Notes from Los Angeles
A city of stars indeed
Having spent just shy of a week in Los Angeles I’m finding it hard to figure out how I feel about it. In most places I’ve gone just a few days has been enough to form an assessment of a place and determine whether I had a good time, would I come back, and would I recommend it. And I did have a good time, I would go back, and I would recommend it. Yet a definitive stance on the City of Angels evades me.
My major issue with LA, compared to somewhere like New York, is that you really need a car to get around, or if you’re lucky, the ability to rely on Ubers. However, the latter could set you back $25-40 a ride so you do have to be generous of pocket to go for that option. And as someone who enjoys walking around new places, I found myself stumped in LA. Public transport exists, but as I was warned and subsequently experienced, is not very reliable and is certainly full of… interesting characters shall we say.
My hostel, the hilariously named Banana Bungalow in West Hollywood (WeHo), was perfectly situated to explore that particular district. The gay bars and clubs the area is famous, as well as the thriving multi-cultural atmosphere, for were a short 10 minute and affordably priced Uber ride away or a 30 minute walk (20-25 at my pace). The hostel is a short walk from Melrose Avenue, which leads right down towards some of the major Hollywood studios such as Paramount Pictures, and is also choc-a-bloc with amazing second hand, goodwill, and vintage stores if you’re into that sort of thing. Having dipped into a fair few I would recommend getting into it, you can find some real treasures and had I not had to be mindful of luggage I could easily have left with another suitcase full of goods and not felt like I’d drained my bank account.
Over the week I explored a fair few of the gay bars from The Abbey, Mickey’s, and Revolver. All were good fun but ultimately are just like any other gay bar or club. Side note: I went into Mickey’s while waiting for a friend and was charged $23 for a spirit and mixer. That’s about £17. Truly I was gagged! If that wasn’t the most convincing reason to give up drinking entirely I don’t know what is!
I also got to experience the gay scene and Santa Monica Boulevard on Halloween night. Halloween in America is something else compared to Halloween in the UK, much like the super-sized portions at McDonald’s here. Costumes are more detailed, more messy, in some cases more niche, and in others just plain out there. If Halloween in the UK is your average school sports day, here’s it’s the Olympics. I wish I’d put more thought into it ahead of time so I had a proper outfit prepared but alas, I didn’t and therefore made do again with what I could put together from my own suitcase taking the pop culture/niche avenue (if we can call it that) and went as Paul Mescal walking around London. Even then, it’s not that good.
Elsewhere, I toured Paramount Pictures studios, even getting to hold an actual Oscar statue! The two hour tour is fun and takes you around some iconic filming locations on the Paramount lot as well as sound stages and the New York film set which includes small bits of several different districts and boroughs. There’s also Warner Bros but I didn’t get around to that one. Next I walked up to the Hollywood walk of fame where I found the stars of icons such as Gene Kelly, Barbra Streisand, Debbie Reynolds, and Meryl Streep, just a few of the nearly 2,800 stars there to see. Predictably it’s chaotically busy between tourists, vendors, and the homeless, but it’s an interesting slice of American culture for sure.
The Griffith Observatory is also well worth a visit. The site sits atop one of the hills overlooking LA and offers amazing views of the Hollywood sign and everything below. The site also features in the films A Rebel Without a Cause and La La Land, paying tribute to the former’s star, James Dean with a small monument. Hoping to enjoy a show in the planetarium featured in one of La La Land’s more iconic scenes, I was disappointed to learn that the planetarium interiors had been remodelled and the old art deco design set was merely recreated and shot in a studio elsewhere. However, the show is good and at $10 isn’t a huge expense. There’s also a free shuttle bus to and from the observatory that runs from LA.
Another morning was spent wandering around Santa Monica and down to Venice Beach. Both were nice but an effort to get to. And that was about it for my LA exploration. There are so many other bits of the city that I didn’t get to see. There were also bits, like Downtown, that I was strongly warned against going into as they can be rough. I loved WeHo and the surrounding areas, which are the only bits I really got to explore. All are covered in colourful street art and feature a healthy mix of shops and restaurants offering tastes of different cuisines and cultures.
I remain undecided about LA. I had a great time, but I guess I’m still very curious about the city. So much remains unexplored. Being in somewhere like LA though, where countless others have gone to find success, it’s hard not to feel inspired by it all. Even walking down the plainest and most unremarkable of streets, I felt I was somewhere special and simply by being there was benefitting from it and a part of it all. Another dreamer in a city of stars.