A Spot of Beach Time

One regret from this trip is we did not allow for enough beach time and the day we did allow for it, we messed up by not checking the weather and it was COLD.

One afternoon we drove out to Venice to walk along the beach but didn't bring our suits or towels or anything else. I always forget just how cold the ocean is.  Surprises me every time.  

A few views from walking along Venice Beach.

 

 

The view north towards Santa Monica.

 

 We tried to watch sunset on Santa Monica pier and grab dinner there.  Due to a concert or something going on, the parking was crazy expensive.  Darren was nice enough to pull off on the side of the road for me to hop out and grab a few pictures of sunset.

 

 

 Views of the pier and the rides.

 

   

Cars of LA

The Bugatti.

 

The Ferrari. (I think)

Various pretty cars.

Rolls-Royce.

Hollywood

After Warner Brothers we drove ALL over LA. Our first stop was Hollywood Blvd and Grauman's (now TCL) Chineses Theater.  I still really don't know why this place is so famous but it is pretty cool.

Outside is the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  We said hi to Mickey Mouse and Shrek!

And drove past Paramount Studios.

And Pink's hot dogs.

We stopped for a little while at the La Brea Tar Pits. Another must see that isn't a whole lot to see! ;)

 

I convinced Darren to go for a walk down Rodeo Drive.  We didn't do any shopping but admiring of the windows, people and cars.

 Another morning we decided to go up to the Griffith Observatory.  My parents recommended it.  I somehow neglected to look at the opening time which wasn't until noon.  It was so early the fog hadn't burned off downtown so the views weren't very good either. 

Hollywood sign in the distance.

Warner Brothers - Friends

After Friends ended and they did their final interview with Jay Leno on the Tonight Show, Leno suggested the Warner Brothers keep the Central Perk set so fans could enjoy it for years to come.  Based on this suggestion it became the only TV set for a cancelled show to be kept at Warner Brothers.

Darren and I on the real Central Perk couch!

My favorite story from the whole day was about this espresso machine.  During the first season they forgot to cast the coffee shop guy.  It was slightly problematic because they wanted to actually USE the machine in the shows and have it make its signature coffee shop type noises.  They asked all the extras if they knew how to use it and only did.  That person landed in the role of Gunther.  In the first scene they went to use the machine in, it was so loud they turned it off and never used it again!  Now even years after the show was cancelled, the guy who plays Gunther, who got the job on a complete fluke still makes $500,000 a year from merchandise sales and reruns!  The cast still make $25 million a year as well which is what they made in the final season of new episodes!

 The other side of the coffeeshop.

The last menu from Central Perk.  They preserved it by putting hair spray on it so you could not erase it!

Warner Brothers Props

This is the phone booth from Get Smart.

Scooby Doo's Shaggin' Wagon.

A few of the many versions of the Batmobile.

Mr. Weasley's flying car from Harry Potter.

Austin Power's Car.

Warner Brothers

Warner Brothers is just a really neat place.  This hut marks the entrance to the swamp where they film the scenes outside of Lavon's house on Hart of Dixie.  It was closed so we couldn't go back and check it out.

Speaking of Hart of Dixie this is the gazebo that goes in the town square. Since the town square was set up for Rosewood, Pennsylvania from Pretty Little Liars the gazebo was in an out lot.

A few of the houses they use for outdoor shots.

This is the house used at Zoe and Brick's doctor's office on Hart of Dixie.  They only use this for outdoor shots, not the indoor ones.

Here is the Rosewood City hall and the literally on the left side of this building which is the same brick and style is the Rosewood High School.  Both from Pretty Little Liars.

 

This scene is neat. They build these "EL" tracks on the lot for ER which filmed all its episodes on the lot.  The left is the ambulance bay where they had a basketball hoop that Doug Ross (George Clooney) played during the show.

And then when the hospital got remodeled, it was this building which is the main management building on the lot.

 

Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

Warner Brothers water tower.