breakfast was ready. Íde & the girls had prepared a great brekkie. Rashers, sossies, mushrooms, the works! Yum!
It was off for a walk to Hollywood Boulevard then, but it was so very hot? We got there after a couple of stops for iced cream etc. There it was the “Walk of Fame” with all the stars in the pavement and a taste of hope in the air. We made our way to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre with all the hand & footprints outside as well as the wannabes who earn a crust by posing as Spiderman, Barney, etc. for tips from the photographing masses. We were approached a couple of times for various trips & tours including one persistent guy flogging a bus tour of the stars’ homes in Beverley Hills. Usual price $40 each he wanted “to go home after selling the last four seats” and could let us in for $20 each. After haggling didn’t work I refused to purchase … and then the tone changed. Mr. Friendly now said I was stupid. The Hollywood experience was becoming more complete: I had been insulted on the street by a tout.
Aisling’s main ambition was just to see the “Hollywood” sign – we found it but unfo
rtunately, in reality, it is much, much smaller looking (i.e. further away) from Hollywood Boulevard than we had guessed. In addition I’m having problems with my camera so we have to rely on Bláithín for photos for the moment.
After more souvenir shops and sight-seeing, we were getting a bit tired. In we went to the “Pig n Whistle” for a drink. There was some music from the local college in the back room so we joined in the session. It was a mixture of a sing song, karaoke, live performance & a “come all ya”. We all joined in but Bláithín even gave a couple of solo songs to rapturous applause (of course). Fine food, good beer & a fun atmosphere, how good.
A bit more sight-seeing (Egyptian Theatre, Hollywood & Vine etc.) & back to the apartment for a break. Our apartment neighbours were out back &, talking to them, I discovered that the Playboy Jazz festival was on in the Hollywood bowl tonight. I pushed someone off the laptop and went online to check the details. Aarrgghh!! I was too late – it had been on since 2pm. But the neighbours said it would be on late & there were always seats in the bleachers.
We took a chance & hopped a taxi to the Bowl. We got there just in time to see Herbie Hancock and Bill Cosby introduced some other acts before exhaustion & hunger won. After some Thai food on Sunset Boulevard, it was home for us.
(I spent a lot of today remembering my own Dad. Paddy Burke was a fantastic father to my 3 brothers, my sister & I. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dhílis!)
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Íde here again, writing while the others are diving…
First stop was the Webster8 apartments in LA. This was booked directly with the owner Francie Crowley – www.webster8.com However, I first read about it on http://www.holiday-velvet.com/who_are_we . Very good website except that you can’t just put in your travel dates to see what is available. You usually have to write to the owners of the property you are interested in booking and they email back regarding availability.
This property was a real find. It was perfect for what we were looking for. It had all the comforts of home and was top class standard. It is difficult to describe this apartment because it is completely different from the typical 2 bed apartment that holiday makers would be used too. The guests in the other apartment were there on a long term let and the accommodation is much more suited to that. The fully equipped kitchen included about five complete sets of fine china (serving dishes and all). The only very minor complaint I could find with the place was that none of this fine china could be used in the microwave. I found 2 glass serving plates that would be microwave proof. Everything else was too delicate. Unlike most holiday apartments, any non-perishable goods left by previous guests are not thrown out, but are left for the use of the next guests. This meant that the day Blaithín and I stayed in and made a Greek Salad we had a choice of about 3 different types of Balsamic Vinegars and numerous dried herbs and spices to add to the mix. We used it to make a beautiful dressing for the salad.
Overall, fantastic accommodation in a nice location and excellent value for money.
The weather in LA was so hot even the locals were complaining. There were power cuts in some areas because of over usage of the air conditioning system.
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