Paramount Studios

On our previous visit to LA we missed out on taking the Paramount Studios tour, as it was closed. So we made sure that we caught it this time round. After several on-line and telephone attempts, we finally booked tickets for this morning's the 10:30 am tour We allowed ourselves plenty of time to get there, but the GPS played silly buggers, directing us, initially, to a cemetery. Then, when we did arrive at the Studio gates, we were turned around and redirected to a car parking lot. Nevertheless, our passes were waiting for us and Robert, our guide, ferried our party of seven around this working studio lot. Star Trek, Forrest Gump, The Godfather and many more films and TV series were and are being filmed here. We got to see the theatre used for first screenings, inside a some working sound studios, the New York street set, and finally, a collection of props from a variety of classic films (including one of the four benches used in Forrest Gump).

On balance, a very interesting visit. Afterwards, we drove back to the hotel, inevitably via the I10 W, and parked our car, again. That we set out on the light rail system, this time taking a ride to Downtown Santa Monica (for only 25 cents!). Already awed by our latest visit to LA, what we discovered in Santa Monica put icing on the cake. The whole place seems to have undergone a major face lift. Cycle trails, miles of car-free streets, and a fabulous market shopping area.

We meandered through the market area and down to the ocean front, which has an upmarket promenade and some lovely ocean view properties. The afternoon stayed hot and we beat a retreat for Sepulveda Blvd on one of the frequent trains.

Walking through Santa Monica, today, we spotted two young kids playing Hotel California. The guitarist could be the next Carlos Santana, but my musical aide memoir, today, has to be another piece of musicI heard there, Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop".