Los Angeles and Hollywood Up Close

The last stop on our tour was Los Angeles, where we would spend a few days before flying home from LAX. I've been to Southern California many times for work, but never to the Hollywood area of the city.  I'm not a celebrity stalker -- heck, I hardly recognize anyone on those damn magazine covers when I'm buying groceries -- but something about seeing the area was appealing to us.  

We arrived in Santa Monica after several hours driving and a nice stop to walk/stretch in Santa Barbara.  Because it was sunny and 70 degrees, we hung out at the beach near Santa Monica Pier for a few hours just walking, people watching, and taking it all in before we headed to our hotel. The guy at hotel check-in talked about LA area tours, gave us some brochures,  and encouraged booking before 10 p.m. for the next day.

What was I thinking? We don't like big, organized tours. We like freedom.  We like flexibility.  We found ourselves on a freakin tour. It's not that the tour was bad.  In fact, it was cool and we saw/learned some interesting information, but a big part of the tour was a simple 5-min walk from our hotel.  We could have just done that in a more self-guided and comfortable way.    It also included much sitting on the bus as the driver navigated LA traffic and gave commentary.  The bus also stopped in Venice Beach, Rodeo Drive, and in the Hollywood Hills where many celebrities lived. 

The next day, we headed to a Chelsea Lately taping. The studio and the overall process of taping/managing the audience were fascinating to see. It was fun to see the show! I was feeling hot as we walked to the car after the show, so I started to remove my vest when Kasia startles me with "uh, Mandy, you may not wanna do that right now!"   Her alarmed tone set me to attention. It seems that sometime during the show, my dress had come untied and was below my bra. So when I went to take off that vest, I kinda flashed Kasia (and probably the guy that was walking past us).  My wardrobe malfunction on the streets of LA had us laughing until we cried.

After the show we found the best Thai food in a Thai neighborhood near Hollywood.  The scary strip mall storefront couldn't keep us from the delicious Pad Thai inside.  We were arriving back to our hotel when the MSG apparently got to Kasia's head.   She turned a bit early into the parking lot, smacking the curb with our rental car.  Damn. We drove almost 2700 miles in 21 days with this car.  Now, we're 9 miles and 1 day from returning it when the front passenger hub cap rolled across the parking lot.

Originally, Wed April   $$$$ was our return flight home, but we managed to score tickets to the American Idol performance show that same day.  Our flight home could wait one more day,.  Kasia loves American Idol.  She watches every week.  She's not obsessed, but she almost always found a way to watch/DVR Idol. As a dutiful wife, I often find myself sharing popcorn with her while we -- I, mean while SHE -- watches it. ;-)    

The show was fun!  Because it was a live show, we got to really see what happens on stage during commercial breaks.   Time to go home.

This car had under 200 total miles on it when we started.  The trip ticker (the large type) started shortly after we left LA. 

Notice any resemblance between me and the girl painted on the wall.?

Santa Monica Beach from the pier. 

From the Hollywood Hills above LA