Gordon Macgeachy

Steven MacGeachy couldn't get a reservation at El Bulli. Which is not surprising, really; El Bulli is probably one of the most exclusive restaurants on the planet, a cozy little Spanish bistro just outside of Barcelona with a five-star rating and a six-month waiting list. The restaurant's ultra-exclusivity, however, has done little to deter MacGeachy, who has spent 10 days trying to wangle a client a table for two.

Steven MacGeachy couldn't get a reservation at El Bulli. Which is not surprising, really; El Bulli is probably one of the most exclusive restaurants on the planet, a cozy little Spanish bistro just outside of Barcelona with a five-star rating and a six-month waiting list. The restaurant's ultra-exclusivity, however, has done little to deter MacGeachy, who has spent 10 days trying to wangle a client a table for two.

Described as Classic California Tudor, this Altadena house was bought about five years ago and painstakingly restored by photographer Michael La Riche and recording-industry designer Tim Neuman. The commute to La Riche's studio in West Hollywood became too time-consuming, so he and Neuman put the home on the market. About this house: Built in 1928 by Thomas Breitenstein, a Pasadena paving contractor, the home is eligible for registration on the National Register of Historic Places.

John Cleese, a creator and star of the BBC-TV series "Monty Python's Flying Circus," has listed a beachfront Montecito home that he owns at just under $5.5 million. The British comedian plays the owner of a TV network on the ABC sitcom "Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central)," which will debut Wednesday night. "I'm not just selling a house. I'm buying a neighbor," Cleese said by phone from his home next door, which he has owned since 1994. When the house he's selling came on the market about a year ago, he purchased it so he could choose who would live there.

Olympic ice-skating champion Scott Hamilton, who will star in two NBC specials later this year, has listed his home on Lake Sherwood at $3.75 million. The asking price includes a small party boat and furnishings by Princeton, N.J.-based architect Michael Graves, who renovated the home. It is in the gated Sherwood Country Club community in the Thousand Oaks area.