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Published: June 15th 2005
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Having been in LA for six months -- for work -- my coworjers and I got all the time in the world to paint the town red. We did not mind spending a few extra bucks to spend weekends in every nook and cranny of LA; besides, our friend Dessa so generously took us around. We owe her. A lot. And the experience... it was all worth it! Allow me to list the places we have been to:
* Universal Studios
* Hollywood
* Six Flags Magic Mountain Theme Park
* Santa Monica Pier
* University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
* Griffith Park
* The Getty Museum
Universal Studios
I remember watching Rey Langit's TV show long ago. And I still remember how I envied him for strolling along the streets of Universal Studios. I wished I could do the same. But how? I am no journalist who will be sent somewhere to report about a famous place. I am no TV producer like Rey Langit. But I am a big dreamer. But look at me now.. here I am strolling the same photogenic spots inside the Universal Studios. I
Hollywood Boulevard
Of stars, of trees, and us almost never stopped taking photos and short videos with my newly bought digital camera (one day old!). I did not mind using up all my money for this gadget. This will be my story-teller. This will be my tool to prove to the world that yes, dreams do come true.
After five months, here I was again in Universal. This time I was with my other officemates who just arrived from Manila. As was just as excited as they were. My favorite part was us posing like models for the fun of it. We wore wild-colored hats from a store and posed for glam. That day's trip ended quite differently from usual. We drove to a videoke bar and sang our hearts out.
Hollywood!!! Need I say more?
What I only used to see on TV is right where I am. It felt great, and I mean g-r-e-a-t! The stars were there along Hollywood Boulevard. The street was very busy. There were lots of tourist especially at the Chinese Temple. There were handprints of celebrities... some already passed away, yet some still living a life of fame and fortune. We bumped into Charlie Chaplin, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley,
an alien on the passenger seat of a pickup truck--mind you it was wearing a seatbelt. The street was filled with lights, stunning costumes, larger-than-life-like statues of popular movie characters, bargain shops that sell everything from water bras to a can of soda. It was a
walk with the stars.
Later that night, we went to Queen Mary at Long Beach harbour. It was a floating restaurant-hotel. It was a ship, to be exact. It was a descendant to the Titanic. It was built in Scotland in 1937. They say that it carried the rich and famous across the Atlantic in great luxury. We did not see much of it that night because the tour has already closed. Still, we were able to walk our way into its eerie halls and its bow. Standing by the bow reminded me of the movie Titanic.
Sushi -- eat all you can!
We started the day right by stuffing our tummies with good food. We pigged out at TODAI, my favorite EAT-ALL-YOU-CAN Sushi bar. As of this writing, I haven't been to anything like it. It IS the best! At 16 bucks, I feasted on every sushi and dessert I wanted.
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Behind us is a short list of rollercoasters to conquer for the day. There were more than a dozen. In this second trip to Hollywood, I was with the zaniest people on earth. We posed like celebrities or wannabe-celebrities... hoping to be noticed by some talent manager... hahaha! No words can express how blissful it was, walking in Hollywood--with my favorite workmates ever! Take a peek at my Hollywood Photo Album.
Six Flags Theme Park
I never thought there was something like Six Flags before.
To have three to four types of rollercoasters in one theme park is too much already. I thought that was all the fun I can get. But Dessa said we must go to Six Flags. Six What? What are we going to see there? Also, when are we going to Disneyland??? She replied... Disneyland is for kids. Six Flags will be more exciting, she said. I went online and tried to look for the
Six Flags website. And there I was, more excited than Dessa was! "SIX FLAGS MAGIC MOUNTAIN...THE XTREME PARK has the largest collection of XTREME roller coasters on the Planet!" And I luuuuv roller coasters! There were dozens and dozens of rollercoasters with different heights, different number of loops, and various thrills! I never thought there was something like this
before!!! I said yes! Why hasn't she told us about this before? And yes, I stopped bugging them about going to Disneyland.
I immediately printed out a list of all rollercoasters in Six Flags from
here and brought the list with me the next day. After every ride, I tear out its name from the list until my piece of paper got shorter and shorter. We had a blast.
My Personal Top Five:
1.
BATMAN THE RIDE - Combining hairpin turns and zero gravity with Batman movie magic. (54 feet)
2.
THE RIDDLER'S REVENGE - The world's tallest and fastest stand-up roller coaster. (54 feet)
3. VIPER - The largest looping roller coaster in the world. (54 feet)
4. SUPERMAN THE ESCAPE - Blasting out of the station, riders accelerate from 0-100 miles-per-hour in seven seconds before shooting straight up a 41 story tower. (48 feet) [on top of the tower was superman staring at us eye to eye Living with Aliens
Taken along Hollywood Boulevard before the freefall]
5.
COLOSSUS - The tallest and fastest wooden coaster in the West. (48 feet)
Santa Monica Pier
For several times, we end our long day at the Santa Monica beach to relax and feel the breeze brush against our tired bodies. It is very accessible from Beverly Hills and Hollywood. It is also pretty close to the LAX airport. At night, the pier is well lighted by the carnival shops and rides. The ferris wheel was fun to watch amidst the dark backdrop by the sea. It was cold and I can hardly remove my shoes to feel the sand.
University of California Los Angeles
Rommel is leaving for Manila so we drove him to LAX. Afterwhich, we went to the University of California Los Angeles campus, the home of the
Bruins. I am proud to simply capture a close-up shot of a squirrel scratching his back within the greens in the campus.
Griffith Park
Griffith Park had quite a lot to offer. It more of a science and discovery type of
museum. There were exhibits of rocket prototypes and solar system models. It was was filled with all things Astronomic. My favorite, though, was the Foucault Pendulum. It proves that the earth rotates in its own axis. We visited the Griffith Observatory but what we enjoyed most was the hilltop view of LA.
Getty Museum
Having seen all the busiest tourist spots in Los Angeles, we decided to visit the more relaxed and less busy places. We decided to visit the Getty Museum.
From the parking lot, we took the tram that would take us up the hill to the museum. The tram was slow paced and all white. Not too crowded. Just right. There were paintings on the wall and in one hall, we noticed interesting paintings at the ceiling. The Getty is perched high on a hill overlooking Los Angeles and it had gardens filled with colorful flowers and pretty greens.
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