Los Angeles: Disneyland, Los Angeles and Hollywood

Los Angeles is a huge metropolitan city, situated in California.

It is very crowed; in fact it is the second biggest city of the United States of America. It is made up of some very famous towns such as Long Beach, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills.

Los Angeles was founded in 1781 by the Spanish who named it “El Pueblo de Nuestra senora la Reina de Los Angeles”.

Cuisine and Restaurants

In the metro area of Los Angeles there are nearly 20,000 restaurants. For special occasions, many critics say, there’s no place like Valentino, where you can taste Italian cuisine or Spago, restaurant to the stars. With its population from all over the world, Los Angeles inspires chefs to mix and match flavours and ingredients from different cuisines. One favourite local is Pasadena’s Yujean Kang, whose innovative menu includes Chinese polenta and risotto and Mandarin minestrone.

Many of the best Chinese restaurants are in Chinatown and in the San Gabriel Valley.

Fresh seafood is a speciality and Mexican cooking is here in abundance.

There’s no place where people can taste such a variety of food!!!

Social Contrasts

The population of Los Angeles is of mixed origin and the city presents deep social contrasts. There are areas such as Rodeo Drive, where we can find exclusive shops; Beverly Hills, where the richest people in the world live and Hollywood, the world’s leading film-making centre.

But “ all that glitters is not gold”. There are also the “ghettos” where mainly poor Hispanics and Blacks live and where violence and crime are very common.

Climate and Tourism

In Los Angeles the climate is Mediterranean so lots of tourists spend wonderful holidays on the beaches of Santa Monica, Venice, Long Beach, Laguna Beach and Malibu in summertime.
Near Los Angeles there is a suburb called “ Disneyland”: a huge amusement park opened in 1955 by Walt Disney, the creator of successful cartoon films such as Pinocchio, Snowhite and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Peter Pan and of films with real actors such as Mary Poppins, signed Walt Disney Pictures.

Disneyland attracts lots of tourists every year. It consists of seven amusement parks and hundreds of spectacular attractions; here everything is magic and adults with their children can enjoy an exciting and wonderful experience, walking through the world of Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland etc. Throughout the years, Disneyland has been a leader in offering adventure rides for all ages. Children and adults can live adventures through space, in subterranean caves or in the jungle, and enjoy amazing effects.

While all those attractions are still going strong, everybody at Disneyland is excited about a new generation in park technology, consisting of sensational effects and a great variety of sounds.

In the newest thrill ride, the Indiana Jones Adventure, no two consecutive rides will be identical; each vehicle can stop, slow down or go fast so that passengers on this ride live adventures at every turn, as in the Indiana Jones film.

Hollywood and the Film Industry

Hollywood is another suburb of Los Angeles, in California.

Originally, Hollywood’s name was to be “Figwood” because Harvey Henderson Wilcox wanted to give his farm this name, but his wife suggested the name “Hollywood” and so it was.

Gradually, Hollywood became the centre of the American film industry thanks to its good weather and because there were a lot of actors. Famous large studios such as Metro Goldwin Mayer, Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount made hundreds of films.

Today, lots of films are made in cheaper countries, but people from all over the world come here to explore the movie studios at Universal Studios where classic movies have been made since 1915.

Visit to Universal Studios

The visit to Universal Studios consists of a guided tram tour through famous film sets. It is a full day of non-stop fun for the whole family. The journey includes a visit to the Entertainment Centre and encounters with some of Hollywood’s greatest special effects, like the terrible King Kong, the collapsing bridge, the fire-breathing dragon, and many more. You can also watch 640 outdoor sets of Hollywood’s most popular TV shows.

After watching the films, you can visit the gift shops or you can stop at the restaurant bar and grill, which serve the best lunch, dinner and late night snacks in town. There is even live entertainment and dancing after dark. You can also walk along the “Walk of Fame” with the stars’ names on the pavements of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street.

Finally, outside Mann’s Chinese Theatre there are the footprints, handprints and autographs of over two hundreds Hollywood stars.