TCL Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame

When I first went to Hollywood over a decade ago, this was known as Mann's Chinese Theatre. Apparently, it was renamed to TCL Chinese Theater last January because China's TCL Corporation bought the naming rights for 5 million dollars.

The appearance hasn't changed. This iconic landmark has made many movie appearances too. If you've watched Speed, Forrest Gump, Rush Hour, Austin Powers, Nancy Drew, etc. no doubt you've seen this theatre in some scenes.

If I look tired it's because I am, lol. I was jetlagged when we walked over to the theatre having just arrived in the US the night before. It's located just behind Loews Hollywood Hotel where we stayed. There are always tourists taking photos out front but it's a real functional theater with screenings and it's actually a popular venue for movie premieres with stars.

The concrete tiles in front of TCL Chinese Theatre has handprints, footprints, and signatures of famous celebrities. I guess this is the closest I will get to Meryl Streep who I really admire.

The street where TCL Chinese Theatre is located is actually the Hollywood Walk of Fame where stars have well... stars on the floor with their name and an icon representing which entertainment sector they're famous in. Obviously for Michael Jackson, it's recording since he's one of the most popular singers in the world. I really looked for his star, hehe. Good thing it's pretty close to TCL Chinese Theatre so I didn't have to wander very far.

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Warner Brothers VIP Studio Tour

Last May 17, hubby and I decided to go on the Warner Brothers VIP Studio Tour. We had the entire day free since the AI finals were only up to the 16th.

Prior to leaving the hotel, we reserved slots for the 11:15am tour online. When we got there however, we were told there were slots for 11am and we had the option to go earlier. So we went on the 11am tour. We were ushered inside a mini theater for a brief orientation and video screening then we went outside and boarded a motorized cart.

The cart looks like that one above. Our tour guide took us through what they refer to as the jungle. Paths go round and round, twisting and turning so that it creates the illusion of a vast endless forest.

This area is like a pit that they can fill with water to make it look like a lagoon and even the sea. They actually shot Free Willy here, filling it up with water then putting in the mechanical whale.

These houses are actually offices but they use it to shoot neighborhood scenes and stuff like that.

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Loews Hollywood Hotel in California, USA

My hubby and I flew to Los Angeles last May 14 for the American Idol 2013 finales. When we got to the LAX (Los Angeles Airport), we were met by a guy in a suit driving an Escalade who then whisked us off to Loews Hollywood Hotel where we would be staying.

We left the airport a bit after 8:30pm and got to the hotel past 9pm. We immediately checked in and we were given a room on the 16th floor.

A welcome tray was waiting for us on the study table of our room. There was a bowl of fresh fruits, a bottle of red wine, and two bottles of Fiji water.

One thing we really loved about Loews Hollywood Hotel was the exceptionally comfortable bed. If there was ever such a thing as a perfect bed, this was it. The mattress is not too soft and not too hard, the pillows are always perfectly fluffy, and the comforter is well... super comfy in the sense that it gave just enough warmth to match the air-conditioning. It's really conducive to sleep which made managing jetlag a lot easier for me. A major problem of mine is insomnia whenever I travel, as in I go on for days without sleep and it sucks. At Loews, I was able to sleep every single night.

Our room had a flatscreen LCD TV, iPod docking stations, a coffee maker with complimentary premium coffee, and a wide selection of tea. We also had a small refrigerator.

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