Los Angeles fun for NY'ers....
Feb 4th, 2001, 07:05 PM
#1
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Los Angeles fun for NY'ers....
OK....I have been to LA MANY, MANY times and have done all the tourist attractions! However, I could use the advice of some natives or well traveled LA explorers! I have always enjoyed this wonderful, expansive city! However, I am bringing some fellow New Yorkers to LA for the first time! I need some valuable advice. I would like to give my friends a VERY "California" experience, if you know what I mean! 
(thank you in advance)...Here we go....
Best "California-LA type" hotel? (Price unlimited....)
Best "California" area? Would that be Venice, Santa Monica, Zuma, or what have you?
Best things to do? Hollywood? Disney? Driving the strip?
Hope I am not to broad with the subject material....I love LA, and want to show my friends the best! Unfortunately, in NYC...it's all RIGHT THERE....but, LA is a little more SPREAD OUT!, shall we say....so just let me know what you think! If you can't narrow for me, give me your top five! Thank you all for your time.....hey, and any time you need New York advice, yeah right, let me know!
(thank you in advance)...Here we go.... Best "California-LA type" hotel? (Price unlimited....)
Best "California" area? Would that be Venice, Santa Monica, Zuma, or what have you?
Best things to do? Hollywood? Disney? Driving the strip?
Hope I am not to broad with the subject material....I love LA, and want to show my friends the best! Unfortunately, in NYC...it's all RIGHT THERE....but, LA is a little more SPREAD OUT!, shall we say....so just let me know what you think! If you can't narrow for me, give me your top five! Thank you all for your time.....hey, and any time you need New York advice, yeah right, let me know!
Feb 6th, 2001, 09:21 PM
#3
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OK, California and LA is all about weirdness, right? So how about some hotspots on the weird side of LA history, which invariably seems to involve the Hollywood set:
1. Hotel. Either the Beverly Hills Hotel or Chateau Marmont. At the BH, you get bungalows where Liz and Dick had legendary binges and brawls (#5), John Lennon and Yoko Ono locked themselves in for a widely-publicized week (#11) and Howard Hughes required his nightly sandwich to be perched in the branches of a tree outside his den of weirdness (#4). At the Marmont, you get Jim Morrisson on the roof and John Belushi in bungalow #2 (checked in and really out).
2. Bars. Reeking of Old Hollywood notoriety: the Formosa Cafe; Musso & Frank Grill; Polo Lounge
3. Food. Tail O' the Pup, a really unique hotdog stand shaped like a...uh..hotdog of course, where Orson Wells "bellied up," Just look, don't eat for God sakes; Pink's the hotdog stand nearby where Wells REALLY got after it serious at odd hours of the night, reportedly eating 15 chili dogs in one sitting once. Bruce Willis proposed to Demi (Deh MI) here over chili dogs (how romantic). Phillipe the Original, some of the best sandwiches in Smell A for the last thousand years; Pacific Dining Car (downtown) for surprisingly good food at 2 am. Although why ANYONE would be downtown at 2 AM is a mystery to me. Well, maybe I understand.
4. Weirdness. Los Angeles Pet Memorial Park, where the pets of self-absorbed celebrities have been..err..interred. LA Coroner Gift Shop, Skeletons in the Closet; Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, Westwood Village Memorial Park, Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hillside Memorial Park and Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills and Glendale for lots of dead celebs; Los Angeles Conservancy Walking Tours.
Best California area? Well if you want your guests to think the circus is in town, check out Venice Beach. It is a concentration of "unique" individuals and sights.
The Mouse is tame in comparison to the foregoing. But if it suits you, they did just open a new area of Disneyland.
Well, I'm too tired to go on. I would call the preceding a VERY "California" experience.
Have Fun
1. Hotel. Either the Beverly Hills Hotel or Chateau Marmont. At the BH, you get bungalows where Liz and Dick had legendary binges and brawls (#5), John Lennon and Yoko Ono locked themselves in for a widely-publicized week (#11) and Howard Hughes required his nightly sandwich to be perched in the branches of a tree outside his den of weirdness (#4). At the Marmont, you get Jim Morrisson on the roof and John Belushi in bungalow #2 (checked in and really out).
2. Bars. Reeking of Old Hollywood notoriety: the Formosa Cafe; Musso & Frank Grill; Polo Lounge
3. Food. Tail O' the Pup, a really unique hotdog stand shaped like a...uh..hotdog of course, where Orson Wells "bellied up," Just look, don't eat for God sakes; Pink's the hotdog stand nearby where Wells REALLY got after it serious at odd hours of the night, reportedly eating 15 chili dogs in one sitting once. Bruce Willis proposed to Demi (Deh MI) here over chili dogs (how romantic). Phillipe the Original, some of the best sandwiches in Smell A for the last thousand years; Pacific Dining Car (downtown) for surprisingly good food at 2 am. Although why ANYONE would be downtown at 2 AM is a mystery to me. Well, maybe I understand.
