I came to Los Angeles to visit my aunt with my cousins for the first time when I was just 13 years old. The trip was a gift from my grandparents. We had a blast! Everything looked so big! Of course, our favorites were the amusement parks. Disney had just opened in France, but I had not been there yet. So of course we went to Disneyland, followed by Magic Mountain, Knotts Berry Farm and Universal Studios Hollywood. We just loved all of it!
But my favorite was Universal Studios Hollywood, the number one MUST VISIT. I came back to LA a few years later after receiving my culinary diploma from France. I had the opportunity to work under Chef Ludovic Lefebvre, who at the time was the head chef of l’Orangerie. It was a great experience that I will never forget. I returned twice after that just for pleasure, visiting Las Vegas, Arizona and Mexico while here. Always taking time to revisit Universal Studios Hollywood to discover their new rides.
For the French, The US has always been such an incredible country where everything seems possible. 2024 would be my 5th visit to LA, I had a family now including a 15-year-old daughter, who just like me was eager to discover Hollywood like when I was her age, and of course Universal Studios Hollywood. We would have two weeks to do as much as we could. The very first day was used just to discover the city. We booked a trip with Hollywood Bus Tours called A taste of LA. A 5-hour trip which started with the Walk of Fame, then took us through West Hollywood, passing through Beverly Hills while continuing to Santa Monica. We stopped at the Pier where we took a stroll, and we even had time to enjoy the West Coaster Ride. Hopping back on the bus, we went directly to The Grove where the order of the day was shopping and lunch at the Framer’s Market. The next stop would take us to Griffith Observatory for another 45 minutes. Unfortunately, it was closed on Monday.
https://hollywoodbustoursla.com/
Nevertheless, it was a very clear day, and we could see the entire city. Our tour ended back on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I highly recommend taking the tour. The bus was comfortable, it had air conditioning and everything was well explained. As it was only 3:30 in the afternoon, we decided to check out the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre with its historical hand and footprints before venturing into the famous Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.
We were so impressed with how much room we had to take pictures with the stars, how well everything was organized and how many contemporary figures were displayed. Of course, Laura my daughter, had to take a picture with her favorite star, Johnny Depp. www.madametussauds.com
The next day would be reserved for Universal Studios Hollywood, which celebrated its 60th anniversary this year. I knew that if we wanted to see it all, it would take the full day. We could not wait to get there, even under scorching temperatures, nothing would stop us. Although, I highly recommend purchasing Express Tickets. It will allow you to get in front of the line. Universal is huge, but you owe it to yourself to see it all. Starting with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter which was everyone’s favorite of the family. The details are so extraordinary that you forget you are not in the presence of real people. Afterwards, we walked around stopping at Three Broomsticks, Hog’s Head pub, and the Magic Neep and Butterbeer carts.
For myself, I particularly liked the Studio Tour- Behind-the-Scenes Tram Ride, with its Earthquake-The Big One, the Flash Flood which looks so real, the jaws Lake, and when we drove out onto the Brooklyn Bridge, putting us at eye-level with the giant animatronic ape, King Kong. Let’s not forget the famous back drop sets from the Psycho House with the Bates Motel from Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg’s War of The World or the small town devastated by the 747-jetliner crash with still smoking wreckage. We then went to Jurassic World with its gigantic dinosaur, Indominus Rex and her rival the Tyrannosaurus Rex. I had seen it before, but I have to say, it never gets old, and you always discover something new. Next was the Raptor Encounter where we met Blue, the iconic 15-foot-tall beloved Velociraptor. We then went to experience Springfield – The Simpsons Ride, fast and super fun while being in the presence of Homer, Marge, Lisa, Maggie and Bart. It’s one thing to see them on TV but the ride will take you to new dimensions.
Revenge of the Mummy- The Ride, came next, another state-of-the-art roller coaster. The ride will tap into a rider’s primal fear. The ride is scary even for my 15-year-old daughter, but she added that she would not have missed it. Our final ride was Fast & Furious, it simply is an adrenaline- fueled thrill ride. For someone like me who loves speed and fast cars, I was in heaven. My only regret was that the original ride “Back to the Future” was no longer there. However, I understand that you must re-invent yourself at some point. I can never say it enough, if you come to LA you must keep one full day for Universal Studios Hollywood. It is the place for you forget it all and where you can be a kid again. We ended the day by walking around City Walk, bought a ton of souvenirs for people back home and had dinner at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville which had great food!
www.universalstudioshollywood.com
Our vacation also included a visit to the Petersen Automotive Museum.
