This is a three part series of our trip to Hollywood. Read about the rest of our trip here.
We got to Hollywood on our last day in LA, hoping to soak it up as much as we could with what time we had left. We still hadn’t seen the Hollywood sign, which we were on the lookout for the entire time, so we asked some of the tour companies for help on how to get there.
You’ll notice a lot of tour operators on Hollywood Boulevard offering trips to the stars’ homes and around Hollywood in general. Some of the more well-known companies can be very expensive, but the start-up companies are really cheap and all of them are willing to bargain.
We were never really into going on a homes of the stars tour, but found that the easiest way to get to Mulholland Drive, where people can see the Hollywood sign, without a car. So Ric and I used the haggling skills we learned in SE Asia and reached a deal with Starline Tours for about $30 per person.
Our guide was very knowledgeable of the area. He took us to famous rock n’ roll places the Sunset Boulevard like Whiskey a Go Go. We saw heaps of homes including that of Ringo Star, Courtney Cox and Tom Cruise. We cruised through Beverly Hills.
Whiskey a Go Go has been the birthplace of many rock n' roll bands, including The Doors. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon
And of course we got to see the Hollywood Sign. In fact we got to see it a dozen times. Every other minute, including from Hollywood Boulevard, the tour guide would say, “And if you look over there you can see the Hollywood sign.” That left us feeling a bit dumb considering the Hollywood sign was the main reason we booked the tour, but it was a great one, so I’m happy we did it.
Ric and I in front of the Hollywood sign from a lookout point on Mulholland Drive.
After Starline dropped us off at Hollywood Boulevard, Ric and I still had a couple of hours to spare before we had to leave for the airport. I thought what better way to end an amazing three days in Hollywood than with a drink at a famous hideout for the stars, the Roosevelt Hotel.
Opened in 1927, the famed hotel hosted the first Academy Awards in 1929, is supposedly haunted by the spirit of Marilyn Monroe and has accommodated a long list of famous guests, including Clark Gable, Hugh Hefner, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Courtney Love. The hotel’s Spanish-style interior is enough reason to visit.
A lot of Hollywood stars have actually lived at the Roosevelt for long periods of time. They stay at the hotel after messy divorces, rehab and maybe even after their homes burn down, which is the story line that led Entourage character, Vinny Chase to move into the Roosevelt Hotel in the series’ final season.
Ric and I taking the elevator at the Roosevelt Hollywood. Photo by Ric Hackey
Feeling bold after a midday drink at the Roosevelt, I decided Ric and I should go exploring. Our exploration led us to a room on the ground floor that was empty besides about ten director’s chairs with the word “Entourage” written on their backs. We knew the name, we knew the style of writing and we definitely knew the show.
Ric and I are huge TV buffs and Entourage was actually our favorite show, hence why we trekked to Urth Cafe. Missing the 7th season on HBO while spending most of the previous year in Australia, we came across the entire season on disc in Cambodia. We watched it all on a terrible bus journey from Siem Reap to Bangkok, only days before arriving in LA. So you can say at that point we were very excited about the show’s final season.
But at the time we had no idea it would lead the cast to the Roosevelt Hotel.
Before Ric and I had a moment to do anything other than look at each other with wide eyes and even wider smiles, a crew member wearing headphones appeared in front of us to grab the chair.
He looked at me then to my camera and asked, “Do you want to take a photo?”
“Yea,” I replied feeling oddly star-struck.
Then I asked the dumbest question probably ever.
“So what are you guys filming?”
He looked at me, then looked at the chair and replied, “Umm, Entourage.”
Then he left, so we followed him.
On the second floor of the hotel there was a camera crew and what looked like people bowling in the room they were filming in. We watched from across the balcony as first Scott, the new manager, appeared, then Turtle then Eric. While watching the final season months later, we found out they actually were bowling at the Roosevelt during episode six.
Watching Entourage being filmed at the Roosevelt Hotel. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon
I couldn’t imagine a more ideal end to our trip to Hollywood. Unfortunately, we would later also get an ideal end to our trip to California when our final mode of public transportation, a Continental flight to Philadelphia was cancelled. No wonder everyone in Hollywood flies private.
