Los Angeles is quite a popular city in the state of California. The credit goes to the famous Hollywood studios. I admire this place because it is the place where you can find the adventurous mountains and the calm beaches together. It happens a lot of times when we are planning a trip, we have to choose between the mountains and the beach. But guys here both are equally beautiful. For me , travel to LA was a dream come true.
Planning the duration and the stay
Los Angeles is the second most populous city in USA .So a trip to LA can cost you more than a trip to Las Vegas. In the same year of 2018, we already traveled to California to explore the beautiful San Diego in June. I will be uploading its blog soon.And it was just three months after, so we were not planning a long duration visit. We were staying in Phoenix,Arizona during that time. LA was 6 hours away from home by road. Counting the two days in traveling ,we planned two days extra to stay. So it was a four days trip on the whole.
We took our own car for the trip. For me it was the first time we were taking our Dodge Challenger SRT to a long distance.It was afternoon when we left Phoenix because of his job. We had our lunch at home only and planned to eat in California. Otherwise it would take a lot of time to reach there. Although we stopped for a coffee from Starbucks in the midway. It was dark when we reached our hotel- Ramada by Wyndham.You can find the link of the hotel here (https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/ramada/los-angeles-california/ramada-wilshire-center/overview?brand_id=RA&checkInDate=9/15/2021&checkOutDate=9/16/2021&useWRPoints=false&children=0&adults=1&rooms=1&loc=ChIJE9on3F3HwoAR9AhGJW_fL-I&sessionId=1631720557&referringBrand=RA)
The accommodation costs us around 200$ per night as we booked a King Suite there. But a room in LA usually costs around $100 per night on an average. We booked a suite because there were some offers from the company in which my husband was employed and it was almost free for us. We chose this particular Hotel as it was close to the destinations we planned to target.Otherwise you will end up spending more on the transportation.As Denny’s Restaurant was walking distance so we went there for dinner.
Travel Destinations in LA
1.Universal Studios Hollywood
Rides
It is a walking movie studio where on one side live shooting is happening and on the other side there are rides open for visitors. We went early morning to Universal Studios ,it was at a walking distance from the hotel. You can take a one-day pass to avoid wasting the time on buying tickets for individual rides ,which will cost you around 100$. We were there at 10 am sharp, exactly at the opening time.
So first we took the famous Studio Tour where the comedian Jimmy Fallon’s voice guides you to the real sets of popular Hollywood movies. I would suggest visiting this one first as it can get crowded with time. There were cars used in the Fast and Furious movies all displayed on the way. As our bus proceeds, movie scenes created in 3D were displayed with sound effects. It was like a walking 3D show. First they displayed the King Kong and then the Fast and Furious which were filmed in reality within the Studio.
After that, we headed for the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter where there was a big waiting line. You enter this area where the building is the popular Hogwarts School and you will find the props used in the movies all displayed there. There were shops where you can buy wands and other movie stuff. Wait for the the surprise here ,then comes the popular 3D Harry Potter ride which I would recommend as it is the best virtual ride I ever had. In the ride you are riding the broomsticks to catch the magic balls and participating in the Quidditch game of Harry Potters. They have used beautiful effects and the experience was awesome.
You will find various rides in the same area. But we selected the Transformers ride. It feels like you are also fighting with the other transformers and experiencing the dangers. The last one –Jurassic Park was ok ok as it involved just a rollercoaster that climbs to an island where the dinosaurs were present.
Shows
It was afternoon when we were done with all these rides. After a quick lunch, at The Hollywood and Dine ,we went for some shows where we could just sit and enjoy. The first one was the Special Effects Show where they displayed how the various effects like fire, accidents are created on the sets. The second one was the WaterWorld where there was a live play going on with stunning effects.You can watch the video for some reference.
Last show was the “Universal Animal Actors” where they show how they train various animals to enact in a movie and follow instructions.It was fun watching a cat,dog, a parrot and a seal beautifully trained.
2. Hollywood Walk of Fame in LA
LA is famous for Hollywood and this walk of fame is its showcase.It expands to 2.5 miles and comprises of stars drawn on the ground with names of famous celebrities engraved. You can watch the video attached here for reference. We went there the same night after exploring Universal Studios and explored the night views. The nights are little colder so bring a jacket with you. The whole atmosphere was giving a feel of a festival, the whole entertainment package.There were guitarists,street shops ,the mimicry guys, live bands performing. But as the tour was tiring all day ,so we went to a restaurant and relaxed watching the street from there.
3. Griffith Park and Griffith Observatory
Next day, we left our hotel in the early morning. And again went to Denny’s for breakfast. There are lots of options for non-vegetarians. I preferred to eat pancakes or skillet. The reason we prefer Denny’s is because of their awesome service. So reaching this observatory was a 25 min drive from the hotel. It is situated on the Santa Monica Mountains. Various trails start from this point. We visited the building named Griffith Observatory and there was a kind of science exhibition going on there. There were a lot of telescopes to view beautiful scenes around the mountains. Look they were all paid. Without wasting any further time, we decided to start Hiking.
4.Hike to the Hollywood Sign in LA
So we hiked the longest trail to the Sign. Although there are shortcuts but we were thinking of doing a good hike. It was 8.8 miles round trip to the Mount Lee with an adventurous trek. And we crossed a lot of mountains, forests and palm trees. There was fresh air blowing through the ears.We had some of our amazing talks on our way.
5.Santa Monica Beach/Pier
This beach is a popular destination in LA and a very crowded one as well. After the hike, we went straight to the northern side of the Pier close to the ocean as we had little time and energy left .What we did not explore was the sandy beach on the southern side of the Pier. Families were enjoying their picnic time on the beach but somehow it was not a beach day for us.
For me it was first time visiting a pier. It was beautiful watching the sunset from the northern side. There was live singing.We had already planned to eat at the pier only, no matter how much it was going to cost us. We choose the outdoor seating and believe me dining there was a privilege. Luckily food was also really good and it costs us around 50$. We stayed there till night as it was our last night in LA .
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Travel to LA
