Next morning we were joined by 4 Scots on a mini bus & we went round Beverley Hills, Rodeo Drive, Santa Monica Beach, Venice Beach, Hollywood Boulevard etc. Our guide informed us that the hey days of Hollywood had long passed, the best years being the twenties & thirties, & the town was in a decline. Many film & music stars have houses here but few actually live in them. The places we weren’t taken were the Walk of Fame & the Chinese Theatre with the foot & hand prints. As we found out afterwards these were in easy walking distance from the hotel & we took an open top bus tour starting outside the theatre. This covered a lot of the ground we had seen in the morning, without the beaches, but with a different slant on the area.
Wednesday we went to Universal Studios. We didn’t know what to expect as there had been a big fire there on the previous Sunday. However, during the studio tour, the one with the remote controlled Jaws, we were taken round the back lot & shown the damage to the permanent sets & also the fire crews still damping down the site.
Following the tour we were left in the theme park, something which I have never really fancied, but it was a warm, sunny day, not overcrowded & I enjoyed it. We saw the special effects demo, a demo with fire & explosives as well as going on the Homer Simpson simulated car ride. We also saw a short Shrek film in 4D where the seats move & have other special effects fitted as well as the superb 3D film effect.
To end the day we took in the ‘Waterworld’ show with the corrugated iron set, jet skiers, boats, a plane, a lot of fires & explosions & a cast of stuntmen & women falling from great heights into the water. Great stuff!!
Next morning were back at the airport to go to Las Vegas but before we got anywhere near a plane we were pulled to one side by the TSA (responsible for airport secur
ity) to have our hand baggage searched. Having cleared this the plane was delayed by an hour. After arriving at Las Vegas we were to pick up a car to drive to Grand Canyon but when we got to the hire co there was another problem as their paperwork showed a 1 day booking whereas ours showed 2. Eventually this was sorted but the delays meant that we would not now see the Canyon at sundown.Friday we had time to take a 2 hour tour to see a little bit of the Canyon before returning back to Vegas. It may have only been a fraction of the Canyon but what views we had. The photos we took certainly don’t do it justice but then I don’t think any photo could. The scale of the whole thing is immense. The Canyon is over 200miles long & 10 miles wide at its widest. At its highest it is 8000ft. We were at 7000ft. in the National Park on the South Rim. There is only 1 building at the bottom of the c
anyon & this has supplies brought in by mule or by helicopter for heavier items. There are no roads, only hiking tracks.We had to leave for Las Vegas by which time the temperature was in the mid 70s. By the time we stopped for a bite to eat it was mid 80s & when we reached the Hoover Dam mid 90s. Driving into Vegas it was nudging 100 & getting dark.
Everybody has seen pictures of the Las Vegas strip but what doesn’t come across is the sheer number of people walking it, quite a few the worse for wear due to the cheap alcohol, or the heat. This despite a number of water themes to cool it down. (The canals of Venice at The Venetian, the warring ships of Treasure Island, the Roman Fountains at Caesars Palace etc.). It is, after all, in the desert.
As for the gambling, not really my cup of tea.
Saturday morning we were back at the airport & surprise, surprise pulled once more by the TSA. It appears that our United Airways booking ref will get us pulled every time we use it. Our remaining flights to LA & London are with Air New Zealand so we wait & see. Anyway, on to our final stop, San Francisco.
Pics are Waterworld, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam & Venice - Las Vegas style
No comments:
Post a Comment