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So after all the excitement of our first full day in LA this was our final day flying to Tahiti that evening.
We awoke to glorious sunshine once again and the options for today were to see Griffith Observatory or visit Runyon Canyon. We set off up Beachwood drive (where we were staying) to get a good view of the Hollywood sign and a few photos. Walking up beachwood drive was a sight in itself, massive houses, palm trees, luxourious cars, and the hollywood sign in the backdrop. It all felt like you were in a film and Ryan Gosling was going to stroll passed any minute (Alex wishes)!
After walking to the top of the road, we found a lovely little cafe to have breakfast at. Alex had the beachwood and I had the apptly named Runyon breakfast. Both were similar meals which were somewhere between a full English and an omelette, covered in guacomole and sour cream. It was about 5 minutes after this that Alex remembered that she has a very poor tollerence to avacado and the guacomole would almost certainly make her feel iffy......not want you want when planning a day of hiking. We left the cafe and began walking back down Beachwood drive when a couple pulled over and jumped out of their very flashy convertable and asked us to take a photo of them in front of the hollywood sign. So for the next 5 minutes, us and this American couple proceeded to run in and out of the road dodging traffic, much to the annoyance of the passers by, to get the best angle possible for the perfect holiday Hollywood sign photo (which we got!).
We had by this point decided to travel to Runyon Canyon for the day, and with the directions written down and our stomachs full, we set off on our way. Following Ed's lead and with Alex nursing a stomach bug following the avacado, we began walking in the direction of Runyon Canyon......about an hour had passed and we could see no sight of the landmark attraction, so we decided to ask a local (i have to say that most people in LA were super friendly). He advised us that we were over 2 miles away and we were walking in the wrong direction!
With both of us confused as to how this happened, we travelled back to where we started and decided we would find Runyon canyon by asking the locals from now on. As the canyon was one of the main attractions in LA we didn't think that this would be a problem but surprisingly only a couple of people we stopped to ask actually knew where it was! And when they did know they couldn't believe we were attempting to walk there from where were. We assured them it was only about a mile away which they couldn't believe - until they checked Google maps on their phones! We came to the conclusion that Americans must be a little lazy and not know too much about the city they live in! After we got a few directions we realised that the directions we had written down were actually right but one of us (ahem Ed) had written down the first direction as left when it should have been right. It's fine I wasn't annoyed about this at all, very calm as usual, loads of people get their lefts and rights mixed up at 22 right?? Hahaha.
We arrived at Runyon and hiked up over the hills to the most incredible view. You could see all of LA from here and all of the luxury houses tucked into the Hollywood hills. This was our favourite part of our trip to LA and that view was one we will never forget! We took some great pictures so we will upload these as soon as we can.
Once our hike was over we headed to Hollywood boulevard and stopped off for some frozen yoghurt on the way which was amazing- they need more frozen yoghurt shops in the UK for sure! Hollywood boulevard was exactly how we thought it would be- a huge tourist attraction, a bit tacky but we liked it! So much going on and things to see- we stopped to look at the stars that make up the hollywood walk of fame and couldn't believe how many we hadn't heard of - maybe we are a bit young!?
Our time in LA was made up of a lot of wondering, a lot of getting lost and meeting a lot of interesting people! It is a great city and I think we saw the best of it in the sunshine! We packed a lot of sightseeing into a couple of short days so very happy to be flying to Tahiti for hopefully a bit of rest and relaxation!
Love Alex & Ed xxx
- comments
Lin Oh how funny, fancy getting your left and right mixed up at your age...I've got news for you. ..it doesn't get any easier at 50!! I'm sure Alex took it well what with a dodgy tummy and all!! You did make me laugh about the 'walk of fame', yes I'm sure there would have been loads of stars you didn't know, bless!! LYL XX
Helen Merchant Hi Alex & Ed Loving the blog and reading about your adventures, look forward to hearing about the next chapter. Love you lots Helen (Intrinsic)