Friday, February 26, 2010

My all time favourite house in the world, love you old blue eyes!

If only I had money...

I've been watching this house for years, it was commissioned by Frank Sinatra, old blue eyes as a desert retreat for him and his family. This was with his first wife Nancy. It is a mid century contemporary which was very uncommon in Palm Springs at the time. He had it built hastily in 1947 for a New Years Eve party he was throwing that year to ring in 1948.


Its for sale for only 3.25 million which I think is a steal

This is the piano shaped pool. Unfortunately shortly after building it he left his wife Nancy for Eva Gardner.  There are spectacular stories of parties thrown here for all of the elite hollywood types. Even down to him and a 3 way with Eva and Lana Turner in this very pool. He eventually sold it as he and Eva had some pretty well documented fights here and he just didn't want to remember anymore. There is still a chunk missing out of one of the vanities in the bathroom from where he chucked a champagne bottle just missing Eva but hitting the vanity.

Here are Frank and Eva on their wedding day




This is a photo of Joan Crawford in a movie that was partly filmed at Franks house



Wish I was around for during this time. The Elvis Honeymoon Cottage I told you about recently was just around the corner. As well as the home of Al Jolson, Jack Benny and Carey Grant

You can also rent this place for a mere 2600.00US a night, what a deal!
check out some more pics on this site, franks house, twin palms it is a spectacular house. There is a lovely Then and Now section

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Next on the list, Chateau Marmont

The Legendary Hollywood Hideaway Since 1929, nestled In The Hills Just Above Sunset Blvd.  The chateau was built in 1929 as an apartment block for stylish New Yorkers visiting Los Angeles, but the stockmarket crash forced the owners to sell to a wealthy man in the silent film business and the legend began.

Reading the list of visitors is like reading a who's who of the film world. Charlie Chaplin, Errol Flynn, the shadowy Greta Garbo, Robert Mitchum, Marlon Brando, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe … Clark Gable and Jean Harlow carried on their affair there while she was on her honeymoon. Jim Morrison jumped off its roof and John Belushi died from a drug overdose there. Howard Hughes hid himself in the penthouse but wasn't so reclusive he didn't enjoy watching the bathing beauties beside the hotel pool through his binoculars.





The Marmont is the famous replicate hotel of the stars, and therefore notorious for scandal. More often than not today's travel guides draw attention to the fact that John Belushi blew his mind here in 1982 with a speedball... that a drunken Jim Morrison dangled from a balcony, almost fell... that someone from Led Zeppelin rode a Harley through the lobby... and in the old days Jean Harlow, Robert Mitchum, Greta Garbo, Montgomery Clift, Carole Lombard and the likes had occasion to live here... or at least use it for romantic assignations.

Here are some juicy tidbits about the place:
Featured on the cover of Gram Parsons' solo album, GP, released in 1973. Gram Parsons also lived there for a time in the early 1970s.

In 1982, John Belushi died of a drug overdose in one of its garden bungalows.

this was his bungalow


Jim Morrison of "The Doors" used up what he called "the eighth of my nine lives" after he hurt his back here while dangling from a drain pipe, trying to swing from the roof into the window of his hotel room.

James Dean hopped in through a window to audition with Natalie Wood for Rebel Without a Cause.

Nicholas Ray, the director of Rebel Without a Cause, had a bungalow here in 1953, according to actress Shelley Winters' autobiography.

In 1992, Demi Moore, Annie Leibovitz and Joanne Gair shot Demi's Birthday Suit at the hotel.

Johnnie Ray lived within walking distance of the hotel.

Led Zeppelin band members rode their motorcycles through the lobby one evening to cheering guests, causing modest damage.

When Montgomery Clift was almost killed in a 1956 auto accident near her home, Elizabeth Taylor brought him to the Chateau Marmont, where she leased the penthouse as a place for him to recuperate.

Greta Garbo loved to stay in the Chateau Marmont for weeks during her infamous seclusion period and would not leave her room for days. She also attended many lavish and glamorous parties here in her movie star days.

Fashion photographer Helmut Newton died on January 23, 2004, after his car crashed into a wall on the driveway of the hotel.

Judy Garland sang by the lobby's grand piano with Kay Thompson during a party held by director George Cukor, where she exclaimed to Thompson, "Oh, Kay, let's just sing real loud!"

Vivien Leigh, estranged from her husband Laurence Olivier, had every surface space in her suite, 5D, covered with photographs of him. In the bedroom, however, there was only one: placed near her pillow was a photograph of Olivier and her together.[clarification needed]

Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante briefly resided in the hotel in 1996. During this period, Frusciante was dealing with a serious drug addiction that almost claimed his life. The New Times LA interviewed Frusciante at the hotel and published an article about the musician in which his physical appearance was described as "a skeleton covered in thin skin," whose flesh was noticeably scarred and bruised from injecting himself repeatedly with heroin and cocaine. Frusciante was kicked out of the hotel shortly after the interview.

Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers recorded his vocals for "By the Way" in this hotel.

It's the setting for the majority of the book, "What's a Girl to Do?"

Jean Harlow spent her honeymoon in the hotel and was a regular guest.

It's where FOX series 'Fastlane' character, "Officer Donovan Ray," lives in order to maintain his undercover alias, "Van Strummer."

It appears in the HBO series Entourage, when director "Billy Walsh" meets with "Vincent Chase" to discuss Queens Boulevard.

Was briefly managed by former silent-film actress Ann Little in her later years.