4. Weirdness. Los Angeles Pet Memorial Park, where the pets of self-absorbed celebrities have been..err..interred. LA Coroner Gift Shop, Skeletons in the Closet; Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, Westwood Village Memorial Park, Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hillside Memorial Park and Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills and Glendale for lots of dead celebs; Los Angeles Conservancy Walking Tours.
Best California area? Well if you want your guests to think the circus is in town, check out Venice Beach. It is a concentration of "unique" individuals and sights.
The Mouse is tame in comparison to the foregoing. But if it suits you, they did just open a new area of Disneyland.
Well, I'm too tired to go on. I would call the preceding a VERY "California" experience.
Have Fun
Feb 6th, 2001, 09:30 PM
#4
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Disney new California Adventure theme park is opening this week and is geared around California and Hollywood, so this park might be more popular with your friends than the original park next door. It will likely be very popular though for the first few years.
How about hiking up near the Hollywood sign?
When are you coming? Beginning in the spring, many of the outdoor amphitheaters start to have their outdoor concerts which are great fun.
How about hiking up near the Hollywood sign?
When are you coming? Beginning in the spring, many of the outdoor amphitheaters start to have their outdoor concerts which are great fun.
Feb 6th, 2001, 09:50 PM
#5
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The best way to see Los Angeles is by bicycle. You can ride along the Ocean from Malibu to Redondo Beach on a bike path. Perrys, Blazing Saddles and a bunch of Venice garages rent bikes. LA Bike Tours has rentals and guided tours in Hollywood & Beverly Hills. Get some exercise and see the city.
Feb 7th, 2001, 08:41 AM
#6
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LA Native has some great suggestions, there is not a whole lot I can add to that!
FYI the new Metro is alive and well and two round trip tickets almost always are below the cost of parking a car ($2.70 RT from Hollywood to Downtown VS 13.00 to park for 3 hours)I was just in downtown LA this past Sunday and could not believe how great it was. Check out the Bonaventure hotel and ride the glass elevators up for a stunning view, the LA Library is also open on Sundays!
Other stuff.
Restaurants: Micheli's in Hollywood on Las Palmas (just off Hollywood Blvd.) is a great old LA standard with tons of character charm and worth a visit.
Yamashiro up on the hill behind Hollywood blvd. is really expensive but worth it for the view, atmosphere and cuisine.
For hotels, I would stay at the Roosevelt off of Hollywood Blvd, also home of the Cinegrill a famous nightclub/cabaret. currently they are displaying and interesting retrospective of the history of Hollywood BTW, it's also where the first Academy Awards were held.
Another cemetary that somehow didn't get into LA Native's really extensive list is the newly renamed Hollywood Forever cemetary behind Paramount studios, you can see the gigantic Douglas Fairbanks pond, and Rudolph Valentino's tomb, where the "Woman in Black" used to sit, also the grave of Virginia Rappe the woman silent film star Fatty Arbuckle supposedly killed with a .... never mind (maps available).
A day at Griffith Park is also kind of fun, lots of things were shot up there,
Rebel without a Cause, and some Doors album covers etc.
Hollywood is in the middle of a renaissance, great old restaurants are being restored, and the place is starting to really come together, it's certainly not the 1980's Hollywood.
Welcome to LA.
FYI the new Metro is alive and well and two round trip tickets almost always are below the cost of parking a car ($2.70 RT from Hollywood to Downtown VS 13.00 to park for 3 hours)I was just in downtown LA this past Sunday and could not believe how great it was. Check out the Bonaventure hotel and ride the glass elevators up for a stunning view, the LA Library is also open on Sundays!
Other stuff.
Restaurants: Micheli's in Hollywood on Las Palmas (just off Hollywood Blvd.) is a great old LA standard with tons of character charm and worth a visit.
Yamashiro up on the hill behind Hollywood blvd. is really expensive but worth it for the view, atmosphere and cuisine.
For hotels, I would stay at the Roosevelt off of Hollywood Blvd, also home of the Cinegrill a famous nightclub/cabaret. currently they are displaying and interesting retrospective of the history of Hollywood BTW, it's also where the first Academy Awards were held.
Another cemetary that somehow didn't get into LA Native's really extensive list is the newly renamed Hollywood Forever cemetary behind Paramount studios, you can see the gigantic Douglas Fairbanks pond, and Rudolph Valentino's tomb, where the "Woman in Black" used to sit, also the grave of Virginia Rappe the woman silent film star Fatty Arbuckle supposedly killed with a .... never mind (maps available).
