What a day!

Saturday was my day in L.A.   First stop was the Disney Concert Hall and the LA Music Center.  The Symphonium group offers free architectural tours on Saturdays at 10:30.   I arrived early to wander the area and take in the beautiful exterior.  Below is a panorama of the entire concert hall.

The tour, depending on the day, actually takes you through all 4 venues of the LA Music Center.  The Disney Concert Hall with it gorgeous pipe organ (see below), Dorothy Chandler Pavillion (former home of the Oscars), the Ahmanson Theatre, and the Mark Taper Forum.  Luck held out and I was able to visit all 4 venues.  If you're in LA, and have a couple of hours, take the tour!

After the tour, I made my way over to Burbank for the D23 film screening - Swiss Family Robinson.  Last time I was on the Walt Disney Studios lot was 1989.  Still looks like I remember it.  Here I am at the corner of Mickey Ave and Dopey Drive, with the animation building in the background.  Billy, one of the D23 staffers working the event, was nice enough to take a picture of me at that infamous sign (and creative he is). 

I met up with some old and new friends after the screening, and we headed to a landmark in Burbank - Bob's Big Boy.  This particular Bob's was built in 1949.  I didn't know any of them were still open.  We got there at the right time, as there was a crowd outside when we left.  We then headed into Hollywood to pay a visit to Disney's Soda Fountain and Studio Store.  This ice cream shop is right next door to the El Capitan Theater, and across the street from the Kodak Theater.  You can even see Donald Duck's own star right out front! 

Tomorrow - a step back in time, and then on to San Diego.