Day 9 – The Grove, Farmer’s Market & Beverly Hills

At the request of… well, let’s just tell it like it was – it was at the begging of the girls, we went back to The Grove where the American Girl Store is.  They just had to go back!  I can’t blame them.  Since Emily had some money left, she graciously offered to buy Katie something else from the store.  And Katie so graciously accepted the offer!   Emily decided to get her doll's ears pierced and Katie settled on a pet bunny for her doll.

We strolled through the Grove, which is a popular place to spot celebrities, and then we moved into the Farmer’s Market.

This place was a hoppin’!  It’s hard to describe.  It’s a large section of the Grove that has LOTS of food, kind of like a continuous food court, produce stands, meat markets, and some shops.  The smell caused hunger pangs, it was so good!  But, not knowing what would come next, we didn't eat there.

We continued on, walking all the way around the market.  At least I think we made it through.  For the most part, the meat and produce were reasonably priced, especially for being in Los Angeles.  This is a place I’d like to return to during the week when it’s less crowded. 

Just outside the Market, in the Grove, we saw lots of Paparazzi waiting for any celebrity to make an appearance so they could get their best shot.  After explaining to Katie what Paparazzi are, she called me the “family papsarazzi!”  The Paparazzi work together and are easily recognizable because they stand alone or in groups of two or three with cell phones on the ready.  Not all of them had cameras but they all had phones.  My understanding is that if one of them sees a celebrity, they immediately phone the others who either come running to get their shot or they pull out their giant zoom lens to shoot from their post.  It’s quite an operation!

We drove through Beverly Hills again and took pictures of the famous sign…

...and the huge tree in the park...

We took a walk down a couple streets, in awe at the size of the homes built on them, each one secured behind locked gates.

We drove up and down Rodeo Drive and saw a two million dollar car parked on the street.  Don’t ask me what kind it was – I have no idea!  We couldn’t even afford to buy a button in the shops on Rodeo Drive, nor would I want to.  We saw one employee of a men’s shop standing at the door, dressed in a nice suit, holding a tray with a glass of champagne as he waited for the arrival of their next guest.

In front of another shop, a woman’s boutique, two ladies sat in cushy chairs sipping on their drinks while they were chatting amongst themselves.  Who are these people and how do they have so much money?  Then, just around the corner, lying in the grass, is a homeless man (or 2 or 3), using his duffle bag filled with everything he owned, as a pillow.  It was one extreme to the other.

We saw the high school where the outdoor scenes of Beverly Hills, 90210 were filmed.

The front of the school wasn’t as recognizable, but the back, behind large iron gates, was where all the action took place.  I wanted to hop out for a picture through the gates but I knew Jason wouldn’t go for that!  I didn’t even ask!  I snapped a picture of the front of the school and we moved on.  This school is actually located in Torrance, which is in another zip code and about 30 minutes from Beverly Hills.  I can’t imagine all the time it took to film the outdoor scenes at this school, moving through all the L.A. traffic each time.

We ate dinner at Marie Callendars again – kids eat free on Saturdays!  It was another great meal.  The rest of the evening was spent relaxing in our room.  Believe it or not, none of us swam at all today!  This was a first since we’ve been here!