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Published: January 7th 2010
Marilyn and I
The girls favourite place...overlooking the valley.
Coffee and sunshine every morning!Happy New Year Everyone! Before we know it, we'll be back on Woodglade Blvd....all too soon. It is now January 7th, but I'll fill you in on the last exciting couple of weeks.
Marilyn and Gloria arrived as planned on December 27...only 2 hours late due to the upped security at Toronto Airport......but poor Monica, traveling on air miles, had to fly from Toronto to Washington, D.C. then on to L.A. didn't arrive untill December 29th due to canceled flights. Good thing Marilyn and Gloria arrived at the Toronto airport very early...they were in the security lineup for 6 hours...no washrooms, no food, etc....and were happy just to get on the plane! Meanwhile, Monica spent two nights at a Toronto airport hotel and finally arrived in L.A. via Chicago!!! Hope its a bit easier going back!!
We have been busy doing all the touristy things....we took a Starline tour of L.A.....it was the one day it poured rain...but is was an excellent tour and we got to see some of the good, as well as bad, sights of L.A. We arrived at Grauman's Chinese Theatre early in the morning driven by our man Melvin..(our driver while the girls were
Lights at Universal
The lights were wonderful at Universal Studios Walk in Universal City. here). It was a great time to see the footprints, handprints and signatures of the famous...no one else around - as well as great photo opportunities. Our 7 hour tour began at 9 a.m. and even tho it was raining, the bus cold because of air conditioning which kept the windows clear...a couple of miserable people who hated the heat on when we requested it (silly cold Canadians!).....we had a great time with lots of laughs enjoying the many varried cityscapes of L.A. We traveled through Beverly Hills, Hombly Hills, this Hills and that Hills, - amazing residential areas where huge mansions are still being built. We also saw where Michael Jackson died...an incredible, huge estate where reportedly he paid $40,000 a month rent!! Sometimes all we saw were the gates of the mansions which sit behind huge hedges and very private. You sure wouldn't get your money's worth if that was the one tour you took!! We were dropped off in Santa Monica for lunch break... at the pier...which is a beautiful upscale spot with a beach that goes on for miles.....but our time was spent in a restuarant...apptly named "The Lobster". We had a great view as we
The Donut Hole
A.J. and friends....we had great donuts here! ate our delicious meals and enjoyed the ambiance. Next was Venice Beach...waaaaay downscale (compared to Santa Monica) where street people held up signs with discusting language, wanting money. Hundreds of shops along the walk, t-shirts and trinkets galore....and you could get your supplies of "medical" marijuana and botox treatments on demand. It is a very eclectic and interesting place for people watching on a sunny day! We stopped at Olvera Street which is a lovely Mexican market area, and the area of the birthplace of the City of Los Angeles which was first settled in 1741 by 44 families from Mexico, under the direction of King Carlos of Spain. We wished we had more time to spend there. Los Angeles is a huge area to tour with a city population of 3.8 million and the metropolitan area housing an additional 12.9 million residents. Thats a lot of people!!!! That's a lot of cars on the freeway!
Marilyn, Gloria and I also did the Universal Studios Tour one evening. The lights were beautiful, the Tommy's hamburger joint jumping, and the behind the scenes tour very interesting. A visit to the Special Effects presentation gave us more of an idea of
how special effects in movies are done. Lots of people there - as well as lots of kids from all over the U.S.....there as members of bands who will perform in the Rose parade.
Next day was Warner Bros. Studio, a two hour tour which included the numerous back lots, scene construction areas, museums, the set of Two and a Half Men (hic!) ...etc. No live taping as all shows were on Christmas hiatus....wouldn't have wanted to see Martin Sheen anyway!!!! The WB Museum was very interesting...a whole floor devoted to the Harry Potter movies. Was a great tour.
New Years Eve brought some excitement! After a great dinner of roast beef as well as Thai food that another neighbour showed up with unexpectedly, we all decided we just could not stay up to ring in the New Year. Especially when we had to get up at 3:30 am to get ourselves prepared to head to Pasedena for the Rose Parade. At about 11:30 pm, Monica knocked on our door...."Linda the house is full of smoke"!!!! Up we jumped, and headed out to the living room where we decided that a smoldering log in the fireplace had caused
Santa Monica Pier
....in the fog...even in the rain, its a beautiful spot on the ocean. the problem. Because various inside doors were closed, the fire alarms had not activated. Verne got the neighbours to come in and help him check.....we were 1 second away from calling the fire department....but the furnaces were okay...and the problem still pointed to a chemical smell from the log. We had to open every door and window to get rid of the smell...it was so awful...and there we sat, wrapped in comforters, ringing in the New Year!
After only a few hours sleep, we headed to Pasadena. Snacks, blankets, special seats, gloves, etc. all in the back pack. Pasadena was alive at 5 am with thousands.....make that a million people - many had camped out overnight with ALL their camping gear - including fire in portable fireplaces, camp stoves, tents, cots, blankets, coolers, chairs....you name it! We had great seats in the stands and our little portable seats with backs were the best thing invented. The parade was wonderful....Capt Scully who landed the jet in the Hudson River in New York, was the grand marshall. The people went crazy when he drove by....as they did with the U.S. Marine Corp band which was wonderful. We saw Jackie Chan, Jarrod
Eating Again
The Lobster in Santa Monica. (the Subway guy), various American heroes, Olympians, sports personalities, Jack Hannah....the guy from the San Diego Zoo who is on all the talk shows. The flowers were amazing, the floats totally covered with "living" flora, flowers, bark, seeds, leaves, etc. One highlight was about 2 dozen beautiful little oriental girls, all on roller skates, and dressed as butterflies who did precision skating the whole route. The Samba Carnival float was awesome with dancers, and 20 ft. high puppets proceeding the float. Great fun and energy. The bands were terrific as American high school and college bands always are......two and a half hours of wonderful entertainment. We loved it!!!! Afterwards we walked Old Town Pasadena, took photos at the Rose House, and then walked the downtown area to see the terrible mess people had left in the streets!! We were horrified!!! But apparently, the whole city is super clean within 24 hours! We enjoyed a wonderful Italian meal at Buco di Beppo with great waiters, true Italian decor - a fun place to be.... and were able to relax before we were picked up and delivered home. Needless to say, we slept the next day.
