Los Angeles - The Beverly Hills Tennis Club: Just off the exclusive Maple Drive, this is still the most sought-after venue at which to play tennis in LA and attracts a host of Hollywood members.
I first met Kirk Douglas here, around the swimming pool, and he was always in terrific shape – a serious fitness fanatic and tennis enthusiast, although on the odd occasion we went running together, he never seemed to last very long.
I have great memories of playing doubles matches with Gilbert Roland and Dinah Shore and the five, palm-lined hard courts are still hugely in demand today.
The Beverly Hills Hotel: This landmark has just celebrated its 100th anniversary with a film featuring its regular guests like Warren Beatty and Lauren Bacall. Sadly, during this major refurbishment, it lost its legendary tennis courts, where my friend, ex-American No 1 Alex Olmedo, nicknamed “The Chief”, was the tennis professional.
The Polo Lounge remains the see-and-be-seen meeting place and Bar Nineteen boasts a weekly line-up of live reggae and blues music.
I mainly go for high tea, which matches the Titanic for silver service and the rate at which the decks laden with cakes disappear.
Brentwood Country Market: Farmers’ markets are a tradition in West Hollywood and Santa Monica, but the Brentwood market has always been a favourite of star patrons dating back to Elizabeth Taylor and Burt Lancaster, who would visit for the fresh fruit, vegetables, patisseries and Edelweiss chocolate.
My daughter, Suzie, who lives in LA, took me there for brunch and over croissants and chai, pointed out both Steven Spielberg and Toby Maguire pottering around the brightly coloured stalls.
The Grill on the Alley: This is a very clubby, plush restaurant, where about a million film deals go down with a bottle of good wine every year. I had lunch here with my old friend, Burt Boyer, who wrote the book Yes, I Can! about Sammy Davis Junior and another one about tennis, featuring myself, called World Class. The steaks are big enough to satisfy John Wayne and the waitresses are not hard on the eye either, given that they are all probably aspiring actresses hoping to get noticed.
Manhattan Beach: This a charming old town on the ocean about an hour out of central LA; there are loads of picturesque small houses.
No doubt your pockets have to be lined if you are intending to invest in some of this prime real estate. But if you love Hout Bay and Kalk Bay in Cape Town, then this neck of the woods is going to appeal enormously, especially as the Pacific waves rolling in are cleaner and no unleashed dogs are going to mow you over or pee on your beach towel.
Century City – Outside Mall: America invented the mall and this is the mall to end all malls – you need your own golf cart to get from one end to the other, never mind to load your bulging bags on to.
Being the home of Hollywood, the movie theatres are state-of-the-art, showing all the latest releases. If you are a food fundi, there are franchises that we in South Africa still haven’t heard of. I was introduced to Pinkberrys – LA’s frozen yoghurt chain, which is as famous as Angelina Jolie and much easier to sample.
Lake Hollywood: Ever since I spent weekends playing tennis with Peter Falke at Charlton Heston’s house tucked up in the hills, near Mulholland Drive, I have enjoyed getting out of town to escape the LA summer heat. High up between the Vine and the Hollywood sign sits Lake Hollywood, a reservoir held back by a dam built by William Mulholland. This was off limits for years before being reopened in April and like the New York Central park reservoir, is a fabulous area to hike and jog around, surrounded by typical Californian oaks, pine and eucalyptus trees. The air smells great and you escape the downtown smog, which believe it or not is less than 10 minutes away.
Virgin Atlantic Airways at LAX: No matter how many film stars you see in the flesh – and there is no shortage in LA, and they become as commonplace as flowers in the English countryside – I’m always happy to get on the plane in LA and lie flat on my back enjoying the rapt attention of the Virgin hostesses, who are usually much better looking and friendlier than Winona Ryder or Kate Winslet or the dozens of Hollywood stars who travel right next to me on Branson’s fleet – entirely without turning heads. - Saturday Star