48 Hours in LA (1 Viewer)

[Mark Zimmer]

I'm going to LA with a friend, and we'll have about 2 days (on a weekend) available to do whatever. So what would you do in LA if you only had 48 hours or so to do it in? We will have a car available. Thanks in advance.

 

[Carlo_M]

give us more detail - what are you interested in? You can do too much and spend all day in a car stuck in traffic. What part of LA will you be based in? Downtown, Hollywood, West Side, Orange County?

 

[Brett_H]

Mark,

My wife and I just got back from an LA/Vegas trip. We were in LA from 2/13-2/15, right around 48 hours. Here was our itinerary, which was limited the first day since we didn't have a car...

Thursday:
Arrive at LAX. Picked up @ airport by my wife's college friend who is living in LA while trying to make it as an actress.
Had lunch at Swingers Hollywood Diner. Pretty cool, and lots of sites to be seen (6 foot tall, well endowed, pierced, and tattooed hostess among them)
Went back to my wife's friend's place @ Melrose & Genesse to drop our stuff off and hang out for a while because she had to work that afternoon.
Caught a cab to Hollywood Blvd to check out the walk of fame, Mann's Chinese, etc. It was OK, but pretty dirty and not all that great to see since the theater was closed for the premiere of "Old School".Having a car available would have helped immensely since we felt trapped without one.
That night we ate dinner at a little sushi place in West Hollywood whose name escapes me, then went out to a place called "The Beauty Bar". It was themed like an old beauty parlor, pretty cool. We were exhausted from the flight out so we headed back around 1 AM to crash for the night.

Friday:
Much better day since her friend caught a ride to work and loaned us her car.
Breakfast at the oldest Bob's Big Boy in Burbank. Yeah, I know, Big Boy sounds pretty lame, but we didn't see anywhere else too exciting to eat...
Tour of NBC studios. Touristy fun, got to see Jay Leno from about 20 feet away as he walked down a hallway. Toured a few sets, but not much other than Days of our Lives and some local news studio. I think the Warner Bros tour sounded cooler since they do a lot of the big shows (Friends, ER, etc) there.
Took a drive down Mulholland Dr. Saw loads of cool houses and some great views of the city. Well worth the time to check it out!
From there, we drove down Rodeo drive in Beverly Hills. Neat to see all the expensive shops and snotty people making their way in an out of them.
Headed all the way down Santa Monica to the beach. We walked along the beach (at sunset on Valentines day, for bonus points!), went own the pier, then headed up to the (3rd Street??) mall. They blocked off one whole street and it's lined with shops and restaurants. Very nice atmosphere, I would have loved to spend more time there but my wife was getting cold and we had to meet back up with her friend soon.
Back to their apartment for pizza and drinks, with an assortment of eclectic characters stopping by to spice up the night.

Saturday:
Up early for breakfast at a streetside cafe whose name also escapes me. Wish I could remember it, because they made some awesome breakfast... I'll try to locate the receipt when I get home.
Packed up the car and headed down to Venice for some more sight-seeing. Wow. While the gym area was empty, there were plenty more sights to be seen, though truth be told I felt like I needed a good shower when I was done there. Not the cleanest place to be....

From there, it was off to the airport to pick up a rental car and drive out to Vegas, so I'll stop there.

I don't see where you're from, but it was definitely a change of pace for a lifelong Clevelander. Hope you have fun, I know we did!
-Brett.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Genesee is just a block west of my house. I'm in the thick of the Melrose Avenue scene (which was really hopping more than a decade ago).

 

[Khoa Tran]

Roscoe's Chicken and Pancakes!

 

[Ron Etaylor]

I'd go to Disneyland. Both days.

 

[Khoa Tran]

Yeah, go to disneyland and you can come and visit me i'm 2 blocks away

 

[Carlo_M]

It's actually Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles And yes they are a fantastic place to eat! Sounds weird but when you give it a shot, it's a frickin' awesome combo.

 

[Khoa Tran]

yeah well i like pancakes, that's what i order sorry =)

 

[Carlo_M]

No prob, order what you like! I just wanted to make sure he had the name right so if he looks online or in the phonebook he can find the place.

Back on topic, Mark can you provide us some info as to where you're gonna be based and what you like to do? We can be a lot more helpful and plan out an itinerary with minimal traveling because there's lots to do in L.A. but it's such a huge area you could literally be in traffic for most of your stay if you don't have a gameplan.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Disneyland? If you want to see Los Angeles, stay in Los Angeles. What's the point of driving down into Orange County? Anaheim is a separate town.

 

[Jonathan Burk]

Go to Disney's California Adventure. It's like visiting the whole state in one day! rolleyes

 

[Mark Zimmer]

We'll be staying at the Holiday Inn Express on La Brea in Hollywood. I have little idea where exactly that is or what it's near, so I'm afraid I can't be any more helpful than that. I'm assuming that's near the La Brea Tar Pits, though, which I've always wanted to see.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, keep 'em coming!

But no Disneyland, thanks. I've been to Disney World and still haven't recovered. The bushes are singing! Parades! Explosions! Waugh! sEnSoRy OvErLoAd.....danger will robinson....

 

[Jack Briggs]

The La Brea Tar Pits are on Wilshire Boulevard, in the Miracle Mile area. And the Holiday Inn you're staying at is in Hollywood. Tool southward on La Brea, turn right (west) on Wilshire and then head toward the museum.

 

[Carlo_M]

Obviously being a member of HTF, you might have an interest in looking at some of the "cooler" theaters in Los Angeles. You aren't too far away from Mann's Chinese or the Cinerama Dome, now I think it's called ArcLight Cinemas. Also the Mann Village & National are in Westwood (just west on Wilshire until Westwood Blvd). Rather than post some confusing directions and getting you lost, it's probably better to look it up online on Mapquest before you leave.

If you hop on the 10 Westbound you will get to Santa Monica / Pier / 3rd street Promenade area and then a bit south of there is Venice Beach if you're into that kind of thing.

Of course "just over the hill" is the porn capital of the country, the San Fernando Valley :p)

And for scenic beauty you can hop on the 110 North about 110 miles and go to Santa Barbara (which I love doing on weekends when I get a chance)!