It took 3 hours to view the 3 floors of the museum which did not include the vehicles in the Vault. If you are a car aficionado as I am, you owe it to yourself to pay a visit to the Petersen Automotive Museum. It is quite outstanding. After researching its history, I found out that the museum started in 1994, by magazine publisher Robert E. Petersen and his wife Margie. It is owned and operated by the Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation.
It was originally located within the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County before ending up across the street at 6600 Wilshire Boulevard where it is located today. In 2014 and 2015, the museum underwent an extensive $125 million renovation. The building’s façade was redesigned by the architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox, and features a stainless-steel red ribbon which has become sort of a trademark. The museum is very spacious and offers a clear description of each vehicle’s history, which is a must considering that the museum displays over 120 vehicles with 250+ of the rarest vehicles, hidden beneath the Museum in a vault in the building’s basement. On the remaining floors you can view the current exhibits, including cars and motorcycles, the past exhibits and the permanent galleries or what I call a royal treat!
The ground floor focuses on automotive artistry, showcasing an array of extravagant automobiles. The second floor is principally concerned with industrial engineering — including design, performance, and a collection of interactive teaching exhibits. Special displays on the industry floor cover racing, motorcycles, hot rods and customs. The third floor chronicles the history of the automobile, with an emphasis on the car culture of Southern California. Some of my favorites were the Lamborghini, the K2000, the Bumblebee, and of course the very impressive 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom 1. I urge people visiting Los Angeles to add Petersen Museum on their bucket list. In between we took time to enjoy the sun, the beach and made a stop over at Venice Beach, which did not seem very different if it was not for the incredible number of homeless.
During the following days we went to the Los Angeles Zoo which is very big, 133-acres between the zoo and the Botanical Gardens. It opened in its present location in 1966. The Zoo is home to more than 1,700 mammals, birds, amphibians, fish, and reptiles representing more than 270 different species, of which more than 60 are endangered. Unfortunately, because of the heat very few animals were out. The giraffes came to say hello, the chimpanzees were out in force during lunch, but we only saw a few flamingos, a couple of zebras and an elephant. We will have to return next time. Crossing the parking lot, we decided to visit The Autry Museum of the American West, directly across from the Zoo.
What an amazing Museum it is. The Autry Museum of the American West acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles basin and So. Channel Islands). I had never heard of the Tongva indigenous. We learned that The Museum was established in 1988 by Gene Autry, known as the singing cowboy.
Several years ago, The Southwest Museum, which was founded in 1907, is the oldest museum in Los Angeles. It merged with the Autry, adding its 238,000-piece collection of Native American art. It makes it one of the most significant and representative of its kind in the United States, second only to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian. With 14,000 baskets, 10,000 ceramic items, 6,300 textiles and weavings, and more than 1,100 pieces of jewelry, the collection represents indigenous peoples from Alaska to South America, with an emphasis on cultures from California and the Southwestern United States.
Today, it has over 21,000 paintings, sculptures, costumes, textiles, an impressive collection of firearms, tools, toys, musical instruments, not to mention a stagecoach. This museum may not be on everyone’s list, but it should. During the couple of days which were remaining to our trip, we went to Lompoc, to visit Return to Freedom Wild Horse conservation; A sanctuary started by Neda DeMayo which gives permanent haven to 400 wild horses, 30 plus burros and the home of Spirit, a Kiger mustang stallion who inspired the Dreamworks film. We had heard that you could visit the sanctuary during events or by making an appointment. We could not leave California without meeting Spirit, so we made an appointment and met Spirit. It was a moving experience which will stay with us. The Sanctuary is a 501 C3 which survives through the generosity of people. If you can please contribute to www.returntofreedom.org and even sponsor a horse, that would be great.
On the way back we stopped for lunch in Santa Barbara, a nice little community which reminded me of France. Our vacation was now officially over.
