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This Spanish TV series about a family in the late 60s and 70s gives a great idea of how life in Madrid was at that time under Franco. Spaniards agree that all the details, from decor and furniture to footage of actual events, are spot on and a real nostalgia-fest, but the characters of the family themselves are also a real pull. If you speak some Spanish this is well worth watching.
Within Spain you may be able to track the series down in Fnac or the Corte Ingles, otherwise try the internet.
Tour the international headquaters of this news giant. The tour lasts approx 45 minutes taking in the CNN control room, special Efx studio where you see the technology used to produce on-air graphics, global news and weather. Children under 6 are not permitted on the tour.
www.cnn.com/studiotour
Tel: 404-827-2300
Go and have fun at Universal Studio, but if you're a movie fan and want to see a working movie and TV studio, visit Warner Bros. A guide takes you on a 2-hour tour of soundstages, sets, backlots and prop rooms when they're not in production. We saw a temporary exhibit of "Casablanca" props lent by collectors: Dooley Wilson's piano and Humphrey Bogart's tuxedo.
When we took the tour 10 years ago, Richard Thomas, star of the 1970s TV family drama "The Waltons" waved and said "Hi" as the tour van passed his movie backlot.
Since it's a working studio, Warner's limits the number of visitors to time-entry tours every half hour to reduce disrupting productions. Unfortunately, they don't allow children under 8.
Tickets are $42. Consider buying them in advance. Sometimes, same-day tickets sell out.
T-T-That's all Folks!
3400 Riverside Dr.
Burbank
(818) 972-8687
www2.warnerbros.com/vipstudiotour
Los Angeles? I have lived here for 12 years and it’s a great place to be; it has more theatres per capita than anywhere I know, more book shops, coffee shops and is the capital of world cinema.
Because it is the cinema capital – not counting Bollywood of course – there are many great movie houses with the latest screens and sound systems; you usually see movies here before anyone else on earth too.
My favourite cinemas are the ArcLight on Sunset Blvd at Vine and Laemmle’s Sunset 5 which is an ‘art house’ – you will see British movies like ‘Layer Cake’ and ‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ there and the latest blockbusters at the Arclight.
Weekend conversations and news bulletins report the movie box office like the football results and there are many programmes on the radio about money; the stock market, insurance and 'nine eleven' – but that’s only on National Public Radio which is the equivalent to the BBC – except it’s not run by licence fees; they have fund drives twice a year and if you are ever subject to a fund drive you would beg for the BBC and the licence system.
On the TV News nearly every day in Los Angeles they mention a murder – most of them are gang related so the best thing you can do is not go to South Central LA or even east LA; stay on the west side; it’s safer. But there are lots of guns here so don’t be too complacent. Apart from the police, who carry holstered pistols and some security guards at stores who sometimes carry guns, I have seen one gun in 12 years; that was shown to me by a fellow immigrant in the privacy of a house – oh yes there was that time when I was driving up Fairfax Avenue and I saw someone lying in the gutter with a policeman standing over him with a rifle – but I’d nearly forgotten about that!
I compare gun incidents to roads accidents in the UK; they are on the news, in the newspapers and you hear about them all the time but most of them are over by the time you arrive.
Los Angeles is full of crazy people – crazy in the nicest possible way; there is the guy who runs backwards everywhere: one day it rained so he called his run off but instead of going home forwards to get out of the rain quicker he ran backwards; now that’s dedication; there are people who like their coffee half caffeine and half decaff with a dash of mocha and a dash of vanilla – coffee is important to them and is a way of life.
I go to the Farmer’s Market every day on the corner of 3rd and Fairfax for my large decaff and a doughnut from Bob’s – right next to Patsy’s Pizza where James Dean took his last bite before heading off to become a legend on September 30th 1955; there are loads of places like that where something famous and infamous happened years ago.
I live around the corner from the hotel where Janice Joplin died from an overdose, I viewed an apartment where Devine died – in fact you will see mock hearses driving the tourists around showing them where so and so died.
Of course because I have that doughnut each day I have to go to the gym and there are plenty of those – only here you are not allowed to use mobile (cell) phones in the changing rooms; with so many celebrities around you never know who is in there getting changed and what part of their anatomy might be getting photographed.
Its a broadband TV channel dedicated to food in Sydney. It gives a virtual tour of Sydney restaurants. The chefs, the ambience, the food. Fantastic viewing.
On Location Tours specialise in guided tours to locations around New York and New Jersey which have been used in film and TV shows. I recently did the Sopranos and Sex and the City tours. If you're a fan of either show I would highly recommend them. The Sex and the City Tour is particularly good for finding out about good bars and restaurants in the city.
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