USA - Los Angeles & Warner Brothers Studios

Los Angeles was a disappointment to everyone I think - It's a lot dirtier and unimpressive than we were expecting. Hollywood Boulevard for example is full of stars but several venders and cafes are just sitting on top of some of them, probably because the pathway is much thinner than you'd expect. The street is dirty with only walls and boards on the opposite side. It's full of tour cars and souvenir shops and the only building of note is the Dolby Theatre which is where they hold the Oscars. The theatre itself looks very unimpressive and I don't know how they manage to find space for a red carpet during the Academy awards. We went up the steps which are enclosed in the middle of a tiny shopping mall (see last photo)!

Rodeo drive is also closed to tourists because it was putting the rich people off from shopping there so we couldn't even see that. The famous Pier at Santa Monica is also overrated and so crowded, you can hardly move.

Warner Brothers

You can actually go on a tour of the movie backlots at Warner Brothers in Hollywood. The sets look like real cities and towns and they get rented out to various movie makers (not just Warner Brothers). We also got to go into the studio where they filmed friends and Big Bang Theory - These were 2 of the longest running series's they filmed so they had their own plaques. They also had an actual working 'Central Perk' cafe from Friends and the actual working fountain from the opening credits. They were filming the Rookie and the Ellen show whilst I was there.

In the warehouse they then showed us props from the Harry Potter / Fantastic Beasts sets and the DC Comic movies including costumes, mandrake plants that scream when you pull them out of the ground, rooms full of flying letters and bottled potions, and then chance to make your own potion according to a Harry Potter recipe (the couldron turns pink if you get the ingredients right).