On our recent big road trip, our first stop was the City of Angels. I've been there a couple of tines before but O has only been to Disney there a couple of times and the man had never been so obviously we had to take in some of the coolest sites. We stayed at the Hollywood Travelodge which was in an immense location and was only a 5 minutes drive from Griffith Park and Observatory. When we return to LA next year we'll definitely stay here again:
As Griffith Park was so close we decided to head there on our first full day in LA. We had hideous jet lag so were there super early and it's just such an amazing place especially before all of the other tourists get there!!
Now as regular readers will know, I'm a proper geek that loves California and one thing that I always find myself squealing at is the Hollywood Sign. There's just something so cool and iconic about it. Griffiths park is one of the easiest places to be able to get a sideways view from:
It's actually smaller than you think! When I first visited it used to be possible to get high up in Hollywood Hills but this time we couldn't get anywhere near it by car so we stuck with this. Next year I'm determined to hike up as close as possible to the sign!!
We didn't go into the observatory as we were way too early but it's such a lovely, peaceful place to hang out:
Not only is the building beautiful but it's surrounded by flowers, wildlife, nature and 22 hiking trails. The thing that got me most was that California smell after being away for so long. It's a combination of pine, warm air, mountain and nostalgia, I think!!
Of course one of the best things about the Observatory are the views across the city:
The next best thing about the observatory is that it's completely free to park there and accessible to all. Unfortunately therein lies the downside that every tourist now knows how amazing it is and doesn't need to pay for it!! As we were there so early parking wasn't a problem and nor did we run into too many other people.
We tried to get up there at night and it was a complete bun fight and you couldn't get anywhere near. My advice is to park at the bottom and walk up. It's actually quicker and easier - you just need to watch out for the wildlife!!!
If anyone knows of a great hike up to the Hollywood sign then please let me know!
