I love going to Las Vegas....this was my third trip. The trick is to pre-book the big shows, and not to gamble. If you don't gamble, and have all your big shows paid for, it can be a really cheap holiday. This trip we stayed in a gated community and looked after a friends house, car and dog. Getting away from the strip to an actual private house was just bliss. I swam and sunbaked every day, shopped in the afternoon, and went to shows each night. I also rediscovered Las Vegas in a way, as we had a big Audi to drive around in. Their are antique and collectables shops along Charleston Avenue that I discovered , and of course the big book stores have great books on historic Las Vegas, that really interests me. I made sure I went and saw a little old Casino called The Sahara, that Marlene Dietrich opened at in The Congo Room in the 50's. Its a beautiful casino, but it needs to be restored to its former glory as its heyday is over, and now its very sleazy sadly.....The strip is always forever changing, and it makes me sad when I hear that another old casino has been lost. But being is Las Vegas gives me a natural high..my heart starts pumping faster...and I just get lost in a world of total enjoyment.
These photos are from Hollywood, L.A Brentwood and Rodeo Drive. The two houses are from two famous films. The white house was used as Joan Crawford's (Faye Dunaway's) house in Mommie Dearest. Joan's real house at tree lined 426 N, Bristol Ave Brentwood had sadly just been torn down. The other cream house is the Baby Jane and Blanche Hudson residence from the Bette Davis and Joan Crawford 1962 movie 'Whatever happened to Baby Jane'. It is located at 172 N McCadden Place in West Hollywood. We also saw Marilyn Monroe's house from a rear laneway, but it is very hard to find. You will notice a window display on Rodeo Drive for Elizabeth Taylor jewelry. I love the facade of Hollywood High. It shows former pupils Dorothy Dandridge, Lana Turner, Carol Burnett, Cher, Bruce Lee, Valentino and Judy Garland. I came across the bronze life size statue outside the Hollywood Museum of Marilyn Monroe by accident.
