oh! i remembered!

[fearlesstemp]

My father's latest crazy adventure is deciding in early December that he'd like to ring in the new year in L.A. with his family in tow. This means that my Christmas present from my family will be a trip to L.A. (can't really complain), and also that I will be in L.A.*! Excitement!

Does anyone have any tips as to fun things to do? I hear the Universal studio tours aren't as fun as they used to be, but are there any other fun studio tours to go on?

We are clueless, dorkorific Northeasterners! Help us, friendslist, you're our only hope!

*Small note -- the deal with the travel agent still isn't quite finalized, but it's looking good.

Comments

[nikisublime.livejournal.com]

what specific dates will you be there??

i am moving to LA soon. i haven't made a big announcement about it yet. but it will probably happen, supposing that everything goes alright this week.

[fearlesstemp.livejournal.com]

Nicole! You're moving to LA -- that's so awesome!! We're going on the 30th, I think, and coming back the 3rd (we're all about the quick vacations). Will you be around then? Let me know! It'd be great to see you.

[zeldachilds.livejournal.com]

My Northeastern parents really like art and gardens. When they visited me in L.A. (when I lived there -- they haven't visited me since I moved away, just to clarify), they went to

* The Huntington Library and Gardens in Pasadena (art, books, gardens)

* The Getty Center (art in cool-looking buildings on a big giant cliff)

* The Disney Concert Hall (cool-looking building) and Museum of Contemporary Art (art, cool-looking building, garden) in Downtown L.A.

* Watts Towers (art, outdoors, opressed peoples)

* Griffith Park (park, miniature train, lots of small dogs and joggers)

Also, we drove around a lot, mostly near the Silverlake Reservoir (there are architectural tours of Silverlake) and in the Hollywood Hills.

Also! At Universal Citywalk, you can get a "Dinner and a movie" deal where you get (a) free parking, (b) dinner at a choice of cheesy theme restaurants, and (c) a movie at the giant movie theater for like $20 a person. It's a good way of spending $20 on three things that you wouldn't pay for individually! I didn't go there with my parents, though.

Also! The Grove is a very strange and wonderous outdoor mall for people from the Northeast, I feel. It is near "the Farmer's Market" (which is not an actual farmer's market), and it has (a) a giant parking garage with a sign that tells you how many spots are available on each level (b) a trolley that runs from one end of the mall to the other, (c) dancing fountains, (d) a really nice movie theater with glass stars embedded in the floor that are lit from below!, (d) a bunch of stores and upscale chain restaurants. I think it strives for "Italian urban village" but it comes across more "mall in Las Vegas." Which, if you like Las Vegas, will probably make you happy.

[fearlesstemp.livejournal.com]

Ah, this is awesome! Thank you so much! I'm totally going to lobby hard for the dinner and a movie thing. But OMG, this:

(a) a giant parking garage with a sign that tells you how many spots are available on each level

is INCREDIBLE! I spent forever in a parking garage over the weekend, circling for spots - oh, to have had a magic sign telling me if/where spots were available!

And the art stuff is great, my father would definitely be into that and I would have had no idea where to find it. Thanks so much!

[canalbaby.livejournal.com]

Here around New Years?

The Rose Parade in Pasadena is gorgeous, and if you don't want the hassle/cold/long-hours-involved in seeing the parade in person I highly recommend going to the float viewing days (the first and the second this year.)

Seeing all the incredible detail on the floats is amazing (Look, are those lime? See the color of those roses! ect.), and you can actually smell them.

It is also interesting to go sometime during the float decorating, pre-parade. They've already started deorating the floats now (most start early to mid-November) but it is in the final days that all of the fresh flowers go on.

Sorry to have gone on for so long. Here's a link to a Rose Parade faq:

http://www.tournamentofroses.com/current/faq.htm

[fearlesstemp.livejournal.com]

Don't apologize! This is great info. We should be there around New Year's, and that sounds so cool! Thanks so much!

[dick-grayson.livejournal.com]

I also recommend the Getty Center, and would kill to see some of those Rose Parade floats up close. As for studio tours, I don't know about this time of year, but you can usually make arrangements for a tour of the Paramount lot, which is in Hollywood proper (i.e., near the Walk of Fame and other not-to-be-missed cheesy sites). You have to call in advance to make a reservation, but I believe the tour there is two hours long and can be pretty good, depending on what's happing at the studio at the time and what tour guide you get. Bonus factoid: they used to film "Angel" there. Also, you have to shop -- Melrose Avenue, Fred Segal (I saw Lara Flynn Boyle there once), or any of the dozens of malls. The Glendale Galleria is my favorite. Super handy if you end up in Pasadena. And of course, you should try to hit the beach, even if it's just for dinner. I can hardly wait for your recap of the trip!

[fearlesstemp.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, shopping is a must! Especially if there's the possibility I could see Real Live Famous People (this is why I have to live in a boring part of the country -- I've never grown out of the amazement of seeing people who live in my TV walking around in REAL LIFE -- one time I was at a Mexican restaurant and realized a low-level part-time anchor for my ABC affiliate was at the NEXT TABLE and I was so excited I almost embarrassed myself).

And the Paramount studio tour sounds awesome! Am going to lobby hard for that one.

Thanks so much for all the info! This is fab.

Shopping with famous people?

[claris.livejournal.com]

I'd say head to the Grove in W. LA. Worked at the Gap there for almost two years & you have a fairly good chance of bumping into at least a B list celeb there. After a while, I felt like going, "No, you people aren't supposed to be real! Get back in the little box that brings us joy & comfort!"
However, I figured that might be detrimental to my continued economic stability, so I refrained & had conversations with Michael Vartan about the fact that we share the lazy habit of just taking our pants out of the dryer right away instead of ironing. He really is that cute in person, ya know. Jen was a silly, silly girl.
Ah the Grove - I tell you, it's like someone dropped Main St. Disney a mile south of my apt. - in fact, you guys might get there before they stop with the fake snow at 7 pm every night, so you can point & mock & laugh at it like I do as a staunch former Nor'East resident!