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Frankes Go To Hollywood

Photo by KIM FRANKE-FOLSTAD

Despite several visits to the West Coast, Kim Franke-Folstad (right, with her mother Doris Jean Franke) saw the city as a tourist - with all the Hollywood hokeyness that entails.

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By KIM FRANKE-FOLSTAD

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 11, 2008

LOS ANGELES - I have seen Bruce Willis' front gate and driveway.

Tom Cruise's roof.

And Ellen DeGeneres' Jeep.

Or, at least, I think I have.

Our StarLine Tours bus driver pointed them out and said it was so, and I have decided to believe him.

Hollywood is all about fantasy, after all. So I ogled Patrick Dempsey's manicured front lawn with the rest of his fans in our little van, snapped photos of his McDreamy house and hoped he would appear in a doorway and wave, maybe even wink.

He did not. And yet, I am wholly hooked on Hollywood.

Finally.

My older son, Ryan, has lived in Los Angeles for more than five years, and I have been there a dozen times. But until my most recent visit, I never stepped one foot inside the tourist traps. I never stooped to press my palms into Liz Taylor's cement handprints. I never purchased a single cheesy souvenir.

This time was different. This time, I brought my mom, Doris Jean Franke, to California with me to celebrate her 75th birthday and my upcoming (gulp) 50th. And because I knew it was what Mom would want, I finally saw the city as a tourist, with all the Hollywood hokeyness that entails.

The truth is, it was the best time I've ever had there - hands down. And I'm still trying to figure out how that happened. Because I am not the tourist type.

Maybe it's all my years in Florida - I like being a local, looking like a local, knowing the things locals know. I don't want anyone to see me squinting at a map with a camera strapped around my neck.

I like to play it cool.

This works for my L.A.-loving son, who is nothing if not cool.

He goes to the hot clubs because they're hot - not to see Lindsay or Paris. He knows who owns what restaurant because he likes good food, not celebrity owners. He gets good tickets to shows at the Hollywood Bowl so he can see the bands, not the stars seated nearby.

He's 29, good-looking, a lawyer with a gorgeous girlfriend. For him, it's about him, not the paparazzi's picks of the week.

And for me, usually, it's about him, too.

But my mom is a die-hard Hollywood fan. She started going to movies when she was 6, back when they cost a dime for a kid and 35 cents for an adult, and you might get a piece of Depression glass as a premium. She read Modern Screen and Photoplay magazines back in the day, and when she told my sister and me that she was Doris Day, we believed her because, gosh, her name was Doris, and she knew everybody in every old movie.

She still subscribes to Entertainment Weekly, and she knows the stars and their stories - who did what, where and with whom - from Ava Gardner to Angelina Jolie.

You don't take somebody like that and just drive her by the Hollywood sign. You do it up chocolate, as my father would say. And so we did.

That meant a little old and a little new - and, yes, a little cool, thanks to my hipster son. Here's what we recommend:

Stay in the heart of Hollywood

There are dozens of great places to stay in L.A. - your base will depend on your budget. Ours wasn't rock bottom, but we did have to be careful. The Hollywood Orchid Suites, at $129 a night for a two-bed suite, turned out to be a safe choice. Located on a (relatively) quiet street right behind the Hollywood & Highland Center, it's one of the few hotels with its own parking garage. We chose it because it's within walking distance of several of the destinations on our list, including the Hollywood Museum, the Hollywood Wax Museum, the Kodak Theatre and Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where most of the Hollywood tours start. (For bigger, better budgets, the Renaissance and Roosevelt hotels look fabulous.)

Hollywood Orchid Suites, 1-800-537-3052, http://www.orchidsuites.com

Take a bus tour

You can take a double-decker bus around town to get your bearings and to see landmarks like Universal Studios and Capitol Records. We were all about seeing celebrity homes, so Mom, my younger son, Ben, and I hopped on board a comfy StarLine Tours van for $35 each. Worth every penny. We saw P. Diddy's palace, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher's love shack, Dr. Phil's 11,000-square-foot Mediterranean manse and so many more in Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Bel Air; we heard the lowdown on every recent celebrity spinout and DUI arrest; and we got a nice little history lesson. Bea Arthur grows gorgeous roses! Peter Falk is a wild man! Kathy Bates and P. Diddy are neighbors! (Oh, come on, it's fun.)

StarLine Tours, 1-800-959-3131, www.starlinetours.com

Take time for the cheesy

The Hollywood Museum and the Hollywood Wax Museum get mixed reviews online and in guidebooks, so we weren't sure what to expect. We loved them both. The history museum is housed in the historical Max Factor building, and its first floor is an homage to the stars and their makeup. Don't let that scare you off! There's much more on other floors, including costumes from "Moulin Rouge" (the Nicole Kidman version), "Sweeney Todd" and many other movies. Just down the street, the wax museum is all about the photo op, and you can pose next to everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to Marilyn Monroe. (We did.) Some of the exhibits are dead-on, albeit dated. Others are just hard to figure: Sylvester Stallone is there, not as Rocky, not as Rambo, but as the rock-climbing guide in "Cliffhanger." If you can't afford the Hollywood museums, you can still have some fun people-watching. The whole area is a mecca for gawkers, hawkers and assorted oddballs. And the T-shirts are tres cheap.

