Chapter 18: The Walk of Stars and the Chinese Theatre
"Why are we going in the afternoon, can we stay at home for a day?" Li Chenghua asked.
"Why don't we go to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and visit the Chinese Grand Theatre by the way?" Qin Wanyu's eyes lit up.
"What if someone calls for an interview?" The old lady interjected, "I don't want to continue serving them the day after tomorrow." ”
"Then bring your mobile phone, I left my mobile phone number in the housekeeping company, and people will not come to the door directly, I will definitely call to make an appointment first." Li Chenghua replied.
"Okay, the whole family goes, Ah Hua, you call to make an appointment for a Western restaurant, take the children to eat steak at noon, and continue to go to Wang Laohu's Chaoyue Pavilion in the evening. In the past few days, in addition to breakfast, don't make it yourself, and wait for the helper to find it, and then eat at home. Li Yigang got up and said.
Li Chenghua took out his mobile phone, flipped out the address book, found the name of the Wells Fargo account manager, and then dialed, and the phone was connected: "Hi-Robert!" Busy now? ”
"Hi - my dear Chinese friend, I have been waiting for your call, is there anything I can help with?" Robert Carter replied enthusiastically.
"Well, that's right, my family arrived yesterday, and the family wants to go out shopping at noon today, and I want to ask you what are the more famous restaurants on the side of Hollywood Boulevard? Can I reserve a table for me by the way? ”
"Dear Watson, I'm very happy that you can think of me in everything, well-- the 'Shakman' restaurant next to the Kodak Grand Theater is well-known, with a three-star Michelin rating, and it is generally necessary to make an appointment a week in advance, but fortunately, this restaurant is our Wells Fargo cooperative restaurant, Wells Fargo has reserved a few tables for the convenience of our high-quality customers for a long time, Watson, you have saved tens of millions in our Wells Fargo account, of course, it is our high-quality service object. So, for ordinary people, the reservation of 'Xia Keren' is a problem, and Huasen, you only need to give me a call, and I will take care of everything! I'll ask the assistant to help you book a table now. How many people are there? Lunch or dinner? ”
"Thank you, Robert! Lunch, half past twelve, a total of six people, four adults and two children. Well, okay, I'll give you your name then, goodbye! Li Chenghua smiled and hung up the phone.
"Okay!" Li Chenghua put away his mobile phone and smiled at his family: "We just need to bring our wallets, drive in the car, and go out directly." ”
"I'm going to change into a dress, bring my camera, and meet at the door in ten minutes." Qin Wanyu happily gave her husband a fragrant kiss and got up to go upstairs.
"I went outside to tell the children. Ah Hua, you go to the garage and drive the car out. The old man opened the door and walked out.
Ten minutes later
The family happily got into the car and drove towards the city center.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is located in Hollywood, California. Built in 1958, it is a pedestrian walkway that runs along Hollywood Avenue and Vine Street in the United States, and the Walk of Fame runs along Hollywood Avenue from Gower Street in the east to La Brea Avenue (UE) in the west, and then along Vine Street between Yucca Street and Boulevard (Boulevard) from north to south.
The entire street is home to more than 2,500 five-pointed terrazzo and brass "stars" embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of "Hollywood Boulevard" and 3 blocks of "Vine Street." The "stars" represent eternal remembrances of those who have made outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, and contain the names of actors, musicians, directors, producers, musical bands, theater groups, fictional characters, and others.
The Walk of Fame is maintained by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the self-funded Hollywood History Trust. It is a famous tourist destination.
The family walked and visited along the way, stopping occasionally to take photos with the clowns on the side of the road and artists dressed as various movie characters, and followed the flow of people to the China Grand Theater.
The Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard is the most famous theater in the United States. In 1927, the king of the theater, Sidgrauman, built it here. For decades, it has been visited by tourists all year round, and people can admire the celebrity signatures on the Avenue of Stars. The Academy Awards have been presented here since the 16th edition.
The family stopped at the entrance of the China Grand Theater and took a few photos of the stone lion at the door.
"To be honest, the two stone lions at the door still have a bit of Chinese taste, and the other shapes are very nondescript." Li Yigang pursed his lips and looked at the disturbing tourists around him holding their cameras and taking pictures, and said disdainfully.
Lord Pei also complained in his heart, just this strange-looking building, is it embarrassing to call it the China Grand Theater? Don't be a foreigner who deliberately made it like this, deliberately smearing our thousands of years of Chinese civilization!
When I grow up, I will first earn US dollars from you foreign devils, and then use the US dollars I earn to buy a piece of land in your United States, and then throw the US dollars and let you foreign devils move bricks for me and build a beautiful Chinese garden, so that you Americans, who are only in their early 200s, can see what is the real Chinese architecture that has a thousand-year-old cultural heritage and is condensed from generation to generation of aesthetics. The second county lord muttered to himself.
"Grandpa, when I grow up, I will buy a piece of land by myself, build a beautiful garden, and ask grandpa to live with me." The little girl pulled grandpa's trouser leg, Li Yi just squatted down, and the county lord Pei leaned next to his grandfather's ear and said.
"Good girl, grandpa is so happy to hear it, we Peipei is really filial, come, grandpa kiss!" The old man was overjoyed when he heard this, hugged his granddaughter and kissed him fiercely.
After visiting the Chinese Theater, the family asked passers-by, found the "Shak Man" restaurant near the Kodak Theater, reported Robert Carter's name, and showed the Wells Fargo gold card, and the waiter led everyone to a table by the floor-to-ceiling window, pulled out the chairs, and courteously invited everyone to sit down.
Li Chenghua took out a 10 yuan bill, handed it to the waiter, looked at the menu, everyone ordered their own meals, and then ordered two children's packages for the two children.
The price of a meal is expensive, four big and two small, a total of more than 3,000 US dollars. The key is that the old man ordered a bottle of red wine, and this bottle of red wine cost more than a thousand dollars. After settling the bill, tipping again, the group left the "Shakman" restaurant.
Note: The tipping culture here in the United States is very common, as long as it is a service-related industry, in addition to normal consumption, a 10%-20% tip will be added to the bill at checkout, and after the restaurant closes, the waiter and kitchen staff will share all the tips of the day together. For many workers in the service industry in the United States, the biggest source of income is not salary but tips. So, if you want to not tip, hehe, the guests should be careful, whether there will be more cockroach legs in the meal is not necessarily, but spit or not, hehe, no one saw it. Of course, the $10 given by Li Chenghua before checkout was a separate tip for the waiter, and he did not participate in the tip distribution on the day.