Adventures in Public Transport:The Return - Day Three Hollywood & Griffith Observatory

[Disney Wishing]

After another broken nights sleep we got up around 6am this morning. Today we were exploring LA and moving hotels to Downtown LA. When planning we were originally going to do 3 nights in Santa Monica but a combination of price and how spread out LA is made us decide in the end to do a split stay. So we got ready and packed up the few bits and pieces we had out before heading down to breakfast around 7.30am. After filling up on waffles, bacon, juice and coffee we checked out and headed out to order an Uber XL to take us to the Sheraton in Downtown where we would be staying for 1 night. As it was a Sunday morning there was no traffic about and we were pulling up at the hotel 17 minutes later at a total cost of $32.71. This hotel was beautiful. The lobby was done out like a large library with wooden panelling, beautiful lighting and cosy nooks everywhere.

As it was still only around 9am and our room not ready (not that we expected it to be) we organised storing our bags before heading out to the metro station which is next door to the hotel.

We purchased TAP cards for the day at a cost of $8 each which included the $1 for the actual card. We then headed down the escalator to find the correct platform for the red line to take us to Hollywood which was our first port of call. Both the expo and red line operate from this station. It was fairly easy to navigate, not a lot different from the tube with the tap cards working the same way as oyster cards. The metros are just not quiet as frequent so we had about a 15 min wait for the next one. Once it arrived we rode this as far as Hollywood & Highland station.

My Husband and I had visited Hollywood way back in 2002 and were really disappointed but DS was desperate to see the Chinese Theatre after trips to WDW so we added it into our trip. The area has really been cleaned up since then. We had fun looking at the stars and looking at the footprints. Popped into the Gharadelli Store and took some photos but after an hour we’d seen all we wanted to and decided to head off to our next stop, The Griffith Observatory.

After debating whether to use the metro then the connection shuttle or not we decided just to uber it. The journey took 24 mins and cost $13.94. On arrival we admired the view of the hollywood sign before heading around to the roof balconies. Sadly the view wasn’t at its best due to smog but still pretty impressive. By now it was 11.45am and 32 degrees so we headed inside to get out of the sun.

The place was packed! We looked at a few of the exhibits but it was a little tricky with so many people about. We did decide to book tickets for the 1.30pm planetarium show though which gave us a short amount of time to grab a quick bit to eat at the onsite cafe. Bellies satisfied we headed to the enter area for the show. This was fantastic and I would defiantly recommend it. After the show we looked around the observatory a bit more but it was still busy so we gave up and headed off.

We caught the shuttle bus down the hill which links you to the Vermont/Sunset Metro station then caught the red line back to DTLA. By now it was around 3.30pm so we headed back to the Sheraton to see of our room was ready which it was.

After freshening up a bit and getting out the few bits we needed for our overnight stop we popped across the road for a look in Walgreens. Sad as I am I love a good look around walgreens! We stocked up on some sun location we love but cant get back in the UK and picked up some snacks and bits for the days ahead and popped backed to drop them off. We contemplated going up to the Walt Disney Concert Hall but in the end decided to make use of the lounge we had included with our room rate. It was only $35 more to upgrade to it and it had a fantastic view over downtown so we grabbed some complimentary drinks and had fun nosing at all the goings on on the rooftops and working out where the take that video was filmed. At 5.30pm they also served lots of small foods items so we grabbed some of those and stayed to watch the sun starting to set over the building before heading down to bed.

[Melbatb]

I didn't know they had a metro in LA! We are contemplating a day in LA to satisfy the kids' desire to go!

Great day you had though!

[Pussycat Doll]

Another great day!

[jocat]

Loving the look of your hotel lounge.

[dozy]

it looks like so much fun. really enjoying report and as i won't drive there i now am wondering if this is an option for us in the future?

[mrsdjh]

Your new hotel looks lovely and nice that you had use of the lounge.

Was a day enough to see the sights of LA for you?

[Disney Wishing]

Originally Posted by mrsdjh

Your new hotel looks lovely and nice that you had use of the lounge.

Was a day enough to see the sights of LA for you?

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For us on this trip it was. DH and I had been to LA once before back in 2002. Its just not one of my favourite places as its so spread out so we narrowed down to just a few things we wanted to see. We did contemplate doing a day in Universal but in the end the high ticket price put us off. We're not into celebrity houses and we felt we didn't watch enough of the TV shows filmed at Warner Bros to do a tour there. The only thing I would also liked to see the The Broad Museum in downtown back I missed the booking slot to get the early morning tickets on the Sunday and they don't open on Monday so decided to leave it.

[summersun]

great day x