USA Car Hire Holidays

• Route 66 – find out more about this legendary American highway.
• California Highway 1 – learn about one of America’s most scenic roads.
• The Florida Keys – explore U.S Highway 1 on a trip from Miami to Key West.
• The Blue Ridge Parkway – learn more about one of the most beautiful drives in the U.S.A.
• The Seward Highway – find out more about this National Scenic Byway in Alaska.

You can also read about Florida’s famous A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway and the adjoining Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail in our in-depth series of posts:

• Florida’s A1A – Orlando to Ponte Vedra Beach
• Florida’s A1A – St. Augustine
• Florida’s A1A – St. Augustine to Flagler Beach
• Florida’s A1A – Flagler Beach
• Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail – Part 1
• Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail – Part 2
• Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail – Part 3

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is another extremely popular and world-famous tourist attraction. It stretches from Gower Street to La Brea Avenue on both sides of Hollywood Boulevard, and from Sunset Boulevard to Yucca Street on both sides of Vine Street. If you are visiting Grauman’s Chinese Theater, you’ll notice the stars on the pavement outside.

It consists of more 2,300 pink and bronze stars, each of which is embedded in a charcoal and pink terazzo square on the pavement. Each star contains the name of a person, a band, a character, or a radio or TV show.

As well as the name of the person being honoured, each star includes a symbol, representing the category in which they are being honoured: a movie camera for those being honoured for their contribution to the motion picture industry; a television set for the TV industry; a record for the recording industry; a radio microphone for the radio industry; and comedy and tragedy masks for live theatre.

Work began on the Walk of Fame in 1960 and during the sixteen months after the official groundbreaking ceremony, 1,558 stars were put in place. The first person to have a star on the Walk of Fame was the actress Joanne Woodward. More stars have been added every year since then, at a rate of about 20 per year.

If you are visiting the Hollywood Walk of Fame, here are just some of the stars that you can look out for: Charlie Chaplin (6751 Hollywood Boulevard); Elvis Presley (6777 Hollywood Boulevard); Michael Jackson (6927 Hollywood Boulevard); Johnny Depp (7018 Hollywood Boulevard); Marilyn Monroe (6774 Hollywood Boulevard); James Dean (1719 Vine Street); The Doors (6901 Hollywood Boulevard); Britney Spears (6801 Hollywood Boulevard); David Bowie (7021 Hollywood Boulevard); and John Lennon (1750 Vine Street).

Some people have more than one star on the Walk of Fame, as they have been honoured for their work in more than one category. Walt Disney, for example, has two stars – one for his contribution to the motion picture industry (at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard) and one for his contribution to television (6747 Hollywood Boulevard). Gene Autry has the most stars on the Walk of Fame, with stars in each of the five categories.

The desicion about which celebrities will appear on the Walk of Fame is made annually, in June, and ceremonies are then held throughout the year. If you are visiting Los Angeles, it’s worth checking to see whether or not any ceremonies will be taking place whilst you are there, as they are open to the public.

The new stars to appear on the Walk of Fame in 2010 will honour the following (the categories for which they were nominated appear in brackets):

James Cameron (Motion Pictures); Russell Crowe (Motion Pictures); John Cusack (Motion Pictures); Colin Firth (Motion Pictures); Gale Ann Hurd (Motion Pictures); Alan Menken (Motion Pictures); Randy Newman (Motion Pictures); Adam Sandler (Motion Pictures); Emma Thompson (Motion Pictures); Mark Wahlberg (Motion Pictures); Chris Berman (Television); Jon Cryer (Television); Peter Graves (Television); Jimmy Kimmel (Television); Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Television); Bill Maher (Television); Sam Waterston (Television); Bryan Adams (Recording); The Funk Brothers (Recording); Alan Jackson (Recording); Chaka Khan (Recording); Van Morrison (Recording); Marco Antonio Solis (Recording); Ringo Starr (Recording); ZZ Top (Recording); Roy Orbison (Recording); Andrea Bocelli (Live Performance/Theater); and Cirque du Soleil/Guy Laliberte (Live Performance/Theater).

Hollywood Boulevard is a must-see destination for anyone visiting Los Angeles for the first time. One of its best-known attractions is Grauman’s Chinese Theater (6925 Hollywood Boulevard), and this is a great place to head first. Grauman’s Chinese Theater (also sometimes referred to as Mann’s Chinese Theater) was designed by Sid Grauman and opened in 1927. On its opening night, it hosted the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille’s “The King of Kings“, and it hosted many more film premieres in years to come. It now attracts more than 4 million visitors each year.

Look out for the two giant Heaven Dogs at the entrance – these were flown in from China, along with other items such as pagodas and temple bells. There is also a 30ft stone dragon between the theatre’s red columns.

Probably the most famous aspect of Grauman’s Chinese Theater is its forecourt, which is known as “Forecourt of the Stars”, where you can see the footprints and handprints of many of the world’s biggest stars. The first stars to leave their prints in the cement outside of the theatre were Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks in a ceremony held on the 30th of April, 1927.

