California Vacation - L.A. & Disneyland

After an amazing experience in the Universal Studios, the next day we drove up to see the famous 'Hollywood' sign. It was pretty crowded with tourists, we clicked some pictures which came out really well as it was a bright and sunny day. Spent a while there, and decided to drive around the hill. The roads were small, winding, had steep bends & inclines - I don't know how people manage to drive on such roads everyday esp. the ones who live there. But am sure the drive is worth it, as most of the houses up there were beautiful.

From there, we came directly to the Hollywood Boulevard to walk the 'walk of fame'. It is mainly the sidewalks with famous actors names embedded in a pink star. It was great to see the names of some of our favorite stars like Johnny Depp, Drew Barrymore, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise and so many more. It was definitely a good place to take pictures and then we went to the Grauman's Chinese theater, the forecourt has the hand and foot imprints of celebrities. It was fun to match our hands with celebrity imprints, and no doubt, it was super packed with people.

                                                                      Walk of Fame
                                                 
The next was the Hollywood & Highland center, a great place for shopping and dining. We also did some shopping and even bought our tickets for the Disneyland, as the lady at the visitor center told us that we could avoid long lines by buying it here. And then, we had some delicious dinner before leaving for hotel. Following day, we left early from the hotel around 8 in the morning for Anaheim - the place for Disneyland. It took us about 40 minutes and we found a good public parking before going in. Well, the definition of a crowded place changes the moment you step in a Disneyland and thus begins the story of lines & lines & more never-ending lines.

First, there was a huge line  and security - just to get in the gates; then, there were lines to get the tickets, then, there were even more lines to finally get beyond the main gates. In the end, it was a sigh of relief to be inside the Disneyland. We planned our visit and decided to take the  Disneyland railroad for a look around before getting down in tomorrow-land. Once again, there was a line - we got in and got our seats on the bumpy train. The view from up there was quite amazing and we got a clear idea of the place as well.

We got off in 'Tomorrowland' as some of the rides there looked interesting and again joined the hoards for 'Autopia' ride. It was kind of fun but am sure it must be more fun for the kids. We finished that and joined another line for 'Finding Nemo- Submarine voyage', which was actually really good. The submarine takes you under water and the views are pretty amazing with coral reefs and divers, they have done it perfectly. And then the story of finding nemo is played and concludes with a happy ending - when nemo is found by its parents.

Standing and waiting for so long, is quite tiring and even makes you hungry. So, from there we went straight for - no prizes for guessing - another line to get lunch from tomorrowland terrace. And some more work was still pending before we got the table to sit and relax. We had to wait for about 15 minutes to get a table, and finally ate our lunch. From there, we went to the fantasyland for 'Matterhorn Bobsleds' ride, which looked quite daring. Yet another long line, yet another long wait but it was worth it in the end - as the ride was  so good - it went up and down the hill with high speed and splashed into the water before stopping. After the ride, we went towards the parade route, which had begun some time back. Watched it for a while and went to 'It's a small world' Holiday attraction which was nice. And then it was 'Mickey's Toontown', which was super cute, the houses were so pretty and there were so many kids to get on the Donald's boat ride.

The next was the Sleeping Beauty Castle walk, all through the castle they have the story of sleeping beauty being played and it was also good. We came out on the other side and clicked some pictures of the famous castle. And moved to the Frontierland, which was different from all others- there were canons and artillery and even the games were all about hunting & other stuff. My husband enjoyed this part of the visit the most and he also joined others in some of the games.

                                                          Sleeping Beauty Castle
                                            
We walked by the rivers of america and across the bridge - it was a mutual favorite - New Orleans Square. It totally reminded us of our trip to Louisiana in November. It looked exactly the same, the decorated balconies - it was amazing. We spent a while there and then left for Adventureland, and Tarzan's house was right near the entrance. Went up on the tree house, it was fun to walk on the rope bridge and on tiny stairs up the tree. Thereafter, we thought of getting in the line for Indiana Jones adventure but when we saw the wait time of 120 minutes, we backed off and went for the 'Jungle Safari' instead. It was a relaxing ride through the jungle with Hippos, elephants and alligators.

We covered most of the disneyland by the time we finished with the jungle safari and decided to walk towards the main street. But on the way we saw Astro orbitor, and waited for our turn for about 30 minutes. Another smooth ride and we were ready for dinner.We had dinner in Carnation Cafe and bought souveneirs on the way to castle again. This time it was for fireworks, we spent some time there along with many others who were waiting for the fireworks to begin. The spectacular show began right on time and before it got over we started walking towards the main street through the magical snowfall. What a perfect ending to our visit to the Disneyland.

                                                             Our Tickets to Disneyland

Christmas in California

The vacation began on 25th December, 2012 - when I landed in San Francisco Airport. The flight was long and even had some issues with the baggage but arrived in SF around 11:30 in the morning. My husband was already there and together we left for Los Angeles right away. 

A cloudy day it was and we decided to take the 'Route 1' - known for a picturesque drive along the ocean. This drive has also featured in the book 'Drives of a lifetime: 500 of the world's most spectacular trips'; it sure lived up to the expectation and even beyond that. It begins in the city of Monterey and passes through Carmel Highlands, old coast road and the beautiful bixby bridge; along two state parks and the incredible pacific coastline.

The ride is truly breathtaking - with twisting and winding roads, deep blue ocean views and an unbelievable scenery. It took us approximately six hours to reach Los Angeles via the route 1 with a few stops on the way.

