Glitz & Glimmer in Hollywood

When we left our hotel in Venice Beach this morning (parking alone was $ 70!!!) - it's been cloudy again, at only 60 deg. F (is that supposed to be southern californian weather?). We drove to the Fairfax Farmers Market, established in 1934 and called "the original farmers market". There are still a couple of authentic market boothes left - like a butcher, a fish monger, veggie/fruit stalls and some bakeries - but there is also a growing number of rather fancy delis and eating places and souvenir/speciality shops.

We had a quick breakfast on the market before we departed to check out Sunset Boulevard. The problem in L.A. is, that you can't just park your car and walk and explore. It's much more about exactly knowing where you want to go, park there and hop in the car again to reach the next point. Also, parking is not always easy and public and museum's parking lots often charge up to a $ 10 flat rate for parking.

Driving through West Hollywood and passing the MOCA Pacific Design Center on Melrose Ave., planned by architect Cesar Pelli, we parked close to Hollywood Blvd. (even for free!!!) and walked up and down the street (one of the few exceptions!), on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, stopping at Hollywood & Highland Center (a shopping/entertainment mall with the Dolby Theatre, home to the Academy Awards), the famous Roosevelt Hotel (where the Oscars were awarded in the past), at the Egyptian and at the Chinese Theater, where prints of hands and feets of stars are fascinating people in a strange way.



After about an hour we we've had our fill of glitz & glimmer, kitsch & hype. We had been offered about a hundred of tours, restaurant specials and sales, and continued to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood (even there you drive and don't walk). Since 1899 it is the final resting place to many of Hollywood’s founders and stars, e.g. Johnny Ramone, Jayne Mansfield, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks. Paramount Studios was built on the back half of the original cemetery and the studio is still in operation today.

Silver Lake is the setting of the song "From Silver Lake" by Jackson Browne; Walt Disney built his first large studio here and a few blocks away was the studio of Tom Mix. The neighborhood, being built around a city water reservoir, is known for different reasons: for its stylish boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants, as a center of the alternative and indie rock scene and as one of "the city's hippest neighborhoods" with popular bars, night clubs and pubs. There was a flea/arts/farmers' market going on - a lot of retro/hippie clothing and accessoires being sold besides fruit, veggies, flowers and deli items.

The Sportsmen's Lodge - our current hotel in Studio City in the San Fernando Valley, close to Universal Studios - is legendary for having hosted guests like Katherine Hepburn, John Wayne or Clark Gable. The hotel pre-dates the film-industry but soon found itself at the center. As the Hollywood film industry grew, so did the popularity of the Lodge. Even we felt a bit like celebrities today when we treated ourselves to a lazy (half) afternoon in the sun, at the swimming pool ...