Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
The hostel offered free breakfast and it was definitely better then previous free breakfast on this trip. It consisted of tea / coffee, porridge, cereal and toast and fresh fruit.
After breakfast we headed to the Farmers market a short walk away from the hostel. The market was an outdoor street market with produce and goods from local farmers, ranchers and vendors, who offer a variety of fresh California-grown fruits and vegetables, and other goods such as honey, fish, cheeses, olives, jams, jellies, fruit juices, sauces, dried fruit and nuts, coffee, hot pancakes, bread, biscuits, clothes, jewellery, gifts and more. Unfortunately we were not hungry after breakfast but if we had time later in the day and made it back before 1pm we would get something to have for lunch.
From the market we decided to check out the main section of the Walk of Fame and the Chinese Theatre. You are still able to catch a film but most people come to the Chinese Theatre for the hand / foot imprints of around 200 Hollywood stars. Most of the stars we recognised were outside the theatre so we joined the hundreds of other tourists to get photos with our favourite stars.
In LA, at every turn there is something that will awe you, overwhelm you or at least cause you to shake your head in disbelief. Today didn't disappoint! We saw a girl on a skateboard with a kitten in her jacket hood and a man playing the accordion with a rabbit on his head! I thought I was going mad - but it's just normal in LA.
Like the Statute of Liberty is to New York, the Hollywood Sign is a symbol of the land of opportunity in California. It stands on a hill overlooking the city; access to it is limited and protected so one has to find different vantage points to be able to get a good shot. The skies were beginning to clear so we decided to walk to Griffiths Park and head to Griffiths Observatory that took 25 minutes to walk uphill from the park entrance. The Griffiths Observatory is on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood and it commands a view of Downtown LA to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. The observatory is a popular tourist attraction with an excellent view of the Hollywood sign, and an extensive array of space and science related displays inside.
The sun had come out for us and it was getting very hot. We decided that the observatory was not close enough and we wanted to get a better view of the Hollywood sign. The three of us followed one of the walking tracks that gave us a more central view without the crowds. We stopped at the top and admired the view of the city before making our way back to the hostel.
With 36,000 steps recorded on the fit bit it was time to visit the famous 'In and out burger' and try out its secret menu. I was not impressed and didn't eat it all and decided not to have another burger whilst on this trip as it wouldn't live up to New Zealand's Ferg Burger.
- comments