5000 Miles Away From the Beach.

Today marks one year to the day since I flew to California. One year ago I was sat in Heathrow Airport waiting for my flight to take me on my adventure, the biggest I've ever had. I was reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac, an American writer of the Beat Generation, and these words stood out to me, I've had the page bookmarked ever since:

"What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? - it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's good-by. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies." - Jack Kerouac, On the Road 

I thought of how appropriate the words were in that moment. Just a few hours before I had said goodbye to my family and I was now alone, but I was only excited for what awaited me. Going to the USA seemed like a dream come true, I had waited years for this and had completely surprised myself by not being nervous at all; I realised I was ready.

Just a few highlights

Now this quote is relatable again. It reminds me of all the people I've met and had to say goodbye to over the last year, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I've had the time of my life and had experiences I could only dream of before. I can't believe it's been a year since I went, time has flown by. It has been a hectic, crazy time and I've struggled to keep up with this blog but I'm determined to finish it, even if it is a little late!

I now have to look forward to what comes next, to keep the memories I have made, the lessons I have learnt, and use them. I have to look towards another dream to pursue and I have a few, most of them involve travelling of course. I think once you've experienced just how easy it is to pack up a car or book a cheap plane ticket and go see a new place in a day, a weekend or a week you don't want to stop seeing new things. It's a big world we live in and I want to continue to experience, in Jack Kerouac's words, the "crazy ventures" it can bring.

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." - Henry Miller

I have two more posts on New York and San Francisco and then I will finally have finished documenting my time in America, 5000 miles away at The Beach!

Warner Bros. Studio Tour.

Being the huge film and television fan that I am I'd wanted to visit the Warner Bros. studios for the whole year I was in the USA. Getting to see the sets and some of the things that go on behind the scenes is a really great experience! It's really interesting to see the streets which are featured on screen so often, and you realise just how much work goes into making the set look as realistic as possible and how quickly it must be done. It's cool to see how it transforms onto the screen. The tour around Warner Bros. was well worth the money; I had been so excited to go and it lived up to my expectations, maybe even exceeded them as I saw the sets of some of my favourite TV shows such as The Big Bang Theory and Friends. Yes, Friends was completely filmed in Burbank, LA, it was never actually filmed in New York! It's pretty amazing how they can deceive the audience by using a few establishing shots every now and then throughout an episode! 

I couldn't take as many photos of the sets and studios as I would have liked as photography isn't allowed in some areas, however it wasn't too much of a problem as I was too busy looking around anyway!

The Iconic Warner Bros. Water Tower

The studio has a long history, founded in 1923, it has continued to expand and has remained one of the most dominating studios in the industry, producing many of the most famous films and television shows we know and love. The studio has won Academy Awards for Best Picture for several films including Casablanca (1943), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Million Dollar Baby (2004), The Departed (2006) and Argo (2012). Visiting a place where so many classics have been made and also where some of your current favourites are being filmed is quite surreal. If you want to experience Hollywood to the fullest doing a tour of a film studio is a must, and you may even spot a star along the way. The two other main studios where you can do tours are Paramount and Universal. I only did the latter which I found a lot less impressive than Warner Bros. as its less intimate, you are unable to get off the cart and walk around and from my experience you don't see as much. We went to Warner Bros. at the end of May so not much was actually being filmed at that time as most shows are on hiatus for the summer. The majority of the sets were being used for Pretty Little Liars as they film at this time. I enjoyed that as I watch the show, however every tour is different, especially depending on what time of the year you go, so I would really like to go again one day! I also regret not getting to see a live taping at some point in the year as they're free, you just have to apply for tickets, so my hope is to do that one day. One of my favourites, The Big Bang Theory has three more seasons to go so I'm hoping I can get back to see that before it ends! Fingers crossed!

When you arrive at the studio you are greeted by one of the most iconic Warner Bros. characters, Bugs Bunny and then the tour begins at the shop which has merchandise from all the popular shows. You're shown a video about the history and successes of Warner Bros. and then you are led to the cart which will take you on the tour.

Bugs Bunny

Firstly, you are shown around the buildings which act as the New York set and have been featured many times, such as in Friends. The space is created to be adaptable so it can easily be changed to what is needed for each particular project. We were also taken through what is known as "The Jungle" which is only a small area but on screen it can look like the characters are in a large forest and there is also a lagoon which can be filled with water when needed.

A New York Street

We drove past some of the production offices and spotted Chuck Lorre's cart parking space and office who is the creator of The Big Bang Theory.

Chuck Lorre's Cart Parking Space

We then arrived in the area which acts as a Midwest town centre. It has been used in Gilmore Girls as the town "Stars Hollow" and is now being used in Pretty Little Liars as "Rosewood".

Set used in Pretty Little Liars

School Set used in Pretty Little Liars

The Church used in Gilmore Girls and Pretty Little Liars

Near the town square is the house which is used as Emily's in Pretty Little Liars. We were actually allowed to take a look inside and we were told that the staircase was the one used in the Friends episode "The One with the Prom Video" which was cool to see as I remember the episode well (probably due to watching all those reruns!) I've included a clip from the episode so you can see how it came to look on screen!

The Staircase from Friends Episode "The One with the Prom Video"

Screenshots of Ross in "The One With the Prom Video"

We were shown the workshops and design studio where they build the interior sets, and also the props building where all the things that bring the sets to life are stored. They also have some of the popular props on display to see, such as the newspaper street boxes from Batman.

