This is a three part series of our trip to Hollywood. Read about the rest of our trip here. 

Making it to Hollywood isn’t easy, especially from Orange County.

We set off on our journey around 6 a.m. Orange Country is only about an hour drive from LA, but bus and train departures are very spread apart. If we wanted to make it LA by noon we’d have to leave Laguna Hills in the wee-hours of the morning.

From where we were in Laguna Hills, It took two buses to get to Santa Ana train station. From there, it was just one short train ride to Union Station in downtown LA. All the services were clean and relatively cheap, under $15 per person for the entire journey. However, the taxi from Union Station to our hotel blew any money we saved taking public transit to the city, over $30. For any California travel, I recommend renting a car. It’s easier and cheaper in the long run.

We were keen to get to Hollywood as fast as possible, so we dropped of our things at Cecil Hotel and speed-walked to the metro. The journey to Hollywood was really easy, only a few stops from downtown LA to Hollywood/Vine, where all the attractions are situated. Base fare on the metro costs $1.50 and a one-day pass costs $5.

Hollywood Boulevard is exactly how I imagined it. The classy architecture of old-time Hollywood, mixed with the cheesiness of today. Millions of golden Oscar awards for sale, musicians trying to make it big by passing out there CDs to tourists and of course spider man, and just about every other character you can imagine, posing for money.

Ric pulling a Robbie Fowler at Charlie Sheen's star. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon

Some highlights from Hollywood Boulevard include: keeping your head down and pointing out stars, just taking in all the weirdness in front of the Chinese Theater, ending up on the red carpet of a film opening by accident (Kung Fu Panda 2 opened while we were there) and stopping at the Kodak Theater to feel Oscar-worthy.

Kodak Theater is home to the Academy Awards Show. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon

A lot of films premier at the Chinese Theater. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon

Clint Eastwood's handprints in front of the Chinese Theater. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon

We worked up quite an appetite walking around Hollywood Boulevard. Considering the cheesiness of the area, we figured any restaurant there would be over-priced and not very good, so we set off for the Melrose Avenue, in hopes of eating at Urth Caffe, a place frequented by Vinny Chase and the boys in Entourage.

Unfortunately, my awful perception of distance and a disproportionate map  gave us the terrible idea to walk to Melrose Avenue from Hollywood Boulevard. It wasn’t until about an hour into the walk that we realized what a terrible idea it was and decided to catch a bus, the only idea that might of been worse than walking. We waited at least an hour for a bus that would only take us on a ten-minute drive to our final destination.

Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon

While sitting at the bus stop located at a traffic light on Melrose, more than once drivers would stop and laugh at us. I can’t help but think they thought to themselves, “Look at those idiot tourists waiting for a bus!” Can’t stress enough the importance of having a car in LA.

We finally made it to Urth Caffe around 4 p.m., starving. It’s a really cute cafe, full of people who look quite Hollywood and important. The food and coffee is pretty good. It’s a bit overpriced, but I think that’s to be expected in Hollywood. The only problem with the cafe is its popularity. The place was packed the entire time we were there, made it quite difficult to find a seat.

Ric waiting for food at Urth Cafe. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon

With food in our bellies, we were ready to take on the the public transportation system one last time for the day. Just our luck, the bus that would take us straight back to Hollywood/Vine had stopped running for the day.

Read about days two and three in Hollywood.