Day 12

Today was the Los Angeles Marathon. Had I known they were running just a couple of blocks away from the hotel I would have got up earlier to watch. By the time I got to the Metro at 10am the vast majority of runners had already finished.

I was on my way to look at Rodeo Drive and the Beverley Hills part of LA . The Marathon was also going down Rodeo Drive today but that was to my advantage as the roads were closed to traffic. However it did take me longer than I anticipated to get there as I had to get the Metro and a bus which was on a detour due to the Marathon.

Rodeo Drive, one of the world's most famous and expensive shopping streets.

Look how empty it looks. It was a Sunday morning and many of the shops were not yet open.

I walked down Rodeo Drive and Beverley Drive, a very different area to where I'm staying.

City Hall Beverley Hills

Next to the City Hall is the Civic Centre. It looks more like a luxury hotel with its palm lined walkways and colonnades. Built in 1932 in the Spanish Renaissance style it is a beautiful building housing a library as well as the police and fire departments.

This modern art deco building is the Crescent Garage. It is a 3 level subterranean parking garage for the Beverley Hills and Wallis Annenbert Centre for Performing Arts which is across the road.

Even the local gas station has style.

Numerous flash cars

Flash houses















                                                 Lush, green parks



I walked the length of Beverley Drive to The Beverley Hills Hotel or the 'Pink Palace'. This is probably the most famous of LA's hotels. Built in 1912 it is where the most famous of the stars would stay from Douglas Fairbanks Snr, Howard Hughes, JFK, Marilyn Monroe and more recently Elton John and so on. With starting price of $900 a night I decided to stay in my  non opulent but functional hotel room. One thing my hotel did have in common with this one is that they are both on Sunset Boulevard. ( Maybe I should point out that Sunset Boulevard is approx 22 miles in length.)

I walked down  Sunset Boulevard for quite some distance to have a look at Sunset Strip with its numerous bars and clubs.









Whisky a go-go nightclub on Sunset Strip. This was the place to be for rock 'n' roll in the 1960s.








The Viper Room. This nightclub was opened in 1993. Once owned by Johnny Depp it hosts many celebrity musicians including Bruce Springsteen. It is also known as the site where actor River Phoenix died of a drug overdose in 1993 and Jason Donovan survived a drug induced seizure at the club in 1995.

I am old enough to remember the TV series 77 Sunset Strip.









On the sidewalk in front of this building is a plaque dedicated to the series 77 Sunset Strip which was filmed here. Anyone else remember the show?















The Comedy Store










Sunset Tower Hotel is a very elegant looking art deco styled building. It boasts an impressive list of former residents including Frank Sinatra, Errol Flynn, Elizabeth Taylor amongst them. This was one of my favourite buildings along the Strip.

Saddle Ranch Chop House with its mannequins adorning the balconies.


Amother interesting looking place to eat was Carney's hamburger railcar. As I walked further along the Strip it was becoming increasingly less attractive and more sleazy. I decided to get on a bus which surprisingly took me all the way back to the hotel. Getting around LA by public transport is not that easy as the Metro is not extensive enough for a city so spread out. Buses are OK but I couldn't find a map of bus routes so it was very difficult to plan how to get from one place to another. This is definitely not my favourite city for getting around.

In the evening I met up with Maud and Maria from the trip and we went to see Beauty and the Beast at the Regal Cinema, downtown. Really enjoyed the film and the company. It was a final farewell to my travelling companions as we were all leaving LA the next day.