Our breakfast find was not as filling or as cheep as yesterdays. The Rise and Grind, is more of a wifi hangout and more of a coffee house then a breakfast eatery. We did find some food items, but not nearly as iconic as Mels that we ate at yesterday.
We took a walk down the street to get a good view of the Capitol Records building before making our way back to the main bus hub to catch our first bus for today's tour.
We decided on the purple line which took it's tour through Down town LA.
A nice picture of the Hollywood sign as we walked back from capitol records and
some of the architecture on the way.
The purple line still picks up right near TCL theater, but it starts later then the red line. We did wait for some time, but soon we were off.
As we headed towards downtown we passed Paramount Studios. The blue ball in the picture above represents something, (Not with Paramount but I cannot remember,)
The Paramount gates are so pretty. This is what I picture when I think about Hollywood and the studios.
A glimpse of the California hills and to the left center is Griffith Observatory. Best known from the James Dean classic Rebel with out a Cause.
The Wiltern theater, identified as one of the finest Art Deco buildings.
A few more buildings with some significance. I don't recall why. Perhaps I should have been taking notes while riding.
Our bus tour of downtown LA started to get hot.
The one below is Disney Theater.
Pretty cool actually.
The downtown line travels and offers on and off service to China town. This would have been a nice off point, but Mark and I skipped it. Perhaps next time.
The streets of china town and the architecture is incredible.
Above is a picture of a cross walk. Pretty hun.
Originally Chinese men came to the area in the 1860's to work on the railroad. After completion many settled in the LA area. From 1890-1910 china town had grown and was very prosperous, however due to crime and lack of citizenship the area began to decline. Production of Union station pushed many of the Chinese population out. According to Wikipedia there is only one building left standing from Old Chinatown.
In the 1930's new Chinatown began development. What was seen as a investment in both tourism and city expansion began what now stands today. In collaboration with the community New Chinatown was started. Many of the buildings were designed by Hollywood set designers to create a Shanghai in California and are often featured in movies.
They sure are beautiful. Definitely kicking myself for not getting off the bus. Below is Central Plaza.
Coming up to the Dragon arches.
Very pretty structures.
Union Station right next door.
Most of downtown LA was buildings and more buildings. Actually the ride started to become boring. We stopped at one point and the bus simply sat in one place for quite some time. It was terribly hot on the upper deck and seemed pointless. As the time ticked slowly on Mark and I were thinking this was not the best route to take.
We did a short run through Little Tokyo,
Then back into the large buildings. This one was pretty cool.
Some more sights along the route.
Pretty interesting architecture.
This building appeared in some movie, but I cannot remember which one. It may have been Ghost Busters. The roof was where Sigorney Weaver became the possessed being.
We continued to see more buildings. I suppose, if I was really into architecture, this would be neat, but I have no idea or interest. You see one tall building you've seen them all ?
We got stuck on one street for about 30 minutes due to the traffic and construction. This route was really taking up valuable time. Plus there are no restrooms on the bus.
The stadium where the Lakers, Clippers, Kings and Sparks play.
We finally started to see what looks like Beverly Hills, and we were about to get on the freeway. The bus driver actually had to come up top and lecture one family on the importance of staying seated as they had moved several times while on the tour earlier. This too took time.
Hollywood here we come.
Almost back to Hollywood Blvd.
Once we finally got back both Mark and I were dying to find a restroom. Just an FYI, there are NO public restrooms on the Walk of Fame. If you got to go your out of luck. We eventually ducked into a hotel and pretended to be staying there to use their restroom. The inside was very nice.
Once back on the streets, we were bombarded with a Saturday in Hollywood. Religion was big...
and so was Freddy.
I didn't get to close to these Johnny Depp characters but they did look cool.
The area was sure popular.
Mark and I were hungry and it was well after lunch. Deciding that we might pick up a good meal at Universal City Walk we caught the next bus off to Universal. The Universal route is not a tour bus, but rather a shuttle bus. There are only a few stops, and no narrator. We were told that the return shuttle would be in about 2 hours, so we decided to have a nice sit down lunch and explore Universal City walk.
The area sure uses fun ploys to engage people into their stores. Like this upside down cow driving a pink caddy.
This really cool dragon. I'm not sure what this guy was selling.
The fountains were fun. I was so hot, if I was 12 years old or younger I might have taken a walk through.
Of course how else would you recognize (besides the name outside) that this was a Hard Rock if not for the gigantic guitar?
Some more fun "things" outside of the stores. We didn't get any Vodoo doughnuts on this trip but I have had some when I was visiting Florida in April. Aimee had purchased a dozen, so I have had my fill.
There are many restaurants to choose from at Citywalk, but we decided on Karl Strauss brewing company with plans to have a beer with our meal. Of course there was a problem with the kegs while we were there so we had to settle with what was on tap.
and a burger....
Not bad, but not a rememberable meal.
The candy store have Stranger Things candy out for Halloween. I have seen the first season of the show. It's a cute series, and I simply love the 70's references. Reminds me of my own growing up.
Mark and I circled the City Walk area pretty quickly and headed back towards the entrance to pick up the shuttle, on our way we were greeted by this character outside Bubba Gump.
and speaking of Gump...here's Forest. Life IS like a box of chocolates.
Once we were back on the bus, we made one stop before heading to Hollywood. Our driver allowed me to jump off and get a picture of Bugs and Daffy outside Warner Brothers Studios.
Soon we were back at our starting point. Bellies full and drained from the day, but we still had a few more plans before the day ended. Up next we head to Sunset to visit Mark's must see's while visiting LA. It was a fun day, but I might skip the downtown tour in the future. China town, Disney and perhaps the mall may be nice stopping and dropping points to visit, but otherwise it made for a very LONG morning that ate into some of the other things we would have enjoyed. City walk was pretty neat if you are into things like an outdoor mall with very elaborate designs outside the stores, but otherwise it's still just a place to purchase stuff you could find anywhere else. Plus our meal was not any better or worse then if we had eaten elsewhere. The iconic globe outside the gates to Universal Studios and City Walk is always cool, but I ask myself if it was really worth the wait for the tour bus, the heat and the time spent? Overall most of the days bus tour was a bust for Mark and I. Definitely we found the red line which covers most of Hollywood was the best line to take if you only have a day to spend. We hop back on the red line to finish up our time in LA. See my next post. TTFN
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