Hollywood!

===Hollywood ===
It's a city inside a city, a place of Glamor & Celebrity.
It is a destination that has been around since 1920's
but never goes out of style. It is constantly re-inventing
itself to a newer and younger crowd.

I have always wanted to see visit Hollywood,
The possibility of rubbing shoulders with a
movie star is almost guaranteed seeming most of the
town's residents are "Celebrities!"

I visited in April 2009 and had a big list of things
to visit! I wanted accommodation close to the action
so decided to stay at the Best Western on
Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.
It was affordable and in a great location, within
walking distance of Hollywood's must sees!

After a Sixteen hour flight from Sydney and over
90 minutes until i checked into the hotel the
last thing i wanted to do was sleep! I couldn't
wait to get amongst it... It was about 9pm and
we had walked down to Hollywood Boulevard.

As we approached the city centre, the Hollywood
walk of fame had began and we followed the stars to the
Kodak Theater! This was an icon in it's self as this is
the home of the Oscars! It's actually a shopping mall
on the other 164 days of the year.

Once there we were greeted by over twenty street
performers, all dressed up as movie characters!
There was Bumblebee, Freddy Krueger, Spiderman,
The Joker, Jack Sparrow and Wonder woman...
Just to name a few!

They are happy to pose for photos with tourist but
remember to them this is a job so tipping is a must!
I remember trying to explain to the Terminator that i only
have Australian coins as i had just arrived in the country
and hadn't exchanged my currency as yet, haha.

I returned the next day to see the stars on the Walk Of Fame.
There are now over 2,500 stars over 15 blocks in Hollywood.
Each star recognizes a Celebrities contribution to the
entertainment Industry. To be nominated the celebrity must
have a minimum of five years experience and needs to show a
record of their charity involvement. Each year 20 celebrities
are chosen and a fee of $30,000 is needed to create, install
and maintain thier star on the Walk of Fame. One of the most
famous stars visited is Marilyn Monroe, her star is easy to find,
it is located outside McDonald's on Hollywood Boulevard.

Next up was Grauman's Chinese Theatre, this is made famous
by the celebrity hand prints marked in the concrete,
It's one of Hollywood's oldest traditions. Today there is over
200 hand prints including Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Brad Pitt and
Will Smith. Hugh Jackman was the newest addition,
done a few days before we arrived. (Pictured)

The next must do is a Celebrity Homes Tour!
You won't need to book in advanced, just hang around
Hollywood Boulevard and you will be approached by several
tour operators. I did a bit of research online before i left and
had chosen Starline Tours. What i liked about them was there
bus was open aired which makes photography alot easier,
also because you can book and get picked up right out front of
the Chinese Theater. We went an early option hoping to spot
a celebrity out and about.

Our tour went for 2 hours and included Beverly Hills, Bel-Air
and Rodeo Drive. We cruised by the celebrity homes of
Tom Cruise, Orlando Bloom, JLo, Richard Gere, Courtney Cox,
The Osbournes and Nicole Ritchie. We even passed by
Lauren Conrads former house as the removalist were packing
up her belongings.

But the highlight for me came as we passed by Michael Jackon's
home and there he was, in the backseat of a SUV with his
window half down! They slowly drove out of the driveway
as everyone on board realized which famous face we had
spotted! It was awesome!

(Above- Richards Gere's House)

I told my driver i would double my tip if we saw a celebrity
and i kept my word hehe. During the tour we also passed by
some filming locations including the houses used in
Father Of The Bride and Halloween, we stopped at a lookout
on Mulholland Drive and saw the iconic Chateau Marmont!

The next best thing to seeing a celebrity in the street
is seeing them upclose at the Celebrity Wax Museum!
This is located on Hollywood Boulevard and for $16 US
you can have your photo taken with one hundred stars
including Angelina Jolie, Jude Law and Leonardo DiCaprio.

You can also see the stars dressed up in their most
famous movie costumes like Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura.
This museum gets a bad write up and they are not as well
crafted as Madame Tussauds wax models but overall
it was a bit of fun! Atleast a whole lot funner than
the Guinness World Records Museum across the street.

Now your day in Hollywood would not be complete with out
a photo of Hollywood's most famous resident, the Hollywood
Sign! This can be viewed whilst standing in the streets but
for a closer look head up to the lookout in the Hills.

The sign was first erected in 1923 and originally it read
Hollywoodland as it was originally a sign to promote a new land
development. In 1949 the letters to "land" were removed and the
Hollywood letters were replaced. The newest version of the sign
was unveiled in 1978, during Hollywood's 75th anniversary.
Nine celebrities each purchased a letter for $27,777.
The Y now belongs to Hugh Hefner and one of the O's is Alice Coopers.