Anyone Game? 2 Castles and a Road Trip TR! Last Day and TR Wrap Up! #2796; 10/01

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Oishi Lunch



With the Mexican Billboards in full swing and that whole area in lockdown, we decided that lunch at the Hollywood and Highland mall was the best option for us. It was a slam-dunk decision especially when you consider that it was also spitting rain as well. No point trying to fight our way through security in the rain, right?






There are a number of food options around the Hollywood and Highland Mall and we did look at a few of them. This was the 3rd menu we looked at and it was a unanimous decision. We decided on Japanese.






Shall we say minimalist traditional?






This place is located on the top level of the mall and our table had a high view of the mall architecture. I never understood what those elephants have in common with the Egyptian hieroglyphs.






We ordered our lunch to share. The chicken teriyaki came with rice. DS and I enjoyed this dish a lot.







It also came with miso soup and salad.







We must have ordered 3 types of the Sushi Rolls. The crabstick, cucumber and salmon.







Without a doubt, the pick of lunch was the Oishi Roll.






Everything was stunningly fresh and delicious. It had been a great pick for lunch. I'd happily hit this place again.

 

[Pinkocto]

What a sad pic of DS in the airport monorail


Too funny about the awards show. I would have had no clue either. The producer must have been heart broken for a few seconds!

The room looks very nice. And that pool looks lovely.

Glad you found a delicious meal after the let down of the night before.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Very interesting to see that there was Mexican Billboard event going on that day and you were able to get them from your hotel room.

The Hollywood Hotel looks very nice along with the pool.

The Japanese restaurant looks very nice and the food looks good as well.

 

[skier_pete]

What! You don't know your Telemundo? The five women in the front are from the Texas-based band "Las Fenix" - they are all sisters! And they play their own instruments,too!

The women in the back with the cleavage and the beige sequined dress is Estefania Igelsias. She an actress! No relation to Julio!

The guy in the tux is Rafeal Amaya - he's a singer, actor AND shockingly also a model! Mostly known for various Mexican/American Telanovas (soap operas).

Now that I've completely blown you away with my knowledge of Telemundo, I have to tell you I have no idea who these people are. It's a slow rainy morning, and I decided to do a little google searching. After 30 minutes those were the only ones I could find! I thought sure I'd be able to find those guys in the pink shirts and cowboy hats

It is funny how fame works. For those standing in line to watch those celebrities come in, those people were huge stars. To you and I , they're just people dressed up really nice.

Back to your TR - that's the hotel we stayed at in 2013 with our ABD tour! The first room we had was near the elevators, or more specifically near the elevator motors and was definitely not a QUIET room. It was certainly a hotel right in the heart of hollywood, though!

 

[dolphingirl47]

What a shame that the trip is coming to an end, but nice that you had a bonus day at Los Angeles. The hotel looks lovely, but what a shame about everything going on around it and the tight security.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

Awww, we're coming to the end of the trip.

Hollywood and Highland is definitely the center of all things Hollywood. That's really funny about the Mexican Billboard awards, I have no idea who any of those people were either. This year, one of my FB friends got to sit in the balcony at the regular Emmys. I saw her pictures online and the only people I recognized in the 100 or so pictures I looked at were Jim Parsons and Lea D'Laria. And supposedly I watch a lot of TV.

That Japanese lunch looks very yummy! Especially the last roll.

Pete, good job on the identification of the stars! I had to do that once for one of my TRs and I had a heck of a time figuring out who they were and I knew that they were all Disney stars.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Ha ha - foot in mouth in the elevators is my style!! I thought Tele-what?? Thanks Skier Pete for some illumination. Great location. We stayed just behind in Orchid Suites -a bit less grand than the Hollywood but in the midst of things too.

 

[PrincessInOz]

What a sad pic of DS in the airport monorail


Too funny about the awards show. I would have had no clue either. The producer must have been heart broken for a few seconds!

The room looks very nice. And that pool looks lovely.

Glad you found a delicious meal after the let down of the night before.

I think everyone in the lift with us was heartbroken til we explained.

The hotel was very comfortable. Shame that after the refurb, Loews jacked up the price.

Very interesting to see that there was Mexican Billboard event going on that day and you were able to get them from your hotel room.

The Hollywood Hotel looks very nice along with the pool.

The Japanese restaurant looks very nice and the food looks good as well.

I was actually outside on the 4th level of the H&H Shopping center to take those pictures. Because we walked out of the hotel, security let us walk out to the shopping mall. And as the restaurant was just to the side of us, it was a great vantage point to gawk at the comings and goings.

The Japanese food was very good. The fish tasted incredibly fresh.

What! You don't know your Telemundo? The five women in the front are from the Texas-based band "Las Fenix" - they are all sisters! And they play their own instruments,too!



The women in the back with the cleavage and the beige sequined dress is Estefania Igelsias. She an actress! No relation to Julio!