Lighting Props

Batman Props

One of the highlights of the tour was being able to go into the "Central Perk" set from Friends and sit on the famous couch. It was so surreal to be surrounded by a set which I had seen on TV so many times.

Central Perk

Central Perk Set

Central Perk Set

Central Perk Set, featuring Phoebe's guitar

Sitting on the famous couch

We also saw "The Friends Stage" where the show was filmed with a live audience for the majority of the episodes. We actually got to go inside the soundstage where The Big Bang Theory is filmed and saw the set which, although partially packed away as they were on hiatus for the summer months was really amazing as I'm a big fan and I hadn't expected to see it! I wasn't allowed to take photos but we saw Leonard and Sheldon's apartment, Penny's apartment, the hallway with the broken elevator and also the comic book store. 

The Friends Stage

The final stop was at the studio museum which has iconic costumes and props from many films and television shows including The Great Gatsby, Gravity, Harry Potter, Gossip Girl, The Big Bang Theory and of course Friends. 

Friends Props and Costumes

Friends: Poster from Monica's Apartment and Costumes of Ross, Rachel and Chandler

Friends: Monica and Chandler's Wedding Invitation, Draft of Wedding Speech by Joey, Sign hung by Monica

Friends: Rachel's Baby Scan and Emma's Crib Tag and Baby Bracelet, Ross' Employee Badge, Bracelet bought for Chandler by Joey, Bottle of Monkeyshine from the advert featuring Ross' Monkey

Signed Scripts from Friends

The Big Bang Theory: Painting Amy has done for Penny

Gossip Girl: Costumes for Serena and Blair and Dan's book, Inside

Pretty Little Liars Costumes

Harry Potter: Hermione

Next up is NEW YORK!!

Roadtrip up the Pacific Coast Highway: Santa Monica, Malibu and Santa Barbara.

We had wanted to do this trip for months and so after university had finished we finally had the time to actually plan it and go. We wanted to drive up the Pacific Coast Highway, famous for its beautiful coastal scenery to Santa Barbara, stopping along the way at Santa Monica and Malibu. 

Our first stop was Santa Monica, we walked along the pier, famous for being the end of Route 66 and went on the Ferris Wheel which had amazing views of the LA area, mountains and coast. We then had fun relaxing on some swings on the beach. We also walked down the main street which is great for shopping and got a burrito at Chipotle for lunch.

Santa Monica Pier

Route 66

Santa Monica Ferris Wheel

View from the Santa Monica Ferris Wheel

Waves

Santa Monica's Main Street

We then drove further up the coast to Malibu which is known for its beautiful beaches and stopped to have a walk along the beach.

Malibu Beach

Surf/Swim

Driving up Pacific Coast Highway

We had booked to stay in the Holiday Inn at Carpinteria which is before Santa Barbara on the coast. We dropped our bags in the room and walked down to the beach to watch the sunset. The view of the mountains on the way really reminded me of those in Hawaii, it was hard to believe we were not even that far from LA. It was a quiet town with not much to do but it had a great beach for the sunset. We found a spot and had fun taking photos. We went to I-Hop to have pancakes for dinner and then went back to the hotel to relax in the hot tub under the stars.

The Mountains of Carpinteria

Carpinteria Sunset

Silhouettes

The next day after breakfast we continued driving and reached Santa Barbara. It was a very windy day making the walk down the pier a bit of a struggle, however it was clear just how picturesque the town was, with the mountains, ocean and old style Spanish buildings. It almost felt like you were in another country.

Santa Barbara Pier

We stopped by Tourist information to get some information, we were given a map and told to start at Santa Barbara's Courthouse in the Old Town which is a lovely area with lots of shops and restaurants.

Old Town Santa Barbara

The Courthouse, built in 1926 after an earthquake destroyed the earlier building, is an example of how the town has been influenced by the Spanish Colonial style. It has beautiful interior decoration with patterned ceilings and walls, large murals and also tile mosaics. The mural room's paintings reveal some of Santa Barbara's interesting history and the extensive murals make the space very dramatic. However, the most impressive part of the Courthouse is perhaps the view from the clock tower. You can see 360 degrees, to the coast, the mountains and to all the pretty tiled buildings of Santa Barbara.

Courthouse

Patterns

The Mural Room

Mountain View from the Clock Tower

Ocean View from the Clock Tower

After we had visited the Courthouse we walked through a little area, La Arcada, which had some nice small shops and restaurants. There was even a fountain which had turtles swimming inside. The atmosphere was very relaxed and felt quite European.

La Arcada

Mozart Trio

We went to the Santa Barbara Mission after lunch. Built in 1786 it was the tenth mission of twenty-one in California, which sought to convert Native Americans to Christianity to help their attempt at colonisation. Over the years parts of the mission have been rebuilt due to earthquake damage. The missions are the oldest buildings in California and have historical significance for the state. This was the second mission I had been to and it was smaller than the first, however still interesting and pretty to see. It is intriguing to see some of California's history, where it began and how it has influenced the state to this day.

Santa Barbara Mission

A Franciscan Friar

Spanish Colonial Style

The Chapel

I loved this road trip, the places we visited were so picturesque and I wish we could have gone for longer. I'd like to drive all the way up Highway 1 to San Francisco so I guess it just means I'll have to go back and do it one day!!