Yesterday, I went with my sister, Maureen and a friend, Rene, to Hollywood where we thought it would be fun to play tourist and go on a Tour to see the stars homes.
There are a few ways you can do this.
You could hop on this bus that will take you through Hollywood, Beverly Hills and the surrounding area. You can hop on and off at different stops.
This is good if you want to do a little walking and really get a close look at the sites. I don't think it stops at the star's homes though.
They also have this convertible bus. It takes you around for about 2 hours showing you the hot spots where the stars hang out. Where they like to eat, shop and where they live.
This is the one we took. It was so fun even though the wind was really messing up everyone's hair. No one seemed to mind though as we all just laughed.
My sister said she finally understood what Shirley Maclaine felt like in that scene from Terms of Endearment. You know the one, where she goes on a date with Jack Nicholson and he picks her up in a convertible. She is all dressed up with her hair done perfectly and then she gets blown to bit by the wind. If you have not seen the movie it's a must.
The other way to see the sights is to buy a "Map" of the Stars home and drive around yourself. We did buy one and talked about coming back one day to see the cities this way.
But for now, I'm only writting about our tour in the convertible bus.
We drove by The 1st House of Blues. Owned by Dan Ackroyd. I've never been to this one. There is another one in Downtown Disney which is right outside of Disneyland and I have been to that one a few times. The food is good and it's always a fun place to go.
We went by places that were used in different movies. This street is called "Anywhere in USA" as it looks like it could be in just about any city. It's been filmed many many times for movies and TV shows.
We went by The Viper. This is a nightclub where many stars hang out. It's also the place where River Phoenix died several years ago. Such a sad story.
See that little shopping center. Well take a look at the shop upstairs over where the umbrellas are. It's a tanning salon. This is where Britney Spears gets her tan. Now haven't you always wondered about that. LOL
Did you ever watch Happy Days? Well this is where Mel's Diner was filmed. It's really called Mel's Diner. It was packed too. I don't know if people love the food or just knowing it's where one of their childhood shows was filmed at.
I fully expected to see Fonzie come out and give us a thumbs up with his famous "Heyyyyy".
One thing I learned, was that Beverly Hills has many strict rules about what can and can not be built there. One thing the do not allow is fast food restaurants. So, in order to help with the hunger that can only be satisfied with some quick fast greasy food, they have trucks driving around.
I guess even the stars long for a hamburger and fries at times and don't want to drive to the next city over to get one. Well, maybe not. It's more likely that the staff and gardeners and pool people eat here. At least that is what we saw.
So here we go. The famous Beverly Hills sign welcomes you into the land of dreams and wishes. Where only the rich and famous are allowed to live. The rest of can look but do not touch anything.
All the lawns, flowers and trees are perfect. It's almost like a movie set with nothing out of place. Fancy cars are on the streets and we didn't see one child playing outside.
But there were several dogs we saw. Some out walking. Some sitting by the big fence guarding the home and we even saw a mobile dog groomer at the home of Courtney Cox.
But where were the children?
Of course, no tour would be complete without seeing the famous Beverly Hills Hotel. Many stars have spent the night here.
But then again, many stars have spent the night here too. This is the Beverly Hills jail.
This house way up on the hill was Merv Griffins. I have no idea how lives here now.
This is the home of David Spade. It doesn't look all that fancy. But then again, is he really a "big" star?
Well, I'm sure he is a big enough star that people go through his trash a lot. I don't know why but I found it funny that movie stars have these ugly trash cans just like we all do.
At least he recycles. You can tell by the color of the trash cans.
I was hoping the owner of this house would come out and invite me in. This is the home of Richard Gere. Sadly no one came out.
Can you see that house peeking out from the trees with a flag sticking up? Well, this is the house that belongs to Tom Cruise. I don't think he stays here very often though.
Most of the stars have houses that you can hardly see. The trees or walls block most of the view.
Behind these gates is the house that Ozzy Osborne used to live in. If you ever watched his reality show this is where it all took place. I know some other star lives here but I forgot who. Do you know?
This home has been the home of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward for many many years.
Now that they are older and Paul Newman is sick, they no longer stay here. But they still own it.
This is where Christine Aguilera lives. It seemed like something was going to be happening there as there were lots of cars and workers all around.
Here is where Courtney Cox lives with David Arquette You can see the mobile dog groomer is there. Nice to know they take care of their of dogs.
Around the corner from Courtney Cox is where her best friend, Jennifer Aniston, bought a home for millions and tore it down. She is building her own custom home.
This fence opens up to Ringo Star's home. See the stars on the fence?
This is the only high rise building around and it is the home to many stars. Cher has two floors, Lindsey Lohan lives here (when she is not in jail or rehab), Mathew Perry from Friends lives here. The top penthouse floor is owned by Elton John.
Then we turned down this street to the home of one of Rene's favorite stars.
The white house on top of the hill is the home to David Beckham.
The street was full of cars with paparazzi just waiting for him to come out. Of course he didn't come out while we were there.
But, after the tour was over, we got our map out and went back to his home. Here is his mailbox.
Rene and I got out of the car and walked up the long driveway hoping we could get a better look at his house close up or maybe even see him outside sunbathing.
As we were walking I told Rene "I bet we are being watched." I just had that feeling that there was a hidden camera somewhere. We couldn't find one anywhere so we kept walking.
As we approached the box you announce your visit to so you you can be buzzed in we heard "Can I help you?". We just looked at each other and then Rene said "We just wanted to know if this was the home of David Beckham." The unknown man said back to us "NO! You are trespassing on private property. Remove yourself from the driveway now."
This sounded like he wasn't kidding either. So we quickly turned around and giggled the whole way back to our car.
We knew we had the right house. There were so many tourist driving by and taking photos and the paparazzi was still out front. But, sadly we didn't get one glance on the other side of that fence.
Sorry Rene, we tried.
So there you have it. No stars seen today. Maybe another day.
We also spent time in Hollywood at the stars walk of fame and Grauman's Chinese theater where the stars foot and hand prints are in the cement. Then we went over to the famous Roosevelt Hotel. That was the first place they held the Academy Awards show. Many say the ghost of the stars have been seen and felt there.
So if you are a lover of old Hollywood come back tomorrow for that part of the tour.
Hope you enjoyed your trip today.
Hugs,
Joanne
So let's start with the Plate and Cloche. The number was 16. That number was assigned to Jan & Tom at Jan & Tom's Place. Congrats to you! I just need your address so I can get this out to you so please email me with the info.
We had a lot more people in this giveaway. The random number picked number 5. That number belongs to Debbie at My Vintage Daydreams. 
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