Sunset Strip, Los Angeles

UPDATED... Since I'm going for a few days holiday here in November, I thought I would update the review with some pictures of Sunset Strip to put the place in context more. I'm staying at The Grafton on Sunset this time but yet again have gone for the mustang convertable...you just can't beat it!!!

Sunset Boulevard is the coolest road on Planet Earth...FACTAMUNDO!!! It has so much history, glamour, imagery and tinsle wrapped up in it that I can hardly type quick enough to tell you all about it!

Even the name Sunset Boulevard has become a part of Hollywood legend with numerous films, shows etc paying homage to the name (such as the 60's show "77 Sunset Strip" and Andrew Lloyd Webbers musical).

Although the stars of these types of show might all work down the road at the movie studios in Hollywood or the Valley (Glendale area mainly); most of them live in the posh residential neighborhoods of L.A.'s west side such as Beverly Hills, Bel-Air, Brentwood, Hollywood Hills and the Malibu Colony (all of which can be found along Sunset Boulevard).

It was originally built as a route between the now seedy downtown area of Hollywood (maybe it was always seedy) and the lush, green, (and opulent) residential avenues of Beverly Hills (surrounded by walls and patrolled by guards).

The long, winding thoroughfare of Sunset Blvd begins near Olvera Street (the birthplace of the city of Los Angeles) and runs westward to the Pacific Ocean. Along the way, it passes through Hollywood as I have mentioned (two blocks south of Hollywood Boulevard, both Boulevards actually collide at the Vista cinema round the corner from a really great Chinese restaurant I used to go to), then becomes the Sunset Strip as it passes through West Hollywood, weaves its way through Beverly Hills and Bel-Air and finally winds its way through the foothills of the Santa Monica mountains to finally end near Malibu. Over the course of those 20 miles, the boulevard's personality undergoes some major kick ass transformations...

Driving down it (2pac blasting out your CD player preferably), the first thing you'll notice is that it's obviously one hell of a long road with things going on all around you. The journey is best done in a convertable (I had a White Mustang convertable) so that you can fully experience these visceral transformations and taste and smell the numerous flavours of the city whether it be the bohemian Los Feliz section (where you really can smelll warm colitas rising up through the air) or the art house Sunset Plaza end where the beautiful people come out to play.

Driving West along Sunset is the best route as it allows you to experience a little of the good, the bad and the ugly which all converge to make The City of Angels so alluring to me...a mad bad and dangerous to know place in line with how I see my persona.

When most people think of L.A, they tend to hear "Hotel California" by The Eagles as the soundtrack in their head (well I do!) and that album has a photo of a Sunset Boulevard hotel on its cover. This is the Pink Palace itself - the Beverly Hills Hotel. That's just one of the dozens of Hollywood attractions located along the 20 miles of Sunset Boulevard so I'm going to give you just a few that stick out in my mind and that I have been able to double check info for:

To the east of Hollywood, in the Echo Park district (northwest of downtown L.A.), just south of Sunset Boulevard, off Silverlake, you'll find a very long and steep outdoor staircase. Not only did I live at the top of this but this is where Laurel & Hardy heaved a piano in one of their films. I remember seeing that as kid and never dreaming that one day, I would walk by uncles dogs down those steps!

Just west of the Hollywood Freeway there are a load of TV studios, many of which used to be the movie studios of the day such as Fox Network, KTLA Studios (formerly the old Warner Bros Studio) and Gower Studios (which used to be Columbia Pictures studios). Paramount Studios is down there too which is where my friend Jeannie works on Angel (caterer)and I was lucky enough to spend time on set, meet all the crew and even get an extra part in Season One!

Right by Paramount Studios is the Hollywood Memorial Park cemetery (on Santa Monica Blvd) which is where Rudolph Valentino and Cecil B. DeMille push up the dirt. If you have seen L.A Story with Steve Martin, you may remember the scene where they go there.

At 6215 Sunset (near the brilliantly named Sunset & Vine intersection) is the Hollywood Palladium which is the largest dance club in the world and in its day a very swanky place. It can a little rough though these days and the metal detectors are unfortunately necessary despite the fact gangbanging has been curbed a little since the three strike rule was introduced. When you stand at the bar and you see gangbangers purposely spilling a bit of their drink on the floor "for their homies who dead", you kinda say "I'll get my coat".