Hollywood Museum, (323) 464-7776, thehollywoodmuseum.com

Hollywood Wax Museum, (323) 462-5991, hollywoodwax.com

To get a feel for old Hollywood, get out of Hollywood

We took a day away from L.A. and headed 250 miles up the coast to San Simeon to see the Hearst Castle - something Mom has dreamed about forever. First-time visitors to the home of newspaper publisher-politician-movie producer William Randolph Hearst will want to take the $20 "Experience Tour." (It was my second time and I still learned things.) You'll get to see the guesthouses where Hollywood stars including Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable and Cary Grant slept, and the pool where they played - but it's Hearst who will truly fascinate you. There are plenty of cozy inns to choose from in San Simeon and in nearby Cambria and Morro Bay. We stayed at the lovely Orchid Inn in San Simeon (a steal at $109 a night for a deluxe room with two queen beds) and dined at Robin's Restaurant in Cambria. Pricy, but perfect. Be sure to save a few hours to stroll around Cambria; it's filled with charming shops and galleries, and you can do some wine-tasting.

Hearst Castle, 1-800-444-4445, hearst-castle.org

Orchid Inn at San Simeon, 1-800-451-9900, orchidinnatsansimeon.com

Robin's Restaurant, (805) 927-5007, robinsrestaurant.com

To get a feel for new Hollywood, go to brunch

Also pricey, but a must, is Sunday brunch at the Viceroy Santa Monica. The beachalicious boutique hotel's restaurant, Whist, offers yet another opportunity to spot celebs - but more significantly, the brunch is a great way to relax and pamper yourself. You can dine inside or poolside; I've done both, and outside is better, but not by much. Did I mention unlimited champagne?

You'll also find good eats - and an "experience" at:

•Pace: This funky Laurel Canyon restaurant, pronounced PA-chay, is a hit with hipsters (and their mothers).

Apple Pan: Yeah, it's just a burger and fries at a big U-shaped lunch counter. And yet it isn't. The burger at this west L.A. diner is the best, for one thing. And the curmudgeonly, move-it-along wait staff is ridiculously reminiscent of Seinfeld's Soup Nazi.

Duke's, Malibu: Go for the view, stay for the nachos.

Joan's on Third: The only celebrities I've ever seen in Hollywood were at Joan's deli (oops, sorry, "gourmet marketplace") on busy West Third Street in Los Angeles. But you should go there because the food is delicious.

Whist at the Viceroy Santa Monica, (310) 260-7500, www.viceroysantamonica.com/dining/brunch.html

Pace, (323) 654-8583, peaceinthecanyon.com

Apple Pan, (310) 475-3585

Duke's, Malibu, (310) 317-0777, hulapie.com

Joan's on Third, (323) 655-2285, joansonthird.com

For a nice breather, drive south

Mom is a big fan of the Rev. Robert Schuller, so we headed south to Garden Grove to see the Crystal Cathedral, where his "Hour of Power" broadcast originates. The cathedral is a sight, both inside and out. Mom was moved, and so was I. The place is smaller on the inside than I pictured it, and grander on the outside. Go figure.

Crystal Cathedral, (714) 971-4000, crystalcathedral.org

Say, hello, to Hollywood (the sign)

You'll want to trek up into the hills to get a good view of - and your photo op with - the famed Hollywood sign. Ryan's directions: Take Laurel Canyon Boulevard up to Mulholland Drive and keep driving. After you pass Runyon Canyon Park, keep an eye out for the next lookout point on your right. Park there, then climb the steps for a view of the sign on one side and the Hollywood Bowl and downtown Los Angeles on the other. If the curvy roads scare you, there's an observation deck at Hollywood & Highland Center that's almost as good.

Don't forget to see a movie or two

Film fans love California because you can see movies that often don't make it to these parts. And you can see them on a better screen - especially if you go to the ArcLight Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard. Seating is reserved, the seats are wider and the whole experience is more comfortable. But any theater will do, really, because even for an ordinary movie, there is just a different feeling in the L.A. crowd. This is what they do, after all.

ArcLight Hollywood, arclightcinemas.com

And take your mom

OK, this one won't work for everyone, but for me, it was so sweet to have my mom there. I used her as an excuse to act like a no-holds-barred tourist, for one thing. But she is an interesting and interested travel companion, and her knowledge of old movies and Hollywood history helped fill in gaps the guidebooks didn't cover. An added bonus: Mom got to know my son's girlfriend, Gena, our favorite California girl, on her turf. D and G are now BFFs. OMG.

Reporter Kim Franke-Folstad can be reached at (813) 259-7523 or kfrankefolstad@tampatrib.com

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