San Diego Zoo

Today we visited the San Diego Zoo after getting a quick breakfast at Denny's. We walked the entire zoo, which by the way is rather extensive with some very huge hills. When we arrived at the Zoo we went on a 35 minute bus tour that gave us an introduction of the entire zoo. Even though the bus took us all around, it was a necessity to go back to most of everything and spend some more time.

Once we got off the bus we headed to the Lost Forest to see the animals that live in the rain forests of the world. We saw flamingos and many other birds, all different kinds of monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees, tigers, and hippos. We then saw the panda exhibit. There we saw a male, female, and baby. The female was possibly pregnant. The were all extremely cute. The male was actually eating bamboo right in front of everyone.

After the pandas we walked up the hill to the polar bear tank, where they were sunning and playing in the water. Upon leaving the Arctic we entered Africa. There we saw lions, jaguars, elephants, and camels, as well as a few other animals along the way. After Africa we entered Asia, where we saw all different kinds of bears.

Our next and final stop in the zoo was the Urban Jungle where we got to see giraffes, rhinos, a cheetah, and koalas. The cheetah was really interesting. His best friend was a dog named Duke. They are inseparable; they sleep together, eat together, and even go on walks around the park together. The dog actually calms the cheetah, so he is able to be around humans.

We left the zoo extremely tired, however decided to drive around downtown San Diego a little to get a feel for the city. The city is extremely nice and feels a lot like home. The atmosphere and people are more east coast than we have experienced in other places. We drove through Balboa Park, their big park near the city center where all of the museums and cultural institutions are located. We headed down 5th street their major main street where their were a ton of outdoor restaurants and shops. We decided to go back to the hotel and get cleaned out and then head back downtown for dinner.

When we got back to the downtown area we parked and walked along 5th Street to find a good restaurant. We found one called Croce's, which had live jazz music and outdoor seating. It was a great meal. After dinner we drove along the harbor and headed back to the hotel to post our blog and try to get some pictures up on flickr. Safari tomorrow. Good night!

Good-Bye to LA, Hello San Diego

Today we woke up and after a rushed breakfast, went to Sony Pictures. This tour was fun because we saw things here that we hadn’t at WB. We saw what they called was a foli room. Here is where they make all of the sound effects in the movies. We also saw the orchestra room where all of the soundtracks were recorded. They even showed us the $900,000 soundboard used for editing. We also got to view a few sets under construction for various shows and movies.

Our final stop in LA was Paramount Pictures. This tour was not the most exciting as we had seen most everything in the other studios. Paramount was only taping TV shows and unlike the other studios didn’t have any movies going on. One unique aspect of this studio was hearing about DesiLu Productions. We learned all about Lucy and Desi’s shows and surprisingly found out they were responsible for starting Star Trek and the Mission Impossible series. After getting divorced, Lucy and Desi sold their studio to Paramount under the condition that Star Trek and Mission Impossible were continued. Although it was interesting to hear about DesiLu Productions, this really wasn’t our favorite tour.

Once completing the Paramount Studios Tour we said good-bye to LA by sitting in traffic for 1.5 hours on our way out of the city. The entire drive took 2.5 hours and when we arrived in San Diego we checked into our hotel near the harbor and headed to dinner. We ate at La Playa Bistro which was only a few minutes away. After dinner we went back to the hotel and relaxed. Tomorrow is the zoo!!!

Universal Studios!

Today we went to Universal Studios! It was a lot of fun. We first went on a tour of the studio. This wasn’t your typical tour and we were entertained the entire time. There were parts where the tour cart drives into an indoor area and locks into the floor. For the King Kong demonstration, we were told to put on 3-D glasses and a huge screen surrounds us. As we watch the 3-D pictures, we were thrown all around, moving with the action on the screen. There were also outdoor demonstrations of cars being blown up the same they used in Fast in Furious, and we were even taken into a subway where the train car crashed and the subway began to flood all around us!

After getting back from the tour we then went on some of the rides which included Shrek, The Simpsons, The Mummy, Jurassic Park and more. We also went to a show called Water World which reenacted a war scene from the movie. The pyrotechnics and stunts were really neat. After our exhausting day, we ate dinner in Citywalk at a brewery. Tomorrow we are going on two more studio tours and then heading to San Diego! Good night!

Disney Concert Hall, Dinner and a Movie

Today we woke up and after getting brunch, went over to take the Disney Concert Hall Tour. We took an audio tour which let us listen to the architect, Frank Gehry’s interpretation of the building and its spaces. We also heard from Walt Disney’s daughter on where much of her mother’s inspiration came from when collaborating with Gehry on the design. Unfortunately, we did not get to see the actual concert hall which is reserved for performance ticket holders only.

We then went to see a high school that Michael had done a case study on. Only a picture can describe this school…

After all of the architecture touring, we decided to go to dinner and a movie. We went to an outdoor mall called the Grove. We ate at The Cheesecake Factory and went outside to sit on the green and listen to live band before going into the movie. We then went in to see Super 8. It was good, we would both recommend it. That was all for today, see you tomorrow!

