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Published: September 13th 2007
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Chinese Theater Mask
A closeup shot of one of Chinese Theater's exotic masks. Friday, September 7th, 2007 - Atlanta, Georgia/Los Angeles, California My travel plan to the Down Under brought me to the City of Angels for a short time.
The first leg of the trip was a three hour flight from Atlanta to Phoenix. I have to admit that I was impressed with the city as this was my first encounter with the state of Arizona, but I can name plenty of other airports in the nation than the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport that have better appearance and service.
I intentionally left my big backpack with the US Airways at LAX, with the plan of retrieving it the next day after my sightseeing day in Los Angeles. I stepped outside the terminal and joined the confusion of the complicated shuttle system of the airport. The objective was to hop on the Hilton Shuttle that would take me to the Hilton LAX, about a quarter mile from the terminal.
Checking into Hilton was not a problem, and a couple minutes later, I found myself completely exhausted, albeit the local time showed a couple minutes pass midnight. But then, I reminded myself, that my body still recognized the time to
Walk of Fame
Miles and miles of famous names along Hollywood Blvd. be around three in the morning, as Atlanta's East Standard Time should be.
It was the first day of my vacation, and so far I couldn't ask for a better one.
Saturday, September 8th, 2007 - Hollywood, Los Angeles, California Unfortunately LAX is not directly connected to the Metro Rail system. In order to reach the Aviation/LAX Metro Stop, I had to walk for about a mile (not a problem, mate!) from the Hilton LAX, and it was a pleasant walk in the mild Los Angeles morning.
It had been a while since the last time I set a foot in Los Angeles, and it certainly still lived up to my expectation, although the Metro lines do not run through the prettiest neighborhoods of Los Angeles, as one might expect to see in the city from misguiding Hollywood movies.
My plan was to observe, closely, the famous Hollywood Sign. From the starting point of Hollywood/Highland Metro in the Chinese Theater proximity, I decided to have a hike through the Hills of Hollywood to a nearby valley. The neighborhoods of Hollywood are quiant, and I kept thinking of the famous director Alfred Hitchcock during my
A classic Californian shot.
With the Hollywood Sign in the background. day here.
The Hollywood Sign played hide and seek throughout the morning with me. Walking through the many hairpin turns and bends of the Hollywood Hills (and many signature palm trees on the way), it was difficult to visually locate the sign, and I had to ask several people of where the sign was, which constitutes my status of a stupid tourist (instead of an advanced traveler).
Nonetheless, I enjoyed my solitude hiking and my personal encounters with the locals. Walking around the true Hollywood neighborhood was a humbling experience, Hollywood is more than glitz and glamour place one would conjure up upon hearing the name. Without any doubt, of course, Hollywood is where the old money goes, but there are also many average citizens that happen to live in the world famous area.
By the time I reached Beachwood Dr, the closest point where I could legally observe the Sign (it is closed to public to climb or getting close to it), the temperature had already climbed up. After satisfying myself by seeing the famous sign for a while, I decided to head back to the heart of the action.
I moseyed along the Walk
Pirates of the Caribbean
Well this is a cheese street performance, aimed for tourism in Hollywood. In front of Kodak Theater, Hollywood. Of Fame from Hollywood/Vine intersection, with miles and miles of famous people's names written in the middle of their stars embedded into the sidewalk. I didn't recognize many names, I reckon these might be older stars that had their haydays long before my own existance. These names lead me to the chaotic Kodak/Chinese Theaters, where street performers and funny looking European tourists were flocking the place.
After taking several obligatory tourists pictures, I decided to head back to LAX to meet up with Ryan, who had flown from Dallas Lovefield regional airport to join me to my subsequent journey. And with the hope that my big backpack is still waiting for me in the US Airways office.
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gimme info about this pic pleeease i wanna use it for an assignment at school but i need to research its origins and shtuff so pleeease gimme info bout it :D