LOS ANGELES.
It has been almost a year since I was lucky enough to be able to visit my number one bucket list destination. A full year and it only seems like yesterday, I guess it goes to show how much of an impact this place has on you. Like anywhere you make the greatest memories, they stick to you, they never leave.
As we approached the end of our road trip, spending the last three days in LA truly made the whole experience so much more special. For one, I’m in some behind the scenes footage of a random TV show which is exciting but also worrying, passing Pete Wentz in the middle of the street, and our stereotypical Beverly Hills tour guide calmly pointing out “Beyoncé’s house” that was quite literally in walking distance.
From spending hours in the Universal gift shop to stepping inside the Barbra Streisand scoring stage at Sony Pictures. I feel so lucky to have been able to visit, even if it was only for three days, you can experience and see a lot in such a short time.
Universal Studios Hollywood
The greatest place on earth. This was by far my most memorable day on the trip. I was in constant awe and excitement, even now it brings a smile to my face because of how amazing it was.
HARRY POTTER! 2 months before having the privilege to visit Universal, I went to the Warner Bros Studio Tour in London so I was extremely hyped to visit Hogsmeade in LA. Hogwarts is HUGE, it is the first thing you see as you walk towards the entrance, I was quick to discover the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride INSIDE the castle, I swear I went on it like six times in a row. Absolutely incredible. Not to mention the gifts shops, the Butter beer stand, the Wand stand and actors playing characters who you could talk to. No matter how cringe worthy the fake English accents were, it made the whole experience hilarious.
Random note: The Walking Dead attraction was terrifying. That is all that needs to be said.
The one thing that took up the majority of our time was the Studio tour, that was amazing, I would experience that over and over again if I could. Not to spoil it too much, I’ll mention that you’re going into a working studio lot, where at some stages the tram must switch off its engine and wait in complete silence until the filming is over. How exciting is that though! You may also be caught amongst all the filming, at the beginning, two people on a golf cart went past us with a huge camera and shouted, “smile you’re on a TV show!”. Now, I don’t know whether that was legit, but if you ever see a fair skinned, brown haired girl tilting her head and looking like a complete loser on a Universal tram, let me know, it’s probably me. The tour also includes the journey of Norman Bates, Hong-Kong 360 3-D and many more 3-D attractions that completes the experience.
Be warned, if you ever find yourself in the Universal store, you may be trapped for a while…
Sony Pictures Studio Tour
I had such low expectations for the tour, I don’t know why, but I tell you, it was bloody fantastic. It wasn’t the best place we went to out of the whole trip but definitely worth the visit. It is difficult to sum up what I saw without rambling too much so I’ll just list my favourite parts.
- The Rainbow. In part reference to The Wizard Of Oz, which was filmed on the former MGM lot (now Sony Pictures Studios), in Culver City, the rainbow casts over a large portion of the lot and you can see it from just about anywhere you are . Despite how amazing it looked, it also reminded me of the rich history behind it.
- The Barbara Streisand Scoring Stage. Sony described it as “one of the largest motion picture scoring venues in the world”. The interior has remained the same since the 1930s to preserve the acoustics that have stunned filmmakers and audiences to this very day. Many filmmakers have booked out the stage for thousands of dollars to ensure that they have the best quality of music for their movie. Many soundtracks scored on this stage have included Pirates of the Caribbean (Hans Zimmer), and Spider-Man (Danny Elfman). It is such an interesting part to the tour, and also something that makes you appreciate the production of a film even more.
- The Stages. From one to the other, you look and feel like a little excited tourist, so every time someone important passes you you’re like “omg are they famous?”. They’re probably not, but you never know, many celeb offices are on the lot (Adam Sandler to name one)! Many films have been filmed in these stages, including Spider-man, TV Shows like Queen Latifah, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! Whilst I had never heard of these TV shows before, the enthusiasm from the guide reflected the industry at it’s current state.
- CARS. You are taken to view cars such as the 22 Jump Street buggy, the Ghost Busters car AND the Breaking Bad Camper Van. I don’t have a great interest in stuff like that, however, Channing Tatum touched that buggy, he touched it.
Hollywood
Hollyyywood Walk of Fameee, was full of people dressed up as characters trying to charge you 10 dollars for a photograph, a very awkward situation to be around but expected in such a popular tourist destination. Hollywood Boulevard is packed full of historic treasures, such as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the place where they hold the Oscars, a miniature view of the Hollywood Sign… there’s also a Sephora, where I am guilty of spending too much money.
Beverly Hills
On our detoured route to the Airport, we stopped and took a photo outside the Beverly Hills sign, and whilst I didn’t get to wander around, you could tell it was a very wealthy part of LA. Homes to those who appear on ours screens and sing into our ears.
Santa Monica Beach
Hannah Montana flashbacks. Knowing that that was the pier Lily had her birthday party made me have a major childhood throwback, it was the perfect way to end such an amazing trip. I recommend watching the sunset, it was a view!
Well, this is the last blog post covering my road trip along the West Coast! It was the most surreal experience ever, I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunity to go and hopefully, one day, I’ll be able to go back!
~Amy.
Amy Gregory 