Best of Los Angeles I: From Theme Parks to Boulevards

Los Angeles - the city of angels, famous for its beaches, theme parks and celebrities. Known to be the third richest and fifth most influential city in the world, the capital of the entertainment world, L.A is the place to be for lovers of the big and small screens, with directors, actors, screenwriters and many other personnels literally plastered all over town.

Arguably the most famous sign on Earth

Planning the itinerary (given that we had only three and half days) was pretty straightforward - Universal Studios, 6 Flags, Hollywood Boulevard and the beaches of Santa Monica. Unless you are a huge nut for celebrity spotting or parties, there isn't much to do or see around here as compared to other tourist-hot cities like New York or San Francisco.

Read on to see the star attractions that we visited

View from Universal Studios

Universal Studios Hollywood

The last time I stepped through the gates of Universal Studios in LA, I was only 10 and barely made it pass the height limit. After 15 years, so much have changed - I have developed a general disliking for roller coasters and Singapore has her own Universal Studios up and running. Yet, this place still retains a sense of familiarity, with iconic rides like Jurassic Park and old icons like Jaws and King Kong still standing strong. All in all, I'm really glad to be back here!

Hurray to Hollywood!

Obviously, changes had been made to the studio since I was last here. The Back to the Future 3-D ride and E.T  adventure ride has been replaced by The Simpsons ride and The Revenge of the Mummy respectively. On the same note, the famous Back Draft special effect shows was gone and replaced by the up and coming Transformer: The Ride.

The Iconic Universal Ball

Studio Tour with King Kong 360 3D

The Studio Tour went through a major revamp, with the Encounter with King Kong portion changed from the usual mechanical rides to a spectacular 360 degrees 3-D ride. It added the old-school mechanics with the latest 360 degree 3-D technology. I would recommend going for this ride straightway as the afternoon queues for the studio tours are horrendous.

The New...

... and the old

Overall, this is still one of my favorite theme parks in the world. The magic of this place comes not from the intensity of the rides (I actually dislike/fear roller coasters) but from the fact that it lives up to its name as a THEME park. With both classical and modern movie icons featured in the park, the theme park draws a sense of familiarity for people from different walks of life.

I have to admit that the rides are definitely not the most intense, but the variety of the intensity and focus of the rides would ensure that the park goers aren't bored at any time. I would recommend this place for any group to go, especially if its your first time in LA. A 10/10 score for the Universal Studios.

6 Flags Magic Mountain

Unfortunately, I can't say much about this place. Like I have aforementioned, I have a general dislike for roller coaster rides and this place is all about intense roller coaster rides (It seems as though each ride is built to challenge the riders even further than the previous). However, judging from how much fun my companions had, I would say this is the place to be to seek your thrills.

Sneak preview of 6 Flags

One of the not-so-exciting ride

According to them, this is one of the most exciting ride.

My favorite part of the day - Funnel Cake

Hollywood & Sunset Boulevard

Before we headed down to the famous Boulevards, we made a stop at the famous Hollywood Sign for photo taking. For the best vantage point, be sure to check google for the various good locations. Some places that would come out of the search would include Canyon Lake Drive (which we chose) & Mulholland Drive.

Hollywood

Canyon Lake Drive

Having fun with THE sign :)

Next up was the walk down Hollywood Boulevard. Here, we have two famous buildings and the iconic stars-ladden pathway in between. The Kodak Theatre (now known as The Dolby Theatre), features the famous red-carparted stairways flanked by the list of past winners (and blanks for future winners) of the Academy Best Picture Award. The Grauman's Chinese Theatre, host to 3 Academy Awards ceremony, features the popular foot and hand prints of celebrities encased in concrete in front of the theatre's entrance.

Kodak Theatre

Grauman's Chinese Theatre

Star Spotting

Leaving your footprints behind

Past Academy Best Picture Winners

Last thing on the agenda, we took a drive down Sunset Boulevard and Rodeo drive. Both pretty normal streets (except for the property values) made famous by the big screen.

Final moments in Boston: Whale-watching and yet another Lobster Sandwich

On our last (half) day in Boston, our plans was simple - Whale Watching and Lobster Sandwich.

Let's start with our lovely whale-watching trip. The trip itself started pretty early in the morning (8+ a.m if I can recall), took us out into the Atlantic Ocean where they guaranteed we will be able to spot whales. We were skeptical at first (the price was around S$60), given the fact that none of us had been to anything similar.

Whale-spotters

The journey to the whale-spotting site was around 1 - 1 1/2 hours and unfortunately for me, it was a bumpy ride there. I got hit by a huge bout of sea-sickness and was basically incapacitated for the remaining journey (Credits to Dawn for the photographs). After a chat with the rest of the group, I found out that the ride was indeed worse than usual (we were riding against the wave and going at a really fast speed). So anyone who wants to go through this, remember to take your seasickness pills before embarkment.

An opportunity to catch the city line of Boston

The journey into the sea wasn't really exciting (except having to entertain my sea sickness). It was a straight journey without any incidents or sightings. From a conversation that I overheard from one of the staff, the way they are able to ensure 100% sightings is that they have a network of ships (be it fishermen or whale-watching crew) and boats that will give live updates on where the school of whales is spotted. So the moment any activities are reported, the boat would rush there and hopefully get there in time before the activities ceases or the whales have moved on.

Approaching the whale watching site

Read on to check out more pictures of our Whale-watching experience and the excellent lobster sandwich that followed.



