Leaving Santa Monica, my husband and l followed the Pacific Coast Highway south to Beverly Hills. I have always enjoyed pop culture and was excited to see some of the sights in person.
The Beverly Hilton
The venue of the annual Golden Globes Awards ceremony, The Beverly Hilton has been a favorite destination for celebrities since its opening in 1955. President John F. Kennedy once called the property the “western White House.” It is also where Whitney Houston died.
Rodeo Drive
Turning onto Rodeo Drive, the palm trees lining the road were Southern California personified. Mister Rain called out the store names as we passed them: Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Prada, Versace, Dior, Valentino, Fendi. I was able to make out large cement balls on the sidewalk near the curb, but there was most definitely not a Target on this street.
Beverly Wilshire Hotel
Completed in 1928, the Beverly Wilshire Hotel has been used as a shooting location for films and television series.
In 1966, Sandy Koufax, the star pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, announced his sudden retirement from baseball at the age of 30. Elvis Presley and Warren Beatty lived here for several years, John Lennon for several months.
Passing the Beverly Hills Wilshire, even with my limited vision, I instantly recognized it as the hotel that is in Pretty Woman. I am Pretty sure I could still pick Richard Gere out of a lineup too.
SUR Restaurant
Having watched The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills since season 1, I wanted to see one of Lisa Vanderpump’s restaurants. SUR was the first to come to mind but when Mister Rain told me it was all boarded up, I remembered that it had closed. It was still nice to see it; I had watched many scenes that had been filmed here. Though SUR’s address is technically West Hollywood, with its owner unmistakably attached to Beverly Hills, I am going to call this one 9021-close-enough.
Although we would do a few other things in the area (stay tuned!), I wish we would have had more time to spend “in town.” We did our best to see as much as we could. Not doing so would have been a big mistake. Big. Huge.
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