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Archive for the ‘Tours of Los Angeles’ Category
Kikki Eder’s “Shortcut Through City Terrace”
- While we at Elite Adventure Tours specialize in action tour photography of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and the beaches south of Malibu, our friend Kikki Eder has provided us with a photo of one of her favorite pieces entitled “Shortcut through City Terrace.” We love the painting and the evocative reflection of our favorite city and appreciate her submission to our blog. Please look up Kikki on Facebook and ArtistsWanted.com and enjoy (maybe purchase) her art.
Hello Hollywoodland!
Taking a private luxury tour group up to the Hollywood sign takes us past the old entrance pillars to Hollywoodland. Also at this location is Hollywoodland Realty where, back in the days when vacant plots of land were being sold to the new population of Hollywood, a bus would be waiting to take potential buyers up into the hills to appraise home sites. Before the bus there was a mule cart. Thank goodness for roads and the internal combustion engine. Even better, we drive a luxury conversion van with snacks, drinks, a widescreen video monitor and hot aromatherapy towels to keep everyone refreshed.
Pencil drawing of the Chinese Theater?
As you would expect of a private luxury tour company of Los Angeles that offers professional photography with all its tours, we have many photographs of Grauman's Chinese Theater. All angles, all times of the day and night throughout the year, special events and even rainy days. Since we are masters of digital photography we can go further and augment our photos with artistic flair which never fails to delight our tour guests.
Unreal Estate
Our tour guides pride themselves on having interesting and complete stories and anecdotes with which to regale our luxury private tour guests wanting to see some of the great estates of Beverly Hills, Holmby Hills and Bel Air while visiting Los Angeles and Hollywood. Michael Gross‘ wonderful book, Unreal Estate, tells the tales of a number of the homes we pass by as we investigate the neighborhoods. We love to add these sources to our libraries even though so much information is available on the internet because great authors make it easier to retell the stories. Sometimes we even bring the books along to share with our guests. We will share our book discoveries here with you, too!
Our Lady of the Angels
Just across the street from the Music Center (and looming over the Hollywood Freeway) in downtown Los Angeles is this exquisite modern cathedral constructed after the Northridge earthquake significantly damaged St. Vibiana's. This new home of the Catholic archdiocese is a structure we love to point out when we are touring downtown and we always suggest stopping to visit and see the interior architecture and artwork. The beauty of a private luxury tour is that we can do that. This photo is not one of our own but was provided by Christina Hahni, a good friend of Elite Adventure Tours.
The Price is Right
The Price is Right is just one of the shows regularly filmed at CBS Television City in Hollywood. Also, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Bold and the Beautiful, Young and the Restless and Craig Ferguson’s late night show.
Built in 1952 on the site of the former Gilmore Stadium, a professional football stadium and then a motor racing track, before that a messy and smelly oil field (same oil that shows up at the La Brea Tar Pits), the 8-soundstage facility has hosted some of television greatest shows.
The audience shows draw regular crowds. We, from time to time, will bring our private luxury tour guests enjoying Hollywood and Los Angeles to see specials and pilots filmed before a live television audience.
The Nose Knows
- Jimmy Durante not only memorialized his signature and handprint, but also took a nosedive into the wet cement in the forecourt of Sid Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. That was some Halloween back in 1945. We really appreciate the occasional guest on one of our Elite Adventure Tours (EliteAdventureTours.com) private luxury tours of Hollywood who actually remembers Jimmy Durante.
Quiet on the Street Set, Stop Honking!
We hardly ever have a tour where we do not encounter a film crew out on location. We see either a parked convoy of semis, vans and half-ton pickups or we run full on into bright lights, cables and off duty and retired police seeing that the crew is undisturbed and able to do their work. The beauty of being on a private luxury tour with Elite Adventure Tours is that we carry a professional Nikon camera to capture the film crew at work whenever we find them.
Max Headroom at Wilt’s Old Abode
There is certainly a lot of headroom as you walk through Ron Howard's special Mulholland Drive home-away-from-home. Originally built by Wilt Chamberlain ("Wilt the Stilt" of Los Angeles Lakers fame) it overlooks the Hollywood Bowl from Mulholland Drive. This photo was taken during a private luxury tour of Hollywood with Elite Adventure Tours (EliteAdventureTours.com)
Picture This
Everyone visiting Los Angeles and Hollywood brings a camera or at least a camera-equipped cell phone. At Elite Adventure Tours we know and respect our guests and the photos they take. However, we pride ourselves on grabbing especially great photos of ALL the guests (yes, dad will be in the pictures) and even working some digital magic on them when provided to our guests as part of their tour. We’ll get the scenery and the people, sometimes together, sometimes not. You will have wonderful memories to plaster on Facebook and to show your friends.