Sand and Stars

Day 2: Friday, February 12

Big squishy hugs were given and received when we got to see our Pepperdine girlie! 

We were given the 2¢ tour of Liesey's apartment before we headed to Pacific Palisades to have breakfast at Maison Giraud -- one of the best places, aside from traveling all the way to France, to get a yummy, flaky, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth authentic French croissant. We were not disappointed. 

We simply had to sample several different kinds of baked goods (Gluten? What gluten?!), but the consensus was that the chocolate and plain croissants are the best of the best of the best. Not a single crumb was wasted.

The French toast is pretty fabulous, too! 

After breakfast, we drove north along the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu to visit a few favorite beaches. Zuma and Westward Beaches are both nice, but the best photo ops were found at El Matador State Beach. The rock formations and magnificent waves were oh, so picturesque. And best of all, we found some happy faces to photograph.

We then headed to Venice Beach just for comparison sake; however, there is no comparison between the beaches in Malibu and Venice. People watching IS a bit more "colorful & interesting" at Venice Beach -- no contest there!

Our SoCal tour guide needed to leave us in the early afternoon, as she had a dance performance to get ready for on Friday night. When we were back on our own, we drove into LA to find Neapolitan pizza at a plain Jane warehouse looking restaurant. Cheap, fast, plentiful, tasty, and gluten-laden all describe our experience at DeSano Pizza Bakery. (I had already declared that this would be a day for allowing gluten into my diet, so I went in with knowing what I was in for. No regrets.)

After eating all that bread, it was time for a walk. There are nearly 2,400 stars/names covering 3.5 miles of the Walk of Fame. I don't think that we saw every single one. I lost count! However, we saw a good representation. 

Elvis, Bob Hope, Lassie, Mickey Mouse, Harrison Ford, Ronald Reagan, and of course Marilyn Monroe are some of the big names that we walked all over. 

Grauman's Chinese Theatre might now be called TCL Chinese Theatre, but the hand and footprints on the front sidewalk of the theatre haven't changed since the first impressions were made in 1927. Again we saw a lot of names, but most are ones I did not recognize.

We made one quick detour before heading back to our guest cottage accommodations. We (quite literally) drove by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to see Chris Burden's "Urban Light." This sculpture incorporates 202 restored 1920s and 1930s street lamps. It is...well...enlightening.