                                                                   View along 'Route - 1'
                                                                                                                   

The drive was amazing but tiring and we checked into the hotel around 8:30 after a dinner stop in between. The next day, we decided to visit the Universal Studios & left from hotel around 11. We were there in half an hour, parked our car and got in the long line for tickets. The studios were completely decorated in the 'Grinchmas' theme - with red all around. We got in and went straight to the 'House of Horrors' where we had quite a great time especially because of the people in front of us in the line - they were all shouting and making scary sounds. We actually came out laughing out of a horror house. 

Next, we went to the 'Terminator 4D show' which was really good, there were real actors who were playing the parts of the robot and the mother-son duo along with the 3D movie. From there, we got in the long line for 'Shrek 4D', which was again pretty awesome, the seats were literally making us jump out. And the Shrek story as usual ended on a happy note with Fiona & kids. 

After that, we headed to the market area, and played some games and yeah! we won some cute stuff toys. And then, we went for the famous 'studio tour', for which we had to get in a line again and wait for almost 30 minutes before getting on the tram car. The tour began with an introduction by Jimmy Fallon, and we were driven through the sets where so many famous movies and shows have been shot. 

The sets looked so real - the streets of Texas & New York, Wysteria Lane of desperate housewives, plans crash site where they have used a real aircraft to create it, dancing cars and many others used in the movies like batman, the set of the movie 'Tokyo Drift', a flooded village, the inflatable shark used for the movie 'jaws' and much more. And the 'King Kong 360 3D' ride - which was out of this world, it felt like we are on a train which is caught in a fight between king kong and T. Rex - one hell of a ride. It was fabulous to see all this and this was definitely the best part of our visit to the studios.   

And then it was time for food, we had lunch and went to the souvenir shop as well. The next was the Jurrasic Park ride, and surprisingly, there was no line for it. Another fun ride, especially the part when it falls on a steep slope and the dinosaur head pops out. Next was the awaited 'Transformers: The Ride 3D', and the wait time was almost an hour before we finally got in. This was the most thrilling ride of all, it was like falling off a building and then being saved by the transformer. The following one was the 'Revenge of the Mummy ride', which was different as it was pitch dark and it actually stops suddenly in front of a wall and goes back in reverse at a fast speed. 

We wanted to see one more show before leaving and that was the 'Water World' based on the movie by the same name. That was fantastic, with great actors and water stunts, it was the prefect ending to our visit. After watching that, we clicked some pictures, had dinner and left for citywalk. We spent some time there, the place was bustling with people and had some really good options for shopping. Around 9:30, we left for hotel and called it a day.

                                                           Our tickets to Universal Studios

Trip to Louisiana - Day 2 continues..

We were on our way to Baton Rouge around 3 after visiting the plantation, as we weren't decided about where to go next. But unexpectedly, we saw an air boat with passengers all ready for a swamp tour on the way and there we were - buying our tickets for the same tour. It was raining, so we were given colorful rain coats to wear before settling down in the boat. Within minutes we were in the swamps - with dirty water, damp smell, alligators and snakes.

The fast speed of the boat and rain was making it really hard to keep the eyes open, but we were able to manage after the rain stopped. On top of that, the driver drove so fast that once it actually hit one of the tree branches and the women sitting on that side got very scared. After a crazy ride, the driver slowed down and turned the boat into a narrow space between the trees and stopped. And then came the shock - he asked us if we wanted to catch an alligator and if we do - then we'll have to get down into the water and catch it.  

For a moment, everyone was quite and suddenly the lady who was already scared said, "I  don't want to do anything like that". 

And that was it, the driver came to the front of the boat and without saying a single word, opened the box and there came a baby alligator. Some of us actually jumped off the seats. 

Well, the mouth of the alligator was tied, so no one was worried and we all actually started holding it one by one and also clicked pictures. And then the driver gave us some interesting facts about alligators and the story behind the baby alligator. It was super fun and once the story time was over, the alligator went back in the box and we turned back to the open areas of the swamp. The tour lasted for about one and a half hour - with super speed and rain; and it ended with a side drop off a wall (that was scary) and it felt like the boat had almost turned over in the swamp. 

It was our first swamp tour and was definitely an amazing experience. Good, that we decided to do this, as no trip to Louisiana is complete without one. 

Now that it was almost evening, we thought of going to the' Mardi Gras World'. The last tour available was for 4:30, so we really had to rush. We were there just on time, bought the tickets and waited for the tour to begin. The guide took us inside the warehouse where all the magic happens - where  the floats & figures are sculpted for the famous parade. It was incredible to see the craftsmanship, designs and details with which the work is done. And we also saw the painters and sculptors actually working on some of the models, as the work goes on all year round in preparation for February carnival.

                                                             Inside the Mardi Gras World

After the tour, we saw a 20 minute video of the parade and how it is put together. And the best part, we also got to dress up in some of those costumes and click pictures. It was the best possible way to experience 'Mardi Gras' in November.

From there, we went to the french quarter again and this time just for food at the Acme Oyster House. The most obvious thing to order at an oyster house is of-course oysters, so we ordered 'chargrilled oysters' for starters. And for the main course, it was 'New Orleans Medley' and 'shrimp po-boy'. The food was delicious and the oysters were unforgettable. After a great dinner, we left for Baton Rouge and stayed there for a couple of days before going back home.

I have to say this - what a Fabulous trip it was - we visited most of the famous places in New Orleans, relished cajun-creole cuisine and experienced some of the craziest things as well. 

                                                                     Our Trip on map