Anyway, as you go West you will pass the now famous Hollywood High School on your right hand side. A bit further along is one of my favourite joints, Denny's Diner (very historic place if you can ignore the off duty pimps and ho's). Denny's never closes (neither does In and Out Burger which was always a relief!).

In between La Brea & Fairfax is "Rock Walk" which is a world famous guitar shop and whenever I hit that part of Sunset, just before I stopped off at the Liquor Locker for my ciagrettes and alcohol, I always knew I was getting to my favoruite little microcosm of L.A which is the area most commonly known as The Sunset Strip aka The Centre of The Universe. The Strip is actually the closest thing there is to a centre of Los Angeles (with L.A being a collection of cities really and about 100 miles wide).

Along here you will find my favourite bars: Dublins and Miyagis (I've written a separate op on Dublins 'cos it's such a great place). Miyagis is a bar / restaurant opposite Dublins (which is a Sportsbar with no Irish people)and you will find The Bodyshop next door which is one of the better strip joints (my sister and a number of my friends work/ed there as it happens so I have to say that!). A little further down the way is The Hustler Shop which sells everything from hardcore porn to specialist coffee and that itself is just over the road from Johnny Depps 'Viper Rooms' (where River Phoneix died) and The Whisky A Go Go where my favourite group in the world (The Doors) finally kickstarted their career when they sang The End in front of Paul Rothschild of Elektra Records back in 1967.

I'm going to digress slightly here to detail a wonderfully romantic story about Jim Morrison and his girlfriend Pamela Courson. They (The Doors) used to be the house band at The London Fog (no longer there) and he would make Pamela walk all the way up to their home in the hills (Lauryl Canyon, I've been to the house which Frank Zappas daughter now lives in). Pam would always say to Jim "why can't we get a taxi" to which he would reply "because I want all the cats to see me with you baby". He then wrote a song called Love Street which is all about it.

Anyway, back to the highway to the end of the night: If you look up to the right from here up into the hills you will see some of the most fabulous houses and I guarantee you that if you sit outside Dublins in the daytime and look directly ahead, you will see a major star every 10 minutes! I even had a stand up row with Matt Dillon in there. If you have seen the advert where Brad Douriff is at a newstand, you will also find that the very stand is just a spit away from Dublins. Want to see Sarah Jessica Parker heaving her washing? Go to Dublins...

Near the western end of Sunset in Pacific Palisades is the Lake Shrine which is an exqusitely beautiful garden that contains the ashes of Ghandi, definately worth a pilgrimage if you get the chance.

Travel a few more blocks and you will finally reach the end of the road at the Pacific Ocean (I could tell you about a very wild drive I had down once with a girl called McKenzie who lived in Charlie Sheens apartment but I wont hehe, very rude). Turn right onto Pacific Coast Highway and you are on the road to Mckenzies, I mean Malibu!

Backing up a little bit, along the route there are stacks of hotels, motels, diners, bars, shops etc all set off beautifully by massive billboards and even multi storey buildings with giant adverts painted up their whole side, it's a visual feast wherever you look. As you drive westbound you will glimpse the Hollywood sign intermittently to your right through the intersections and gaps in the buildings.

I guess it would be nice to walk the whole route but there are a couple of reasons not to:

(A) Walk? Are you mad? Nobody walks anywhere in Los Angeles. My friend and I actually got stopped by cops walking to Glendale from Attwater Village and they said "you guys ok, you broke down or something?" To save anyone having to ever walk anywhere, they invented 1-800 PINKDOT who will deliver anything you need from a pack of crisps to a Microwave oven.

(B) You will more than likely get mugged and / or shot along the way, probably at the start of the journey if you're travelling Westbound.

(C) Since L.A is built for cars and not pedestrians, if you have the audacity to cross the road on foot you will probably get arrested for jay walking.

I can visualise all of this in my head like I was there and I hope it sounds interesting to you because trust me when I say; it is a fabulous place and a whole different way of life. If you get the opportunity to go then please seize it and go and have a drink in Dublins for me (don't forget to spill some of your drink though).

If anyone has any questions, please just ask, I never get bored of talking about L.A.