The guy in the tux is Rafeal Amaya - he's a singer, actor AND shockingly also a model! Mostly known for various Mexican/American Telanovas (soap operas).




Now that I've completely blown you away with my knowledge of Telemundo, I have to tell you I have no idea who these people are. It's a slow rainy morning, and I decided to do a little google searching. After 30 minutes those were the only ones I could find! I thought sure I'd be able to find those guys in the pink shirts and cowboy hats

It is funny how fame works. For those standing in line to watch those celebrities come in, those people were huge stars. To you and I , they're just people dressed up really nice.

Back to your TR - that's the hotel we stayed at in 2013 with our ABD tour! The first room we had was near the elevators, or more specifically near the elevator motors and was definitely not a QUIET room. It was certainly a hotel right in the heart of hollywood, though!

PETE!!! Great sleuthing! Thanks for identifying most of those people. I must admit I wondered if they were major Mexican celebs or if they were minor B-listers.


I thought of you when I was at the hotel. I do remember that you stayed there for your ABD tour. I also remembered that you didn't quite enjoy the room.

Our room was right at the end of a corridor by a fire escape on either the 10th or 18th floor. I can't exactly remember but I suspect we might have been on the 18th floor so it was very quiet. There were at least 5 - 6 attendees on the floor with us but I think there was at least 3 rooms between us and anyone else. We were on the Highland Street side of the building and had a great LA view.

What a shame that the trip is coming to an end, but nice that you had a bonus day at Los Angeles. The hotel looks lovely, but what a shame about everything going on around it and the tight security.

Corinna

That area is usually filled with panhandlers. The security might have been tight but at least we weren't bothered by the panhandlers that day. And the whole area had obviously been cleaned up for the event and the television cameras; so there were some up-sides to the situation.

Awww, we're coming to the end of the trip.

Hollywood and Highland is definitely the center of all things Hollywood. That's really funny about the Mexican Billboard awards, I have no idea who any of those people were either. This year, one of my FB friends got to sit in the balcony at the regular Emmys. I saw her pictures online and the only people I recognized in the 100 or so pictures I looked at were Jim Parsons and Lea D'Laria. And supposedly I watch a lot of TV.

That Japanese lunch looks very yummy! Especially the last roll.

Pete, good job on the identification of the stars! I had to do that once for one of my TRs and I had a heck of a time figuring out who they were and I knew that they were all Disney stars.

About time, don't you think?? It's been a year!!!

Yes. It was HIGHLY amusing about the Telemundo awards.

Ha ha - foot in mouth in the elevators is my style!! I thought Tele-what?? Thanks Skier Pete for some illumination. Great location. We stayed just behind in Orchid Suites -a bit less grand than the Hollywood but in the midst of things too.

Yes, foot in mouth is my specialty.

I'm not sure I would stay in that part of LA again; but if I did and the price was right, I'd be happy in the Loews.

 

[Pluto0809]

I'll join the ranks of the clueless when it comes to those Telemundo stars. I thought the one that was identified as Rafeal Amaya was Nick Lachey.

Pretty neat though that you got to watch all that craziness.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I'll join the ranks of the clueless when it comes to those Telemundo stars. I thought the one that was identified as Rafeal Amaya was Nick Lachey.

Pretty neat though that you got to watch all that craziness.

I'm feeling so Alicia Silverstone now. Thanks! I feel so much better.

 

[PrincessInOz]

A Quiet Afternoon and CPK Dinner



After lunch, the boys voted to head back to the room for a very quiet afternoon. It was raining a little harder by this stage - a rarity for Los Angeles - and with the security cordon in place, I gracefully acquiesced with their request.


I have to admit that I managed to spend all of 30 minutes in the room before my credit card was feeling a little neglected. So, I left the boys in the room and headed down to the H&H Shopping Centre. I remember window shopping at the Gap, Victoria Secrets, XXI Forever, Lucky Jeans and Fossil stores. The upshot from the day was that money and me did not part company and my credit card remained neglected. On the other hand, the boys were happy with the very quiet afternoon; so it was all good.


It ended up being a later dinner than we would normally eat because our stomachs were still on Orlando time. We ate at the California Pizza Kitchen. The CPK is one of those casual eateries that normally offer food of a consistent quality. DH and I used to enjoy eating at one in San Francisco.....until the Cheesecake Factory moved into that area of San Francisco. But we weren't in the Bay Area; we were in Hollywood and Highland and it was time for us to revisit the old favourite.






Looking at this picture, I think I was really glad that we were heading home the next day.






There was mango lemonade on the menu. I’m not sure I liked it.





The Spinach Artichoke dip was a different matter altogether. We polished the plate!






Believe it or not, the California Pizza Kitchen or CPK was started on pizza. The one in San Francisco was always a sure bet so we figured we'd play it safe here as well. We decided on a half Hawaiian and half Wild Mushroom hand-tossed pizza.






Delicious!







We also got a salad to share.






The dressing was really tasty and zingy!





As we were still full from dinner, no one felt like dessert.


