Los Angeles home to Hollywood
The film industry has had a large impact on Los Angeles since the early 20th century. Hollywood is considered the oldest film studio.
Travelling to Los Angeles
We started our journey at Leeds Bradford Airport on the 6th April 2019 and spent a couple of hours in the executive lounge which is well worth the price as you can get into the holiday spirit in a relaxed atmosphere, enjoying breakfast overlooking the runway accompanied for Debbie by a rhubarb gin and ginger while I stuck to the beer! As I was using my BA travel concessions we flew in Business Class down to London, a very comfortable journey made all the better as it was accompanied by a couple of bottles of Champagne!
Night before flight
We arrived in London just after lunch, and ordered an Uber to pick us up and take us to an Airbnb we had booked in Stanwell nearby, as our flight to LA was not departing until the next day. Never take a black cab from Heathrow as they are extortionately expensive and if you are not going very far they will be extremely unhappy as they really want fares into Central London. Our Airbnb was pleasant and well equipped, and in a nice quiet location. We decided to take a trip into nearby Staines, made famous by Ali G. There are a couple of nice bars overlooking the River Thames and we had a pleasant afternoon. We headed back to the Airbnb in the evening and got a good night’s sleep before heading back to the airport for our flight to LA.
Flight
The flight was full so as we were on staff travel we had to wait to see if we could get on the flight which is always a bit nerve-wracking but all turned out very well indeed as we were lucky enough to get seats in First Class! It is always a pleasure to travel in First Class with BA, and no sooner had we sat down then we were offered a glass of very tasty Champagne! For the next 11 hours we enjoyed excellent food, drinks (not much for me as I had to drive at the other end) and a nice relax watching films and a quick snooze.
Accommodation
We landed at LA in the afternoon, and once through immigration we took the bus to pick up our hire car, a sporty white Mustang. It was only a 30 minute drive to the Airbnb we had booked near Manhattan Beach and we found it quite easily. We parked up and were greeted by the owner who came out to us with a cold bottle of water and a warm welcome.
Air bnb
The Airbnb was a room separate to the house, which was well equipped and you could sit out in the garden and use the BBQ facilities. We unloaded our cases and decided to take a drive up to Venice Beach. We had a walk around and called into the Venice Beach Bar which did very tasty looking Mexican food and appetising cocktails. Debbie decided to make full use of the 2 for 1 offer on cocktails and had a couple of Margueritas. We ordered some food which as often in America is way more than you can actually eat, but it was tasty and good value. The bar has a chilled, fun vibe and if I hadn’t been driving we would have probably spent a good few hours there!
Venice Beach
Venice beach is a lively town with lots of interesting shops, cafes and bars to explore and we enjoyed a nice walk along the famous boardwalk. It is a great place to people-watch as the place attracts all kinds of different people. However by this time we were tired after the journey and the time difference and so we headed back to Manhattan Beach for a good sleep.
Hollywood
The next day we were up nice and early (as is typical for the first day after travelling from the UK) and decided that we would drive across LA to Hollywood for a bit of sight-seeing. It felt good driving around with the roof down on the Mustang and eventually parked up in the Hollywood and Highland shopping centre, right in the centre of Hollywood. We had a walk along Hollywood Boulevard, checking out all of the stars on the Walk of Fame. We paid $5 for Debbie to have a star of her own, at least for 5 minutes!
Tour Bus
We decided to take a tour of the famous stars houses which is a good way to tour around Hollywood and Beverly Hills while having a nosey at how some of the rich and famous live. We were also taking to see a shop which is allegedly the most expensive shop in the world where you can only go in via appointment. The tour takes you into the hills and along Mulholland Drive from where you get a great view of both the Hollywood sign and over the whole of the LA area and the Hollywood Bowl.
Summary
Los Angeles is an amazing place with lots to see and do. We will definitely go back as we did not get to see everything we wanted to. Not sure if it is hard to get in to Vipers Room but we would have loved to have gone.
Images
Things to do
- Visit the Beach
- Take a tour of Hollywood and see the homes of the rich and famous
- See LA from Mount Wilson Observatory
- Visit Venice Beach
- Visit Warner Brother’s Studio
- Visit the walk of fame
- Visit Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
- Drive down Rodeo Drive
- Visit Universal Studio’s
Top tips
- Airbnb is a great way to stay in LA at a low cost.
- Car hire is very reasonable and a good way to get around LA
- Tour bus was a good way to see the houses of the rich and famous with the tour guide providing you with all the information you need.
- Food is very reasonably priced. When ordering be aware that they are often big portions.
- Allow enough time to see all the things you want to see.
- Check out the weather below for best time to visit LA.
Weather
| Temp – Celsius Rain – mm | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| High Temp | 18 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 23 | 19 |
| Low Temp | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 8 |
| Rainfall | 79 | 76 | 71 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 31 | 66 |
| Number of days | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |