LA - Day 3 Studio Tour

When you think of LA you immediately think of Hollywood, celebrities and movies. So naturally one of the things to do is to do a studio tour at one of the major studios to see how the movies and TV shows we watch are made. 

We chose to do the Warner Bros tour, partly because it fitted in with our schedule but also because I have worked there for over a year. It was cool to see some of the shows and characters I have been working with!

Getting to the tour ended up being a bit more stressful than anticipated. Because of the LA marathon loads of the roads were closed so we had to try and find a away around it all. And then once we managed that we got to our destination, according to the GPS, only to find ourselves on the highway with definitely no studio around us! Turns out the address we had put it was different to where to GPS thought we should be :) By this time we had missed our slot for the tour, but luckily once we had eventually made our way to Burbank, they could slot us into a later tour.

The tour starts out with a bit of a history of WB, and then takes you onto some of the outdoor sets that are built and stay up and just get changed as necessary for each movie. One of my favourite parts of the tour was exploring these parts and seeing what was filmed there. It’s incredible that so many scenes from so many different movies and TV shows are filmed in the same place. We also saw the ‘set’ where Gilmore Girls’ Stars Hollow is filmed and it makes you feel like you are in the show.

Stars Hollow

Our tour guide was a wealth of knowledge, especially about all things Batman. He was so excited to share his knowledge with us, it was very infectious. We visited the WB museum next, which has a load of the costumes from Batman as well as Harry Potter to see. It was amazing to see it all. After that we got to see some of the cars that were used in the Batman movies, which we all amazing to see. Even more impressive was that all the cars we saw actually work and can be driven around.

Our tour continued into the prop department, which is where all the WB props from movies and shows are kept. It was interesting to find out that most of the props can actually be rented privately for parties etc. I could only wish to have a party in LA with some of the props they had available, it would make for a fun party. Also in the prop department is the Friends Central Perk cafe. This is no longer in the stage where they filmed, but it is recreated here, and we got our obligatory picture on the couch. The blackboard listing the specials is apparently the one that was used in the last show which has been preserved, so that was interesting to see too.

Lastly we got to see an actual stage where the shows are filmed. We got to see the Big Bang Theory stage, which was amazing to see. The set is all in one line basically. So you have a built portion of Sheldon & Leonards apartment, then the corridor and the Penny’s Apartment. The ‘apartments’ seem so much smaller in real life than what they appear on the show. It made me wish that we had thought ahead to try and get some tickets to a taping. But either way it was very cool to see. Unfortunately you weren't allowed to take any pictures, so you will just need to use your imagination :)

After all that excitement we headed for some mexican food, which is plentiful in LA. We went to a chain called Rubio’s for some fish tacos and burritos. When we first tried the fish tacos, I didn’t know if I would enjoy them but they are delicious. If you get a chance to try them somewhere, definitely do.

Anyway we thought that we couldn’t pass up another opportunity for some exercise and views before we left LA, so decided to do a sunset trip to Runyon. We did the easy route this time, jogging down and walk/jogging back up (mostly walking on my part). I must say if I lived in LA I would definitely make use of this place as often as I could. It’s a really nice place to get some exercise in,and the views mean your mind isn’t focusing on the exercising you are doing :)

Since we had to drive about 800km the next day we thought an early night in would be a good idea, so we stopped to grab some pre made salads and a bottle of wine for us to enjoy on our way home. However when we got home our ‘landlord’ told us about a place called Roscoes which is famous for chicken and waffles, and is even more famous for Barack Obama visiting it! After realising it would be our last chance to visit, we decided that the salads could wait and went to check it out. It was a great experience. The restaurant makes you feel like you are walking in somewhere in the south, and the food was delicious. The comb of fried chicken and waffles shouldn’t work, but it does. It is delicious, and if you are ever in LA, I would definitely recommend a visit!