Sunday, Marilyn, Monica and Gloria
checked into the Holiday Inn Burbank....and then off we all went shopping. They loved Burbank Town Centre as much as I - we spent a good hour having a hamburger lunch at the famous "Johnny Rockets".
Neighbours Paul and Rita had invited us all in for a visit after our shopping expedition....we had a wonderful time, they are so gracious...and Paul at 90 has so many stories to tell.....he is a stained glass artist, among other things....both French Canadians who have lived in California for 60 years. They have been on 25 cruises!!! Sure beats my one! Verne and I had been invited over to another neighbours for drinks and finger food at 5......needless to say, we were late, but after a conversation with Rita, Trudy and Geoff invited the whole bunch of us for dinner!!! There we were, supposed to be two for cocktails....turned into a dinner party for 9, counting the hosts!!! Trudy and Geoff are wonderful neighbours as well......Trudy originally from Germany, spent much of her early life in Toronto, and Geoff from New Zealand....worked on the Avro Arrow and spent most of his life at Lockheed Aeorspace here in Burbank....he even met Werner Von Braun
after he came to America, and worked with the designer of the Lockheed P36 Lockheed Lightening- one of the fasted jets ever. They have also travelled the world.....such wonderful interesting warm and friendly people. Trudy presented us all with jewelry pieces from her "Christmas drawer"!! The girls can't get over the friendliness of everyone they have met.....from the waiters, store clerks, folks from all over the U.S.A at the parade, the pest control guy who brought us pomegranate jelly, the next door neighbour who turned up at the door New Years Eve with the huge order of Thai food, a friend of Davids - a magician who took the bunch of us to his favourite donut hole for the best donuts ever!, neighbours Audrey and Alan who invited us to dinner, Paul and Rita, Trudy and Geoff, plus the neighbourhood Christmas party we attended.......and the list never stops....everyone here has a smile, a Happy New Year everything to make us all feel so welcomed. Monica told us that when she went out for a walk at the park, a cyclist passed her and turned around to say "Hello"! People are chatty, and once we say we are Canadians, they can't
New Years Eve
.....all doors open to get rid of the smoke! seem to do enough for us......Verne and I would really love to spend more time here......well, when Mom wins the lottery.....we'll buy a house and invite you all down!!!
Marilyn sits for hours on the deck, enjoying the sun...the girls spend a couple hours every morning together discussing the past events, and the events to come while drinking coffee and drinking in the wonderful scene before them.....as well as absorbing tons of vitamin D!!!!
It is now January 6 - four more days until we leave. On January 4th, the four girls all headed for the taping of the Jay Leno show. We went early to make sure we got good seats - were close to the front of the line, but the pages certainly pick and choose who they want to sit where!!! Young people at the front, good looking ones on one side, older people on the other.....guess where we sat? Yes, you guessed it right! Needless to say we never did get on TV. We really think Jay has lost some of his spark....his jokes with sexual inuendos did not go over that well with the older crowd. Tim Allen was good, the band amazing....but
as far as the rest of the show............!!! But I must say that to see a live show taping is really a must when visiting Los Angeles. Entertainment is what this town is all about! We just heard on the L.A. news today that there is a rumour going around that the Jay Leno show might be cancelled by NBC.....not surprised! The girls are home now, and as Marilyn said.....another one crossed off the bucket list! They had a great time from beginning to end (aside from the smoke episore that we now laugh about) and are all ready to move to Burbank!!
Maria and David and children are now home, safe and sound after a wonderful tour of London, Paris, Rome, Venice, Florence and Tuscany, as well as a week spent in Sicily visiting Lina and Ross (formerly of Peterboro) as well as Maria's other aunts, uncles, cousins. We saw all their photos last night- on the computer.....amazing shots.....felt like we had been there as well. I have included a few of their photos as well. They stayed at Claridges in London plus various castles, villas, etc., as well as a 500 year old home of one of
20 ft tall Puppets
These putppets of Carnival - had all the people doing the Samba! Maria's cousins- what a way to go!!! The Hopes missed the worst of the weather - except for the flood in Venice the day they left, lots of cold weather, but they had wonderful sunny days as well. Missed the Chunnel malfunction by one day, missed the closed airport in London apparently by a few hours.....all had short bouts of the 24 hour flu which was going around, but all in all had a perfect holiday.....made their connecting flight from London to L.A. after a 10 minute dash to get to the boarding area......and were all were very happy to get home.
The sun is shining on yet another wonderful day.....four days left to go......how will we ever say goodbye to California!!! Oh well, till next time!
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Greg
non-member comment
Nice
It looks like you are having a great time! Great blog and photos! We miss you guys but are SO happy for you! Greg Ps I hope you enjoy your supper this weekend!