The hotel is referenced in the Grateful Dead song "West LA Fadeaway"

Hunter S. Thompson was often a guest at the hotel.

Writer/Director Dustin Lane filmed the short film "Blue Skied an' Clear" in Room 79. The film stars Andrew Ramaglia, Brittany Shea and Olivia Alaina May.

Howard Hughes moved into the attic of the hotel and would spy on beautiful women in the pool area using prism binoculars.

His Penthouse suite balcony




Harry Cohn, founder of Columbia Pictures, told William Holden and Glenn Ford, "If you are going to get in trouble, do it at the Chateau Marmont."

Lindsay Lohan stayed at the hotel following her July 24, 2007, arrest for drunk driving. She also lived at the Chateau between 2005 and 2006.

English author Nigel Williams documents his stay at the hotel in his 1994 travelogue, From Wimbledon to Waco.

Britney Spears was reportedly kicked out of the hotel.[citation needed]

Singer Ville Valo of the Finnish rock group HIM recorded the song, "Song or Suicide," at this hotel for its 2007 album, Venus Doom.

Niki Stevens, a fictional character from television's The L Word lived at the Chateau Marmont in Season 6.

Executive Chef Carolynn Spence was formerly Chef de Cuisine at The Spotted Pig, in New York City.

F. Scott Fitzgerald suffered a heart-attack in Chateau Marmont.

The Chateau Marmont web site describes it as "the one and only," but in reality, there is at least one other Chateau Marmont located in Châtillon sur Seine, France, named after Auguste Marmont.

In a video shown by The Insider and Entertainment Tonight on January 30, 2008, Heath Ledger is seen at a party where other people appear to be taking drugs. Eventually only promos were shown out of respect for his friends and family. Ledger had died a week earlier.

Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention make recorded reference to the Hotel in the infamous "Groupie Routine" at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, on July 7, 1971. Recording found on the 1988 album You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 (performance date corrected in the You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 liner notes).

British singer Lily Allen wrote the song Batman, Guess Who?, for her second album, in the hotel.

Before Rock Hudson became famous, he met his first live-in lover Kenneth G Hodge, who was living in the penthouse managing the Chateau Marmont for his aunt Bernadette. Hodge and Hudson then moved together to Hollywood to launch his career.

English playwright Charles Wood set his play, "Across From the Garden of Allah," in the hotel. It starred Glenda Jackson and Nigel Hawthorne.

The hotel was the site where actress Milla Jovovich said she was going to begin shooting the fourth installment of the popular Resident Evil film series at the end of 2009.

American/Filipino musician Nate Day stayed at this hotel in the summer of 2008; he recorded his demo for Universal records in his suite.

Where being seen by the pool having lunch is the thing to do, check out those red tables and remember them


There are many quotes stemming from the hotel, but one of the most famous came from Harry Cohn, founder of Columbia Pictures. He said, "If you must get into trouble, do it at the Chateau Marmont."

I was convinced I was going to meet my Keanu by the pool, he used to stay here all the time, but of course now he has bought a home in LA so no longer, sigh



I love this place, the reason I bring it up is because I just noticed the hotel has charged over 1,000 to my credit card, give it back, and they did

For a stunning look inside and outside the hotel please visit this link:
Chateau marmont
go to the link that says Daveland Art Gallery, then up at the top where is says Photograpy, then look for C and you'll see the Chateau and click on that, the pics are fabulous!

Call me when your at the hotel and I'll come by

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Quebec City

I'm so lucky. For my 45th Birthday my mother surprised me and my sister, for her birthday as well, and took us to Quebec City, all expenses paid!

My mother, aunt Betty, aunt Erin, my sister and myself went. I flew into Ottawa and stayed for a few days, then the train which was lovely to Quebec, then back to Ottawa for another few days. it was wonderful, and the food and furs to die for.

Every store front had the most beautiful flowers


There were furs everywhere, well it is the fur capital trading post, just so you know I didn't buy any though


This is where we stayed, its called the Auberge du tresor, it was so lovely and the longest continually running establishement in North America, since 1640, how crazy is that! Here is a closeup and one taken farther away. I imagine this is where Champlain housed all his maidens as its right across the street from the Chateau Frontenac


We wanted to have a typical Quebecau meal which we had at this restaraunt, I had the lamb, sitting inside it was easy to imagine what it would have been like well over 200 years ago, it was a residence but so easy to see as the restaurant conversions have not hampered the inside ambiance. The place has not really changed at all and our waitress was so sweet


here are some others photos from around the city


I remembered visting this church when I was a child for some reason, well probably because there is a beautiful wooden ship mounted from the ceiling


This is in the lower city, the building with the burgundy roof is an incredible jewelry store, every stone you can think of is available


this is a huge mural in the lower city, everyone in the mural are real characters, wish I could remember who they all were but I was on a tour being advised by a trained professional at the time, and I can't rename them unfortunately


looking down to the lower city, the mural covers the entire building side of the building on the extreme right


this one is part of the ruins of the kitchen of the second barracks Champlain built on this site, Champlain set up the fur trade in Quebec. Thats the Hotel Frontenac in the background

The shopping really is to die for in this city


lower city shopping, this is a pic going up the tram from the lower city to the upper city

Monday, February 1, 2010

Happy Birthday Dad

My most favorite man in the world is 68 today, wow and still going very strong

Unortunately I can't add a photo of him as he and my mother are not well versed in bloging and don't see the need to uncover their true identities at this time.

I will say though that my father greatly resembles Robert Wagner, in my eyes anyways.

Love you to bits Dad!