Over the years, celebrities such as Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, Bing Crosby, Clark Gable, Fred Astaire. Ginger Rogers, Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Steve McQueen, Marilyn Monroe, Jack Nicholson, Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, Richard Gere, Johnny Depp and Samuel L. Jackson have added their prints. It’s not just prints of stars’ hands and feet that you’ll see there, either – look out for some more unusual prints, such as the tyre treads of R2D2 from “Star Wars”, the imprint of Groucho Marx’s cigar and the hoofprints of Trigger next to the signature of Roy Rogers.

Grauman’s Chinese Theater is still used for many film premieres. Recent screenings include the premieres of “Drag Me to Hell”, “The Hangover” and “Bruno”. You can also see a movie at the cinema or take a VIP tour if you book in advance.

The forecourt of Grauman’s Chinese Theater is usually packed with tourists and you’ll notice a number of people dressed up as characters from movies, who will try and persuade you to pay to have your photo taken with them. There are also usually representatives from some of the companies that operate tours of the movie stars’ homes selling tickets for their tours.

In future posts, we’ll take a look at some of the other attractions that you can see on Hollywood Boulevard.

Image: American Eagle of LA

Los Angeles is situated in the State of California, on the West Coast of the USA. Nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles’ most famous area is Hollywood, the home of the movie business and an area known for its celebrity hangouts. Other famous areas of Los Angeles include Beverly Hills and Bel-Air (where you can see the homes of the rich and famous), and the adjoining beach cities of Santa Monica, Venice and Malibu.

L.A. is a truly diverse city, with attractions to suit everyone, so it’s a great place to visit. You can stroll on the beach in the Californian sun, visit museums and famous landmarks, shop until you drop in designer or stores and eclectic boutiques,  visit the world-famous theme parks located just outside of the city, or enjoy a night out at one of the fantastic clubs and bars.

Airlines including Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and American Airlines operate flights between London’s Heathrow Airport and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The flight takes about ten hours and will cost in the region of £400 – £500 per person.

When you are planning your trip to Los Angeles, remember that your passport must be valid for at least six months after your travel date and, in order to enter the USA, UK residents now need to apply for authorisation in advance as part of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). You can apply for this online via the US Department of Homeland Security’s Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) website. It’s easy to do and is free of charge.

When planning your trip, it’s a good idea to work out which attractions you’d particularly like to visit and find out exactly where they are. As Los Angeles is so big, it’s worth considering breaking up your holiday by staying in more than one area of the city, or even spending a few days in another location. You may want to spend a few days in West Hollywood or Beverly Hills, then head to Santa Monica for a few days. You might also want to head out of Los Angeles spend some time in the city of Anaheim (home of the Disneyland Resort) or experience a different aspect of California with a stay at Big Bear Mountain.

In later posts, we’ll take an in-depth look at some of the things you can see and do in and around Los Angeles, and provide you with some hints and tips to help you to make the most of your stay.

Image by: Nserrano

The prize includes return flights from London to Los Angeles, shuttle transfers and accommodation for four nights. Runners-up prizes include Iron Man DVDs and merchandise.

You can enter the competition by completing the online form. Entries must be received by 30 December 2008.

If you hire a car in Los Angeles you can drive to San Francisco to see attractions such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and Fisherman’s Wharf, whilst seeing some of the most beautiful views that the USA has to offer en route.

It will take you about nine hours to drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco via this route if you don’t stop, but there are so many things to see along the way that it’s best to take a few days in order to experience it properly. There are plenty of places where you can stay along the way, and doing this will provide you with a fantastic contrast between Californian city life and life in some of the small, picturesque towns and villages.

If you hire a car at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), you can join the route there and drive through the beach cities of Santa Monica and Malibu towards Oxnard. The seaside city of Oxnard has restaurants, hotels, cafes and shops, and you can visit the historic Heritage Square.

Continuing along the Pacific Coast Highway in your hire car will take you to the historic city of Santa Barbara, which was originally a Mission, and on to the small community of Morro Bay. From here, you’ll head on to the most scenic section of the route, which will take you through Cambria, past the famous Hearst Castle and on through the beautiful Big Sur area, which is famous for its rugged coastline and its wildlife.

The route then takes you to the seaside town of Carmel, which is a perfect place for a stopover, past the city of Monterey and on to Santa Cruz, which is famous for its beach boardwalk. From here, you’ll enter the San Francisco Bay area, where you’ll drive through a number of picturesque coastal towns, and into San Francisco itself.

After exploring the city, you can then either drive back to Los Angeles, return your hire car and fly back to Los Angeles, or finish your holiday here and fly home.

If you’re thinking of taking a roadtrip along the Pacific Coast Highway, car hire firm Easycar will allow you to pick up your hire car in Los Angeles and drop it off at San Francisco Airport.

Image courtesy of© Alexandr Tkachuk | Dreamstime.com