To & From Los Angeles:
Aer Lingus has direct flights to LA from Dublin, and they are always competitive, the only issue is that they arrive at 18.30 local time which is quite late if you are traveling into LA. It is also a long flight at 11 hours non – stop, on the plus side you do clear immigration which can take a chuck of time off at arrival. LAX is a massive airport and you will need a car to get anywhere in the city. All the car rentals are a short distance from the airport serviced by shuttles. Whilst the distance is short at rush hour the traffic is chaotic, so it could take up to 45 minutes—remember for return.
Woke Tip: Hiring a car is probably a must for your stay in LA. Use a comparison site for best deal on a car and avoid the hard sell at the check in desk by doing an on-line application and take out some additional insurance with the likes of www. rentalcover.com.
Awake Tip: Some of the tolls around LA are tag only, so ensure you have covered in the car rental policy, as they will take the fine and toll charge off your credit card ,the fines are considerably more than the tolls.
Figure 1 – LA skyline
Day 1 Los Angeles:
We stayed at Hotel Angeleno it is easy to find just off the I-405, the main arterial route running north south through LA, airport to hotel is only 13 miles, but in light traffic allow 30 minutes, we made the hotel just before 10 pm, and that with the bumps taken out, add at least another hour if you haven’t pre-cleared immigration and queued at car hire.
Valet parking only, so have plenty of one-dollar bills in your pocket. The hotel has great views and in prime location for easy access, everything in LA is laid out for driving. Other than that, it has an outside pool, but it is not too peaceful with a 12-lane freeway outside.
The Getty Center is only 10 minutes up the I-405, it opened in 1997, taking 14 years to plan and build, at its core, is a museum full of European art works ranging from illuminated manuscripts to impressionist paintings, contemporary sculpture and photography…..well worth a visit & ideal spot for outdoor lunch !
Figure 2 – Beverly Hills
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The gardens are a joy and like the museum free to all visitors. After lunch in the self-service café, back in the car, just south is the LA National Cemetery, one of eleven operated and run by the Veterans Administration across the USA, the more famous being Arlington.
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Sunset Boulevard meanders West from the I-405 through Bel-Air towards Hollywood, where it turns into Sunset Strip. The rich and famous are well protected behind imposing gates and driveways to their great mansions, but you never know who you may see in and around the many side roads.
Figure 3 Iconic Sign
Mid-point between the I-405 and sunset strip is the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel, worth a stop, then for dinner Boasteak takes some beating.
Day 2 :
West off the 405 south of Sunset the Santa Monica Boulevard is the main thoroughfare into Beverly Hills and ultimately Hollywood.
After the Waldorf Astoria take a left up N.Linden Drive and you will come across Spadena House and plenty of celebrities past and present have lived in the general area. We headed onto Hollywood, there is handy parking at the rear of the Hollywood Roosevelt and most attractions –walk of fame etc in proximity. Realistically there isn’t much else to get excited about, the Hollywood sign is in the hills above, but with a clatter of shops running alongside the hall of fame stars, there is nothing to entice you up or down the strip any further and its not long before the stars on the pavements give way to the homeless.
Figure 4 – Walk of Fame,Hollywood !
Figure 5 Walk of Fame – Ensure to Read Message!!
Of course Rodeo drive is a must & even a one night stay in the famous Beverley Wiltshire is a fabulous treat . We had dinner at the Beverley Wiltshire, the flagship location of the Michelin star Cut restaurant by Wolfgang Puck, not to mention the film location for one of Michelle’s favourite film’s “Pretty Woman”. The hotel looked a lot bigger on film!
Figure 6 – Beverly Wilshire Fours Seasons Hotel, a la Pretty Women!
Figure 7 – Rodeo Drive
Day 3
Two full days after arrival in LA could be enough unless (you love concrete and traffic) want to visit Universal studios, the Hollywood sign, and Griffith Park – which are all in the same location but the call of the California coastline was too strong for us !!
The other options are to head over to Santa Monica/Venice Beach and Malibu or as we decided head south through Long Beach and onto Newport Beach.
Leaving after rush hour is the only way to negotiate the I-405, it may only be 60 miles from Angelino but it can be a fairly stressful run – south of Long Beach the highway swells to 14 lanes wide so you need to keep you wits about you driving this section.
We had booked into The Resort at Pelican Hill, a spectacularly located retreat boasting private spa, dining, and golf experiences, hard to beat. The Coliseum Pool and Grill are exceptional facilities.
Figure 8 – Pelican Hill Resort, Newport Beach
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Plenty to do in the locality if you can tear yourself away from the resort as the “City” of Newport Beach has over 10 miles of beach broken across varied neighbourhoods with lots of restaurants and shops.
Figure 9 – Newport Beach,CA
Figure 10 – Nothing says Hollywood quite like the cars !
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Awake Tip :When the week is up time to head back to LAX—just check the traffic and allow for plenty of hold ups and you wont miss your flight back !
Some Eateries in LA :
- Hippo Restaurant(hipporestaurant.com) –phenomenal restaurant on recomendation of Irish Chef Donal Skehan
- Nancy Silvertons Piza Triple Beam (triplebeampizza.com)
- Eater LA(la.eater.com) won’t see you wrong for recommendations !
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