Friday July 1st 2011
We headed down to the Farmers Market which wasn't a very successful start to the day, as we never quite found out exactly where it was! Anyway we've been to markets all over the world so I don't think that it was a great miss.
We drove back to Hollywood and parked the car somewhere behind North Cherokee Avenue and had a wander along the more seedy end of Hollywood Boulevard, where the sex industry is well represented by shops, theatres and clubs. It's all part of the Hollywood Walk Of Fame which we followed up to Grauman's Chinese Theatre on one side before walking back down the other side until we reached the Larry Edmunds bookstore.
This was the meeting point for The Dearly Departed Tour, which we had booked in advance.
The tour took us to sites around L.A. that were made famous by death or murder, including The Black Dahlia, The Mendez brothers and Charles Manson. We also visited sites where celebs have died including the mansion in Beverley Hills, home to the recently departed Michael Jackson.
The tour was really good fun, our guide Brian was really passionate about his subject, he showed us police photos of crime scenes and played us various 911 calls. Along the way he also pointed out other infamous landmarks, where celebs live, film scenes were shot and we passed by the Church of Scientology frequented by famous stars such as Tom Cruise and Madonna.
We had a "bathroom break" midway through the tour in Will Rogers Park, near to the Beverley Hills Hotel. Even this stop was a crime scene, but not murder. It’s the toilet block where George Michael was arrested in 1998 by an under cover police officer, after he was caught “in a lewd act in a public lavatory”. Brian pointed out the exact "stool" where Michael had exposed himself, after first checking that there was nobody inside, so that the female members of the tour could enter the men's toilet, if these so wished to! When we got back on the bus we were given a copy of the arrest report as a souvenir!
I really enjoyed the tour, it was really good value for money and a fun way to learn about the macabre and dark side of L.A.
It was rush hour on Friday afternoon when we drove back to Toluca Lake and a pleasure to be queueing along the 101 freeway with the top down. That for me was magical but I'm sure a pain in he arse for people who do that everyday of the week.
Once back at the Tangerine we took advantage of the early evening sunshine and had one last swim in the pool. We didn't venture too far in the evening, only ten yards to the Don Cuco Mexican Restaurant which was packed with people celebrating Friday night. We had beer and margaritas at the bar while we waited for a table. The food was lovely, but those margaritas were unforgettable and really strong, especially when drinking them through a straw!
By the time we got back to the motel we were both "tipsy" and regretting not having one for the road, after much debate and the spinning of a coin we went back to the bar with just enough money for one more drink each, that's how much we trust ourselves! Besides it was our last night in California so why not?
The playlist
White Wedding by Billy Idol, One by U2 - were both on the radio.
Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell - Brian took us past a small mall on Sunset that use to be a garden centre, which is where the line "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot" comes from.
Mercedes Benz by Janis Joplin - We passed the Highland Gardens Hotel (formally the Landmark Motor Hotel), where Janis Joplin took an overdose and died.
Road Trippin' by Red Hot Chilli Peppers - That was us.