A day at Griffith Park is also kind of fun, lots of things were shot up there,
Rebel without a Cause, and some Doors album covers etc.
Hollywood is in the middle of a renaissance, great old restaurants are being restored, and the place is starting to really come together, it's certainly not the 1980's Hollywood.
Welcome to LA.
Feb 7th, 2001, 10:15 AM
#7
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The previous poster's list is great.
Your friends might also like Frederick's of Hollywood lingerie museum.
I THINK Jane Russell's brassiere from THE OUTLAW is there.
Memorial Park cemetery in Boyle Heights is the final resting place for the Warners, Louie B. ( I think), and at least one of the Stooges.
Your friends might also like Frederick's of Hollywood lingerie museum.
I THINK Jane Russell's brassiere from THE OUTLAW is there.
Memorial Park cemetery in Boyle Heights is the final resting place for the Warners, Louie B. ( I think), and at least one of the Stooges.
Feb 11th, 2001, 05:22 PM
#10
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jane:
How much dinero they want for it? Will they give you a group rate? It sounds sorta intriguing but I would definitely get lubricated at a place like the Formosa first to get everybody in the mood and 'enhance' the experience.
BTW, here is a good site that will save you some time if you want to put together your own *free* self-guided tour:
http://www.findagrave.com/
The folks at a couple of the cemetaries are known for being less than accommodating when you are trying to locate, say, Clark Gable's final resting place.
Fodorites Rawk!
How much dinero they want for it? Will they give you a group rate? It sounds sorta intriguing but I would definitely get lubricated at a place like the Formosa first to get everybody in the mood and 'enhance' the experience.
BTW, here is a good site that will save you some time if you want to put together your own *free* self-guided tour:
http://www.findagrave.com/
The folks at a couple of the cemetaries are known for being less than accommodating when you are trying to locate, say, Clark Gable's final resting place.
Fodorites Rawk!
Feb 11th, 2001, 07:53 PM
#11
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The maps at Hollywood Forever are $2.oo.
The receptionist at Memorial Park ( I think that's the name.. the old Jewishi cemetery in Boyle Heights) is extremely helpful). Forest Lawn also has maps ( not sure of the charge). Marilyn Monroe is buried in Westwood, the cemetery behind the Avco theatre..small, no map necessary. I think you could do it on your own, but not having to drive is a plus. I have heard Graveline is a lot of fun.
For your Hollywood lovin' friends, don't miss the Griffith Park observatory ( REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE). Also, the FROLIC ROOM next to the Pantages theatre from L.A. CONFIDENTIAL.
The receptionist at Memorial Park ( I think that's the name.. the old Jewishi cemetery in Boyle Heights) is extremely helpful). Forest Lawn also has maps ( not sure of the charge). Marilyn Monroe is buried in Westwood, the cemetery behind the Avco theatre..small, no map necessary. I think you could do it on your own, but not having to drive is a plus. I have heard Graveline is a lot of fun.
For your Hollywood lovin' friends, don't miss the Griffith Park observatory ( REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE). Also, the FROLIC ROOM next to the Pantages theatre from L.A. CONFIDENTIAL.
Feb 14th, 2001, 02:52 AM
#12
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CA Native and group - what fantastic ideas! I'm going to LA with my boyfriend (his first time there) and I've printed out your wonderful suggestions to take with me when I leave this Friday. Jane - I'm from the NY area too and LOVE 'old Hollywood' like your friends, so your posting will enable me to see some really cool stuff when I go...I'm so glad you posted it! CA Native, if there's anything else you'd like to add in terms of your favorites (I'm staying in Long Beach for business), I'd love to hear about it. Thanks all!!!!
Feb 15th, 2001, 01:25 PM
#13
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Carole:
Two other weirdo, bizarro L.A. things are (1)the flamenco show at El Cid in Hollywood and (2), Medieval Times in Canoga Park.
El Cid has been around forever. Their boast is that they 'transport' you back to 16 century Spain. Don't be deceived by the way it looks outside. The appetizers were pretty good and the dinner decent. The show does sell out, so call for reservations in advance. I think the show goes Wed. thru Sunday. Arrive early to have a bunch of drinks.
Medieval Times I almost hesitate to suggest. It is one of those shows that is so bad it is almost good. A huge downside is the constant attempts at wallet hoovering for everything after you have paid the admission. They are constantly trying to get in your pocket again. If you saw "The Cable Guy" with Jim Carrey, a visit to this place was featured. Welcome to So. CA, be careful, have fun.