Once the Captain has decided that the boat was closed enough to the whales (without scarring them), the boat stopped and the commentator did her job in guiding our vision to where the whales were. I managed to get up from my seat for a few moments (the boat was pretty much stable at that time) and caught a few glimpses of these magnificent creatures. Here are some shots:

One of the first few sightings

Two of them

Though we didn't catch any breath-taking shots of the ENTIRE whale, I would say that being able to get close to these beautiful creatures was an experience worth every penny and minute of travel. These majestic whales are really the beautiful works of Mother Nature and is definitely an experience I would recommend to anyone in Boston. Here are some closer shots Dawn took when some whales went by our boat.

School of Whales

Close-up

The entire whale watching experience took up almost 4 hours (so plan ahead when you do whale watching) and we only had time for lunch before having to catch our flight to Los Angeles. So what was for lunch? Obviously, more Lobster Sandwich before we leave this place for good.

James Hook Lobster Sandwich

We ended up (after failing to get a table at Neptune Oyster Bar) at the James Hook + Co for our lunch. Kudos to Andre for finding this place as the meal proved to be more than satisfying. The place itself wasn't much - a simple makeshift container with the simplest of decor, perfect for take-outs. Dawn and I took our pick and decided to share a large Lobster Sandwich and a portion of their Stuffed Clams.

Selection of sandwiches...

...and stuffed clam

I'll start with the Stuffed Clams. The clams itself was really huge and the stuffing made it look enormous. Naturally I would say the portions pretty generous and it was a wise choice to share. There was nothing really special about both the stuffing and the clams, just that both went really well and they were both baked perfectly. Nicely done!

Lovely stuffed clams

The Lobster Sandwich was definitely better than what we had at Quincy Market. The lobster was equally fresh but the portions of lobsters were so much more generous. I came out so much more satisfied then both my trips from the Quincy Market.

Hot sandwich with chunks of cold lobster fillings

Overall it was a good mistake that we ended up here. The sandwich is really fulfilling and the stuffed clams was the icing on the cake. Lovely place and I would recommend anyone to check it out if you are in Boston.

Check them out at 15-17 Northern Avenue Boston MA 02210 or visit their website here.


That's marks the end of our East Coast Travels as we head to West Coast to join up with the rest of our group. Stay tuned to see the Best of West Coast, which includes Los Angeles, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, the Pacific Costal Drive and San Francisco.

Visit my Facebook photo albums to check out more photos of the whales:
Boston 2012 Whale-Sighting Album

Freedom Trail II & Lobster Galore

We started the day with the continuation of the freedom trail, this time going backwards, starting from the end of the trail.

The official last stop for the freedom trail is the USS Constitution (the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world). However, due to time constraints, we had to skip that one and went straight to the last inland site instead. The Bunker Monument was built between 1827 and 1843 to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Bunker Monument

New Hampshire Gate

Col. William Prescott

After the Bunker Hill Monument, we got a little "lost" with the lines (some of the lines seemed to go missing after certain roads) and went into several sites. At this point in time, I had no idea what they were leading to. Therefore, I'll just leave you with some of the photos of the sites that we went on our way back to Boston Central.

The signal lanterns Paul Revere displayed

At the end of a hectic day, we all felt that we needed a well-deserved meal. What else can be more deserving for us than the famous Boston Lobster! So we headed down to the historic Union Oyster House for our fill of oysters and lobsters.

Old signboard

The place itself was bigger than it seemed from the outside. We entered the oyster house through what we thought was the front door, but ended up right in front of their pub. With oysters and beer in hand, the patrons all gave us a weird look which prompted us to head out again to find the right entrance.

Oyster Bar

Going around the building saw us entering the Oyster Bar area -- A quick and easy way of enjoying your oysters. With plenty of attentive "oyster shuckers" around, I wonder how many oysters are shucked daily!

After we were seated and ordered our share, we were given the famous lobster bib. Cute way to start a meal!

Neat, tidy and ready

First up - the Fresh Oysters. This is as simple as a review can get - a lovely fresh piece of work. It tempted Dawn and myself to order more but a gentle reminder of the price (on a tight budget) and my awaiting lobster stopped me.

Next up was my order of Union Special Lobster - baked medium lobster with New England Seafood Stuffing, topped with its claw Lazyman style. This was awesomeness on a plate. The stuffing itself was average but the lobster was succulent, fresh and well worth getting dirty for. The meat came right of the shell easily and the serving was big enough to satisfy a hungry man like myself.

Union Special Lobster

The others ordered the Lazyman Lobster (Basically lobster peeled off the shell) and the Lobster Scampi (medium lobster sautéed in garlic butter, tomatoes, fresh herbs and white wine served on a bed of linguine). The lazyman lobster itself was equally good (without the stuffing), just that there wasn't the "kick" of having to peel it off the shell yourself. The Lobster Scampi provides a little less meat to the dish but gives more in terms of accompanying flavors.  It was a good mix but I would rather dive straight into the lobster.

Lobster Scampi

Lazyman Lobster

Overall, it was the perfect meal to end the day. The lobsters were all fresh and huge enough to whet our huge appetites and it was wonderful experience to dine in such a historic place. Lovely food and terrific ambience, just that it might be a little pricey. Then again, its definitely worth a trip (if not two) even if you are on a tight budget.

Visit them at 41 Union Street or at their website here.

More pictures can be found on my facebook page: Marcus Facebook