Almost Famous

We had such a great time visiting Los Angeles with friends a week ago. The weather was perfect and we were able to fit in lots of fun times and great food. What more could you ask for in a girls' trip?

One of the most fun things we did was a tour of the WB studio lot. I've seen people on the tour all the time on Ellen and knew it included a visit to Central Perk from the original Friends set. Since sitting on that infamous couch was on my bucket list, I was thrilled to make it happen.

Our tour started in the infamous little trams. Our guide, Josh (who was amazing BTW), took us by this area where so many movies have been filmed including Music Man and Oceans 11. Crazy to think by removing those trees and putting false fronts on those buildings can create the Vegas strip!

This area was where several New York scenes are shot with the fire escapes. Think the Mask, Batman, etc.

This little alcove is where Monica and Rachel hide in a scene where they are running from the police. A few feet from here is also where they filmed the notorious upside-down Spiderman kiss. We loved hearing about all of the behind-the-scenes tricks that go into making a scene like that appear effortless when in reality, it takes so many crazy details.

Speaking of details, this "Chicago" area had just been rebuilt with fresh materials. All of that gum and rust is hand-painted by "aging specialists." Amazing.

This tiny patch of grass is Central Park. Seriously...the whole park. But it doubles as the doggy actor potty patch. All scenes of Central Park in Friends and What I Like About You? Filmed right on this little patch.

I was a big Gilmore Girls fan and still love Hart of Dixie so being able to step foot in this classic town square was so much fun.

This is the inside of the Gellar House, where Ross comes down during Rachel's prom scene ready to take her date's place.

More Gilmore Girls' favorites - above is Lorelai and Rory's house and below is the real Luke's diner!

Another building in the town square holds one of the original sets from Casablanca. It's Hollywood hallowed ground. Walking inside was such a treat, but everyone seemed so serious inside that I felt a little funny taking a picture inside.

During a short break in the tour, we visited a little museum set up with all of the original Batman masks, Harry Potter items and props and costumes from Oscar winning movies. Above is the original winner's envelope from when Chariots of Fire won.

We even took a minute to get sorted into our appropriate houses from Harry Potter. I was put in Gryffindor and Ashley was put in Hufflepuff. But only because it's on a continuous track, right Ashley? ;)

And finally! Central Perk. It was crazy to walk inside and feel like the Friends gang had just taken a quick break outside. The coffee table even had the reserved sign that kept the spot available for everyone at all times. This couch was one of the original 9 couches used during filming.

We wrapped up with a visit to the bat cave that held every bat mobile and bike used in all of the movies. Each was fully working and so cool to see. As we walked out, our guide took us through the sound stage for Big Bang Theory. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside since the sets were arranged for scenes that were being filmed about 6 weeks in advance. The whole tour was so interesting and didn't have a dull moment. We would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting the LA area.