BTW, an earlier poster mentioned a cocktail lounge that was in "LA Confidential." I don't remember the one mentioned in the movie, but the Formosa Cafe was definitely in it once, maybe twice.
Two other weirdo, bizarro L.A. things are (1)the flamenco show at El Cid in Hollywood and (2), Medieval Times in Canoga Park.
El Cid has been around forever. Their boast is that they 'transport' you back to 16 century Spain. Don't be deceived by the way it looks outside. The appetizers were pretty good and the dinner decent. The show does sell out, so call for reservations in advance. I think the show goes Wed. thru Sunday. Arrive early to have a bunch of drinks.
Medieval Times I almost hesitate to suggest. It is one of those shows that is so bad it is almost good. A huge downside is the constant attempts at wallet hoovering for everything after you have paid the admission. They are constantly trying to get in your pocket again. If you saw "The Cable Guy" with Jim Carrey, a visit to this place was featured. Welcome to So. CA, be careful, have fun.
BTW, an earlier poster mentioned a cocktail lounge that was in "LA Confidential." I don't remember the one mentioned in the movie, but the Formosa Cafe was definitely in it once, maybe twice.
Feb 15th, 2001, 03:10 PM
#14
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I think CA Native is correct the the Formosa (next to Warner Bros, Melrose lot) was were they filmed that scene in L.A. Confidential... I don't remember the Frolic room having sit down tables, just high bar stools... but I could be wrong. Also best Hollywood type hotel would be Shutters in Santa Monica but it's $$$$$$$
Another fun thing I just thought of, if you are up near Griffith park, stop into the Dresden Room.. (seen in Swingers) the same piano/loungue act duo has been there since like, the 50's, can't remember their names, something like Jan and Pat... something, but it's a hoot! LA Native, we tried calling that Graveline tours thing and they never responded, we have friends coming in from overseas and wanted to take this tour first to see if it was worth the bucks.... we'll keep trying.
Another fun thing I just thought of, if you are up near Griffith park, stop into the Dresden Room.. (seen in Swingers) the same piano/loungue act duo has been there since like, the 50's, can't remember their names, something like Jan and Pat... something, but it's a hoot! LA Native, we tried calling that Graveline tours thing and they never responded, we have friends coming in from overseas and wanted to take this tour first to see if it was worth the bucks.... we'll keep trying.
Feb 15th, 2001, 04:35 PM
#16
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Found in a web search:
http://www.vaportrails.com/USA/USAFe...Graveline.html
excerpted from bottom of page:
1999 Update Graveline Tours is now run by Tourland. Same great tour guide, new company. At $40 per person, it's one of the best values in town. You can reach Duncan at 323-782-9652 for more details, or email him at [email protected]. You can find the Tourland website at www.touropia.com.
http://www.vaportrails.com/USA/USAFe...Graveline.html
excerpted from bottom of page:
1999 Update Graveline Tours is now run by Tourland. Same great tour guide, new company. At $40 per person, it's one of the best values in town. You can reach Duncan at 323-782-9652 for more details, or email him at [email protected]. You can find the Tourland website at www.touropia.com.
Feb 18th, 2001, 04:33 PM
#18
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Jane (and Thyra),
It's Marty and Elayne at the Dresden. They are a lot better than their audience who tend to request songs like "Muskrat Love". Sit at the piano bar and ask for Gershwin or Porter and you won't be disappointed (look at the photographs on the wall. Elayne has played with many notables, Stan Kenton,etc). Don't miss the white vinyl booths in the dining room. The Dresden is on Vermont in the Los Feliz area.
It's Marty and Elayne at the Dresden. They are a lot better than their audience who tend to request songs like "Muskrat Love". Sit at the piano bar and ask for Gershwin or Porter and you won't be disappointed (look at the photographs on the wall. Elayne has played with many notables, Stan Kenton,etc). Don't miss the white vinyl booths in the dining room. The Dresden is on Vermont in the Los Feliz area.
Feb 19th, 2001, 06:37 AM
#19
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Jane,
Forgot to add, BOTH the Formosa and the Frolic room were used in LA CONFIDENTIAL. The Formosa is the "that's Lana Turner"scene and the scene where Jack Vincennes tips off the kid about what will happen at the motel is the Frolic Room. Despite it's nifty neon sign, the Frolic is only worth pointing out, while the Formosa is a good spot for a drink.
Forgot to add, BOTH the Formosa and the Frolic room were used in LA CONFIDENTIAL. The Formosa is the "that's Lana Turner"scene and the scene where Jack Vincennes tips off the kid about what will happen at the motel is the Frolic Room. Despite it's nifty neon sign, the Frolic is only worth pointing out, while the Formosa is a good spot for a drink.
