One of my fave blog followers and Jersey Girl extraordinaire, Kristen, is in LA with her husband. They strolled The Walk of Fame and cruised Rodeo Drive on their own yesterday. Last night, they went to LA paparazzi magnet, Koi, for dinner and hit the SkyBar afterwards.
They clearly don't need help navigating this town. But today, I'll pick them up and take them on my Malibu tour where we'll enjoy the beaches and watch the sunset. Later we'll attend a party at my friends' house.
My standard LA tour also includes the overlook off Mulholland, where guests can have their picture taken with the Hollywood sign in the background. Mann's Chinese Theatre, so they can compare their foot size to The Terminator's and the Roosevelt Hotel, home of the first Oscars in 1932.
That usually covers it. When guests come to visit you, what's on your standard hometown tour?
xoxo,
Suzanne
About Me
- Suzanne Casamento
- Author of Fingerprints, Choosing Tally, and All the Moments in Between. Tweet me @suzannecasamento
Awesome vegetarian and vegan restaurants. Mom was just here and we ate our way through the city.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, as a former participant of Suzanne's LA tour--it rocks! On my home town tour, you have to be prepared to walk A LOT! We start at Battery Park and take the FREE Staten Island Ferry for a view of the skyline and the Statue of LIberty and then hit as many neighborhoods as we can (espec. China Town, Little Italy, Soho) ending in Times Square at night.
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Our tour is mountain top to mountain top. Dip in the river in summer or tubing. Farmers' markets galore. Sailing on Champlain. and "clubbing" in town ; )
ReplyDeleteI definitely used to love my NYC hometown tour -- Magnolia Bakery, The Campbell Apartments, The Ramble, etc. -- but out in Denver now, and learning my way around as well, I've already got a few favorites. Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Garden of the Gods, and Pikes Peak for outdoorsy beauty; Civic Center Green and the Capitol Building for governmental architecture; 16th Street Mall, Manitou Springs, and Littleton Main Street for shopping.
ReplyDeleteAhhh, the overlook off Mulholland, such a beautiful romantic place until your mother calls!! LOL!
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I am the unofficial tour guide of Ottawa! Since our temperatures fluctuate so drastically between summer and winter, weather would dictate activities.
We start with a trip along the Ottawa River Parkway (dedicated green space), past the RCMP stables, Prime Minister's house, Governor General's estate, Rideau Falls, Parliament buildings, Supreme Court. I then loop around to the Experimental Farm, and along the Rideau Canal (UNESCO World Heritage site). We would then take in a museum: Civilization, National Art Gallery, Man & Nature, or War Museum. To refuel, a burger from the Works would be a must!
We might also make our way to the Quebec side to have high tea at the the MacKenzie King Estate, and explore the glorious Gatineau Hills and associated quaint villages.
Now that we live outside of the city proper, a tour might also include a local beach, outdoor education centre, or local farmer's markets/orchards.
Being in the same city as you I take out of town visitors on a similar tour. I obsessionally include Doheny Mansion. I always try to include somewhere with a high probability of a celebrity sighting. Recently I've gotten lucky at Malibu Country Mart (Tim Burton & Helena Bonham Carter lunching) and at 8590 Sunset Blvd (P. Diddy, or whatever he's calling himself these days, at Equinox). Taking visitors in the hills to see the mansions is always fun. I also like like the various cemeteries around town with celebrity graves. Marilyn Monroe is always a hit.
ReplyDeleteNote to Daphne: If you're new to CO, you've got to check out the little town of Crested Butte in the late spring/early summer. Yeah, it's a mega-far drive, but the scenery along the way rocks too. Once you get to CB, it's like a scene out of the Sound of Music or something. They have this French restaurant over by the movie theater (not in the main tourist part of town) that's way amazing, as well. I gained five pounds the weekend I was there.
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Okay, so anyway--San Diego. The zoo is good, but so is the Wild Animal Park. Ditto Sea World. Only we send our guests those places without us. Legoland is the real jewel of San Diego as far as touristy attractions go (even if you don't have kids), but the most fun to be had is at the beach. My favorite beaches are North Torrey Pines State Beach and South Torrey Pines State Beach; North if we bring the surfboards, South if the kids are little and only Boogie board. Hikes at the Torrey Pines State Reserve are nice, too. For dinner, downtown La Jolla and downtown San Diego, in the Gaslamp Quarter, are both hard to beat. We usually grab fast food at Roberto's when we have company, too.
I guess I kind of think with my stomach.
Okay, Ara's covered most of San Diego...I'll add Balboa Park and Old Town, and when my FIL comes to visit this month we'll probably take him to Julian - the old gold-mining town east of here.
ReplyDeleteOoh, and maybe Little Italy for cannoli.
A tour of Ayer, huh? I don't think I've quite worked out the route and major highlights for that one yet, but I am sure it will include a stop at the transfer station (aka the dump) to check out the freebie shed, and maybe that liquor store that has the really cheap wine. ACTUALLY we should go to the liquor store first, so that we can then take our empties to the transfer station. See? The schedule's already startin' to work itself out...
ReplyDeleteHmm, I haven't been to half of those places that Suzanne says she takes her visitors, and I've been "visiting" for 11 years!!! I am still waiting to go to The Price Is Right.
ReplyDeleteWe live in Santa Barbara wine country so if my visitors like wine, I'll take them out tasting in Solvang or Los Olivos. We'll spend a day at the beach, maybe kayak if they like to be active. If they want to shop, we'll go to Santa Barbara, have lunch at the bakery next to Borders :) or go through all the kitschy shops and art galleries in Solvang and eat lunch at the Alisal or the Vineyard House (my favorite restaurant).
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