In between constantly taking pictures of the sidewalk as I walked down Hollywood Boulevard, I did manage to actually aim my camera elsewhere.

One place my girlfriend pointed out to me before we even got on the plane was a restaurant called the Beetle House, which had a bar, a regular show and a theme that can only be described as “Tim Burton.” The menu featured such items as Edward Burger Hands and Death by Chocolate, but actually making reservations proved to be pretty expensive so we just went to the bar, and I managed to snap some pictures of what the place looked like inside and it was pretty cool.

I also got to see some famous theaters in person like the Pantages, the Dolby Theatre (where the Oscars are held) and the El Capitan, which is owned by Disney and was the place where many of Disney’s films had their premieres, including Toy Story, Tarzan, Monsters, Inc., Lilo & Stitch, The Incredibles, Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen.

Right next to El Capitan is the Disney Studio Store which houses the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop, which my girlfriend wanted to see. These aren’t my pictures but this is what it looks like from the outside and inside. We got spoiled on this vacation.

Another theater I got to see was the TCL Chinese Theatre aka Grauman’s Chinese Theater (named after American showman Sid Grauman who established the theater in 1927 as well as the Egyptian Theatre in 1922) which as most people know is a place where many a star have left their hand and foot prints, so you know I had to see that place in person. See how many famous people you can recognize as you go through my gallery of snapshots.

Right on the east side of Dolby and Grauman’s by Hollywood Boulevard and Highland was a mall where me and my girlfriend stopped to get something to eat before we returned to our hotel. I was expecting to just buy a sandwich at the local Walgreens and call it a day, but before the day ended I saw one more photo op that I didn’t expect. Apparently you can see the Hollywood Hills in the distance at that mall (and apparently it’s a popular photo op for many tourists), so I made sure to get a picture before I left. Still blows my mind that I got to visit Hollywood and see so many things like this in person. An unforgettable trip, especially for a film geek like me.