The Getty Center

We awoke to a beautiful day and after getting something to eat we headed to the Getty Center where we spent the rest of our day. When we arrived parked and took the tram up the mountain to the museum. The architecture of the complex was truly remarkable. Michael had seen many articles and movies on the building of the Getty however being there was definitely an experience. The architect, Richard Meir really did a great job at creating a space that instilled a sense of calmness yet also envisioned the spirit of LA.

One of the first things we did was go on an architecture tour. Even though many of the things we already knew it was interesting to hear about the grid that was used to organize the buidling and also the linear lines that ran throughout the complex. The idea of personal space was also used in the sense of creating a 30 x 30 inch grid on the walkway and walls. This reLly did seperate people from other people as subconsciencely everyone stood in their own square.

After the tour, we then rented headsets and went into the galleries. While exploring the architecture more, we also saw exhibits form Italy, France, Germany, Ottoman empire, India, and many more places. There were paintings, sculptures, furniture, clothing, among many other artifacts dating back as far as the 12th century. It was enjoyable to walk around when you had the headset to listen to as you were able to get a lot more out of the experience. The gardens and framed views were also beautiful.

We finally left, exhausted from walking to return to Santa Monica to have dinner with Brendan again as we were only 10 minutes away. We had a great time laughing and joking around. Jacqueline then got to shake a monkey's hand (yes Aunt Marianne the same one!!! ) We had a really fun time. Tomorrow's another day so until then good night.

Getting to Know the Stars (6-17)

We woke up early today, to get a head start on all of the things we wanted to see in Hollywood. Our first stop was to go and get tickets for the LA City “Stars” Tour. Fortunately, when we arrived we were able to get on the first tour of the day.

On the tour we saw a lot of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, BelAir and the Sunset Strip. Our tour guide told us about all of the different celebrities that live along the route, including Michael Jackson, Monica Lewinski, Sharon Stone, Ozzie Osbourne, Christina Aguilara, Tom Cruize, David Beckham, Michael Tyson, Britney Spears, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, and a few others. We didn’t get to see any of them but it was interesting to see where Michael Jackson died and the Elvis Presley estate. We then drove down Rodeo Drive and saw all of the fancy shops and boutiques that we could never afford.

After the star tour we headed over to the Hollywood and Highland Center to grab something to eat at the French Crepe Company. Michael had crepes filled with eggs, cheddar, sour cream, and spinach, while Jacqueline had a piece of pizza. We split a desert crepe filled with strawberries, bananas, nutella, and whipped crème. They were great!

After lunch we wondered along Hollywood Blvd. and looked at all the Hollywood Stars on the ground. We also saw the Kodak Theater and Chinese Theater. We then headed over to Madam Tusauds Wax Museum to see the fake stars in person. It was a lot of fun.

 After the wax museum, we made our way over the hill to Burbank where we took a tour at Warner Brothers Studios. At the studio we were brought all around the back and front lots. We saw the set for “Pretty Little Liars”(where they we actually shooting a scene!) We were able to ride right next to A’s house. We also saw the set of the show “Chuck”. On the lot they also film “Big Bang Theory”, “Two and a Half Men”, “Mike and Molly”, “True Blood”, and many of the movies that we have seen including the Harry Potter movies, the Batman movies (new and old), and “The Hangover”. We also got to see the set of "Friends" and sit in the cafe set! It was really cool to see all of the different ways they create a set and use the same set for different places. We also got to see the props and costumes from many of the movies and TV shows at the WB Museum. We even got to try on the actual Sorting Hat used in the first Harry Potter movie! According to the hat, both of us are in Gryffindor.

After the studio tour we got Chipotle for dinner, which was almost right next door, and headed up the mountain back to the Griffith Observatory to see the telescope and LA at night. It was beautiful to see the sunset and then all of LA’s lights turn on. You could even see the grid of street lights from our view over the city. At the observatory we also got to look through the huge telescope at Saturn!

After we took some pictures of LA at night we headed back down the mountain to the LA Museum of Contemporary Art, where they have an outdoor exhibit of 42 street lamps. This exhibit has been in many movies including most recently “No Strings Attached”. After our long day we headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep. See you tomorrow.

Architecture, The Pier and Dinner with Brendan (6-16)

This morning we took the train downtown to get our GoLA cards and grab breakfast. After making reservations for the tours we wanted to go on over the next few days, we headed over to the Disney Concert Hall. Unfortunately, we were unable to take the tour but we will on Saturday.

We then went back to the hotel to grab the car and visit two famous Frank Lloyd Wright houses, the Ennis House and the Hollyhock House. Both of the houses needed renovations and the wear and tear could be seen. We then drove through Hollywood and Beverly Hills along Santa Monica Blvd and then headed out to Santa Monica to have dinner with Brendan.

We visited the Santa Monica pier which is the official end to Route 66. As it was cloudy, we didn’t spend any time on the beach. We then headed over to Brendan’s house and changed. Brendan had picked a restaurant in Malibu. The restaurant, Paradise Cove, had an outside eating area where you were in the sand right on the ocean edge. We had a great dinner with Brendan. He then took us to a few scenic look outs where we were able to see all of Malibu.

Tomorrow we are taking a Hollywood and Beverly Hills tour as well as the Warner Brother’s Studio tour. Tell you all about it tomorrow!