TA K E T IME T O R E SE A R C H Y OUR R OU T E S , A ND S C HE DUL E A MPL E T IME T O GE T W HE R E Y OU’R E G OING . TA X IS A ND R IDE SH A R ING A PP S S UC H A S UBE R OR LY F T A R E T HE T OUR IS T ’ S F R IE ND .
PHOTOGRAPH BY TREKANDSHOOT | DREAMSTIME
PHOTOGRAPH BY LAURA JEAN HOCKING
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The awakening city thrums with activity and promise. During final approach, you see it on the right: a sign on a distant hill, just big enough to be legible: HOLLYWOOD. Los Angeles is a fairyland built out of the desert and dreams. It’s hard to imagine a more awesome place. Then you’re dumped into L.A.’s Monday morning rush hour traffic. According to NOAA, the weather in Los Angeles is sunny 73 percent of the time. Without the changing weather to discuss, small talk in L.A. inevitably turns to traffic. Like Memphis weather, it’s highly variable and occasionally life threatening. Getting around this sprawling tangle of a metropolis quickly and efficiently requires both years of practice and a willingness to improvise. GPS helps, and some old L.A. hands will tell you that the widespread use of Google Maps’ real-time traffic information feature has actually smoothed the flow of travel a little bit. But the bottom line is this: It’s challenging for a newbie to get around. Take time to research your routes, and schedule ample time to get where you’re going. Taxis and ridesharing apps such as Uber or Lyft are the tourist’s friend. The good news? There’s so much to see and do in L.A, you’re going to be close to something fun no matter where you’re staying.
UNI V E R S A L A P P E A L
ixty one years after it opened, Disneyland remains one of L.A.’s marquee-level attractions. But Universal Studios is busy challenging the House of Mouse’s dominance. Giving the public a peek at a working movie-production house has been a tradition at Universal since the studio was founded, with the modern tram tours dating from 1965. The Bates Motel and Bruce, the mechanical shark from Jaws, remain the star attractions, but they are joined every year by new filmic landmarks, such as an unnervingly realistic crashed airplane set from Stephen Spielberg’s version of War of The Worlds. In the Universal theme park, the lifesized recreation of Springfield from The Simpsons has been a big hit. But it’s the newly opened “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” that could prove to be a game-changer. The generation of kids whose imaginations grew up in Hogwarts can now visit the magic school, zoom through a quiddich match with their hero, get their own wand at Ollivanders, and feast on shephard’s pie and butterbeer at the The Three Broomsticks. The Wizarding World has been hopping since it opened earlier this spring, so be sure you get your tickets in advance. And we thought Memphis had long commutes. Traffic in Los Angeles can be a bit challenging for tourists.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROZA | DREAMSTIME
Frankenstein’s Monster casually strolls through the Universal Studios back lot. The famous Studio Tour is a Los Angeles must-see.
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