The casualness of this eatery was exactly what we were looking for. About halfway through our meal, we knew that the Mexican Billboard Awards had finished. This place was invaded by a few of the attendees seeking a bite to eat. It was amusing to see how the staff did run around making sure everyone was happy, and again, we could have been in the presence of superstars without knowing it.



(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Hollywood and Highland at Night



DS voted to head back to the room after dinner. He was the only one; so DH and I elected to take him back with stern warnings of not opening the room to anyone.


It was time for us to explore our surroundings a little.






I really don't get this place. The layout and architecture just doesn't work for me.






It is rather theatrical in here. Maybe a tad too much for me.







Nevertheless, I still managed to find a spot where the angles worked from a photography perspective.






The Hollywood and Highland Centre is directly across the road from El Capitan theatre and the closed-down Disney Soda Fountain store. Jimmy Kimmel Live! is taped from a TV studio next door at the Hollywood Masonic Temple. I think you can see the red banners with Jimmy's name on them.





The El Capitan Theatre, dubbed "Hollywood's First Home of Spoken Drama," opened as a legitimate theatre on May 3, 1926. The Spanish Colonial exterior is beautiful.






Sometime in the late 80's, Disney and Pacific Theatres completed a restoration reopened the El Capitan. The theatre now plays first run Disney movies frequently with added stage shows and exhibits related to the film.






The Disney link used to be stronger here. Sadly for me, this place had closed-down. I understand Ghiradelli's Soda Fountain might have opened up here now so I'm glad I had the opportunity to capture the neon.





We took the back stairs down.






How could we resist walking down the piano keys?






We came out just by the Dolby Theatre.






Perhaps we should have checked out the street food instead of eating at the CPK! The sizzle smelt wonderful.






(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Graumans at Night



I have to admit that it had been some 20 years since DH and I had been in the area and we needed to get our bearings. DH and I did walk at least 4 blocks in both directions of the Hollywood and Highland. And yes. We had heard that the area could be a little rough around the edges so we played it safe with the cameras. About the only area we took the cameras out was around Grauman's Chinese Theatre.






Look at that suspicious looking fellow with the hoodie in front!






But there was safety in numbers. There were still a few tourists like us around.







We did take some pictures around here. Afterall, it's going to be a long time before we head back here at night.







We did have a mission to our night time ramble. Aside from getting our bearings, we needed to figure out where we wanted to have breakfast the next day. And after walking the strip, we found a place that fitted the bill. And with that, we headed back to the hotel and called it a night.

 

[Pluto0809]

Sometimes a lazy afternoon and some retail therapy can be wonderful!

Loved all of the night pictures and the pizza looked yummy!

 

[Pinkocto]

I'm very impressed your credit card remained neglected.

A very nice relaxing afternoon/evening. Dinner looked very good. I've only heard good things about CPK but have never been there myself.

 

[Leshaface]

Was behind but all caught up!

So cool that this ride has a tour only option!

Good pic with the Wolverine

That really stinks about the waiter at Tchoup Chop. Food can be good, but if the experience isn't, it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth overall.

So many frogs in one update!

What! You don't know your Telemundo? The five women in the front are from the Texas-based band "Las Fenix" - they are all sisters! And they play their own instruments,too!



The women in the back with the cleavage and the beige sequined dress is Estefania Igelsias. She an actress! No relation to Julio!



The guy in the tux is Rafeal Amaya - he's a singer, actor AND shockingly also a model! Mostly known for various Mexican/American Telanovas (soap operas).




Now that I've completely blown you away with my knowledge of Telemundo, I have to tell you I have no idea who these people are. It's a slow rainy morning, and I decided to do a little google searching. After 30 minutes those were the only ones I could find! I thought sure I'd be able to find those guys in the pink shirts and cowboy hats

I still have never visited this area in LA yet. I'm a bad Californian. But the shopping center looks really fun!...I could probably do some damage there. Probably best I don't visit anytime soon.

 

[dolphingirl47]

That was very restrained that your credit card stayed in your pocket. I enjoyed the night photos. I actually quite like the shopping mall. It is so over the top that it already has a certain charm again.

Corinna

 

[tiggrbaby]

Once again, beautiful pics! I'll have to consider seeking out a CPK; your meal looked delish!

 

[Aussie Wendy]

I am pretty sure we ate at CPK - wherever it was very good. I know people say the area is a bit dodgy and yes, there were panhandlers out and about when we were there but seriously we felt fine walking in the vicinity as it was always so busy-we just watched out for pickpockets. Different story when we headed south past the high school many blocks to catch the bus (but it was daylight so not too bad, we just figured that neighbourhood was one we wouldn't want to be in at night). Now we've seen it though no desire to go back except to the Grove shopping centre. I didn't realise the Disney Soda Ftn store had closed.

 

[mvf-m11c]

The food at CPK looks good and it has been a long time since I ate at CPK. I will have to consider it one day.

Wonderful nighttime pictures that night in SoCal.