www.Aviawest.com
Window shopping in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills has been home to the stars (and the ultra rich producers and promoters who can also afford to live there) since the original Beverly Hills Hotel was built back in 1912 in the midst of what was then an apple orchard. Movies aren’t made on Hollywood movie lots any more (it’s a tawdry area full of cheap tourist junk) but many Hollywood stars still live in nearby Beverly Hills. Of all the attractions in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills may be the most scenic, and it costs nothing to window shop.
Sometimes real movie stars can be sighted in the fashionable shopping district centred on Rodeo Drive.
On a leisurely stroll up and down the drive you may spot a real celebrity, but more than likely you will see a lot of very good looking people who resemble movie stars. This is not a suburban shopping mall where you can amble around in faded jeans and flip flops with a baseball cap. Be sure to bring - and wear - some fashionable threads if you want to feel comfortable in Beverly Hills.
Every major brand from Faberge to Versace operates a swank signature store on Rodeo Drive, usually with large, well-dressed and handsome doormen standing in the doorway barring from entry those who look like gawkers, not real shoppers. Even many of the clerks and waiters in the "Golden Triangle" look and dress like movie stars.
A one-hour narrated tour via trolley of the stars' homes in Beverly Hills will show you what it’s like to live in 90210: America’s toniest postal code. Your tour guide will spin stories about past movie stars and their outrageous behaviour, and point out Clark Gable’s former mansion with its high walls, but chances are they won’t tell you where the stars live today.
To perhaps catch a glimpse of an up and coming star, pop by the Aquastar pool at the Beverly Hills Hilton. This is the biggest swimming pool in town, where you may find young wannabes sunning themselves in deckchairs. The Hilton’s spa treatments are also reputed to be the best in town, but don’t forget your chequebook. It might help if you actually stayed at the Hilton, which is remarkably well priced if you ask nicely.
Simply strolling around the streets of Beverly Hills, whether window shopping or star watching, is entirely free. Expect to see lots of other tourists doing the same thing. Be discreet with your camera and you’ll come home with some amazing photos. Just don’t go into the stores or you’ll come home with some amazing credit card bills.
- Photos & text by Michael McCarthy©
