Universal Studios’ studio tour is within the them park.So here we are.Bird of prey.Lots of palm trees. California, after all!It seems like these photo op wings are everywhere now!1939 Duesenberg Model J, the actual car from The Mummy, 1999.So here we go…The back lot, just a lot of studio buildings.A set used in numerous shows and movies.The facades.Back of a facade.We went through several “3D” adventures, using special 3D glasses, so the pictures are very clear. The first action was King Kong 360 vs. the dinosaurs.Cars from various movies. Here, American Graffiti and Magnum P.I.The FlinstonesHarry PotterScenes from Jurassic Park.Demonstration of a flood.Another set.“Bones” set.“Bones” action.“Bones” action“Jaws” scene.Bates Motel from “Psycho”.Norman Bates on his porch.Disaster scene used by numerous shows and movies, including Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds”.“Fast and Furious Supercharged”.Back in the theme park. Pretty large section for The Simpsons.Despicable MeA minionPetsThe Harry Potter train and conductor.HogwartsChimneys.
The Getty Museum is one of the top things to see when you are in Los Angeles. The museum holds many exceptional works of art. We were here just a little over two hours, but you can easily spend all day, or more than one day seeing everything.Perhaps the most famous and most valuable piece in the museum. Irises, 1889 by Vincent Van Gogh. It is estimated to be worth more that $70 million. Van Gogh painted this after he cut off his ear and spent time in an asylum in France. Oil on canvas.Bullfight, 1824 by Goya (Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes). Goya had a passion for the ritualized drama of bullfighting. Oil on canvas.Wheatstacks, Snow Effect, Morning, 1891, Claude Monet. This was the first of Monet’s series of thirty painting on this motif from 1890-1891. Oil on canvas.Self-Portrait, 1857-1858, Edgar Degas. In the 1850s and 1860s Degas painted nearly 20 self-portraits. Oil on paper, laid on canvas.Bust of Felix Mendelssohn, 1848, by Ernst Friedrich August Rietshel.The Farewell of Telemachus and Eucharis, 1818, by Jacques-Louis David. Oil on canvas.La Promenade, 1870, Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Oil on canvas.Jeanne (Spring), 1881, Edouard Manet. This portrait depicts actress Jeanne Demarsy as the fashionable embodiment of spring. Oil on canvas.Sunrise, 1873, Claude Monet. Depicts harbor of Le Havre in northern France. Oil on canvas.Christ’s Entry into Brussels in 1889, 1888-1890s, James Ensor. This painting imagines how the citizens of Brussels would respond to Christ’s Second Coming. Oil on canvas.Head of Saint John the Baptist, 1869, Jean-Baptist Chatigny. Dramatic display of the head of John the Baptist, as Herod’s step-daughter Salome had requested.The Vexed Man, after 1770, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt. Messerschmidt explored the expressive potential of the human face in a series of 69 “character heads” including this grimacing bust. The artist apparently had no intention of displaying these heads in public, apparently sculpting them to ward off his own mental demons.Modern Rome, 1839, Joseph Mallord William Turner. Oil on canvas.The Entry of the Animals into Noah’s Ark, 1613, Jan Brueghel the Elder. Oil on panel.The Sermon on the Mount, 1598, Jan Brueghel the Elder. Oil on copper.David with the Head of Goliath, 1645-1650, Guido Cagnacci. Oil on canvas.The Way to Calvary, 1610, Domenichino (Domenico Zampieri). Oil on copper.A Musical Group on a Balcony, 1622, Gerrit van Honthorst. This oil on panel painting is actually a ceiling painting, so this view is me from the floor looking up to the ceiling.Rembrandt Laughing, 1628, Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn. Oil on copper.Winter Scene on a Frozen Canal, 1620, Hendrick Avercamp. Oil on panel.Still Life with Cheeses, Artichoke, and Cherries, 1615, Clara Peters. Oil on panel. Peters was one of the preeminent female painters in Europe in the early 1600s, specializing in precise still life of everyday objects.French furniture from the Palace of Versailles, dating to the early 1700s.Portrait of Louis XIV, 1701 or later, After Hyacinthe Rigaud. Oil on canvas. Louis XIV is shown in ceremonial dress before his throne, surrounded by symbols of the monarchy, including a crown, scepters and a sword.Tables, a writing table and candle stands from the Palace of Versailles of Louis XIV.The Secret Cactus Garden at The Getty.
Every kid that grew up in the 1960s and 1970s recognizes this house. This was the house that the Brady family lived in on “The Brady Bunch”. It is a private residence, so is only good for a one-minute photo op!
This is a small courtyard honoring stars of TV over the years, including some of my favorites.Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball – Ricky and Lucy from I Love LucyJean Stapleton and Carroll O’Connor – Edith and Archie Bunker from All in the Family.Andy GriffithJohnny CarsonRed SkeltonBob HopeJack BennyDick Van Dyke, TV star of the 1960s, who was recently on The Masked Singer at 97 years old!
We had dinner Monday night at Smoke House Restaurant in Burbank, which is a popular location for TV and movie filming. In fact, the next day the restaurant was closed all day due to the filming of the TV show Quantum Leap.Smoke House is famous for its Garlic Cheese Bread.
