Hollywood

It has been a while since we last wrote a blog post, but this silence does not reflect
our lack of busyness. Rather, it is has been a very hectic and sad start to the new year for us. We will be adding some new blog posts soon to tell you what we have been up to and what has been happening in the last month.

Because the start to the year has been so busy, last weekend we took time out and took advantage of another sunny Southern
Californian winters afternoon  and drove down to Hollywood.

First stop was the Griffith Park Observatory at Griffith Park. The Observatory is an amazing art deco building which was built in the 1930’s and is one of the most
popular and recognized landmarks in Southern California. It is well elevated so you can get excellent views of the famous Hollywood sign and the city. Movie buffs will know that the observatory was famously featured in the James Dean movie ‘Rebel Without a Cause’ (among others) and as a memorial, a bronze bust of James Dean has been erected on the front lawn.  We didn’t get a chance to take a look inside the observatory or visit the planetarium, but we will save that for another day. We spent the time there walking around the observatory and taking in the wonderful views of the city of Los Angeles.

After we left the observatory, we headed down to Hollywood Boulevard to grab
some lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. The prices were quite reasonable and highly recommend the burgers. All around the walls hung the most amazing rock memorabilia from some of the greatest musicians, such Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Bo Diddley, Carl Wilson (The Beach Boys) and Jim Morrison. Being at the Hard Rock Cafe was like eating lunch in a cool museum (not that normal museums are not cool).

After lunch, we took a stroll down the ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame’ which is
essentially fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard. Embedded in the sidewalk are
approximately 2500 terrazzo and brass stars bearing the names some of the most well-known people in the entertainment industry. It was a great atmosphere with loads of people walking around, checking out the stores, enjoying the sun and getting photographs with some movie characters. Just be aware though, that a tip is required whenever you pose for photographs with them – needless to say, the girls only posed for one photo. This part of Hollywood was a little more run-down than we initially expected, but I guess with visitor
numbers reaching the tens of millions annually, it is not surprising. There is
currently some restoration work underway, so I’m sure it will be amazing once the work is done.

It was amazing to wander down the street as there is so much to take in all at once.

Back home via the Number Five freeway ended another family day out with some of the local landmarks ticked off our list.