Day 2 - Hollywood & Universal Studios

As a sufferer of jet-lag I was awake by 4.00am. We decided not to have the buffet breakfast at the hotel which was around $10 and went to the Promenade Café on the Queen Mary 1 instead. It was a lovely setting although they too had a coach tour to cater for and the service was therefore a little slow. The food was very good. We had to be back at the hotel early as the bus left at 8.10am for the day’s included excursion. It is best to note here that there was a daily seating plan which rotated the group by two rows daily. This was to ensure that seating was fair for everyone. Whilst most people seemed happy with the arrangement, this did not suit all passengers. Geoff was happy to take specific seating requests and would accommodate if reasonable. We went to Hollywood Bowl first and met the local Tour Guide (Kirt). Then we went to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and Hollywood Boulevard. From there we toured some stars’ homes en route to the Farmer’s Market where we stayed for lunch. This is where we left Kirt. Kirt did provide recommendations for lunch and therefore went to Magee’s for sandwiches. They were very good. Everyone was back on the bus by 12.30pm so we could arrive at Universal Studios by 1.00pm. Once there Geoff went for the tickets and handed them around on the bus. He offered people the opportunity to tour the Studios with him and we said that we would prefer to do our own thing. This was fine with Geoff who understood we were used to independent travel. Universal Studios in Hollywood is much better than in Orlando, as is City Walk. There is no second park such as Islands of Adventure though. We were asked to meet at 6.00pm for the trip back to the hotel and even when our bus was late picking us up, we were back to the hotel for 7.00pm. My husband and I got the free Passport bus to Long Beach and went to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. for Dinner. We had a lovely meal and reasonably priced. There were only bars and restaurants open in the evening in Long Beach so we went back to the hotel to catch up on sleep.