My trip to Hollywood City: Los Angeles

I recently did a rod trip from San Francisco to Ventura which is around 60 miles north to LA, so practically LA and San Diego were left complete the South California 101. Me and 3 of my friends decided to do a 4-day road trip from LA to San Diego. We spend 2 days in LA and 1 in San Diego and 1 driving along the coast from San Diego to LA.

All of landed at LA around 10 and decided to head to Santo Monica Pier as our first Stop. It’s over a 100 years old and offers a lot to do ranging from an aquarium, a video arcade, roller coaster, cafes, shops, street food shops and restaurants, street performers and an amazing view of Pacific. I did not know this that the famous Route 66 also ends at Santo Monica Pier. We went Mariasol a Mexican restaurant at the end of Pier to have a drink with the backdrop of the amazing view of LA and Pacific in background. Santa Monica Pier is one of the most happening Piers I have been to. We strolled around the Pier for some time and then headed to hotel for check-in.

Trip to LA is incomplete without viewing the Hollywood sign and we drove to Griffith Observatory for it. Best time to come here is for sunset. If you want to see a birds-eye view of the LA this is the place to be. It is also one of the best places to view the iconic Hollywood sign. The observatory is in Griffith Park and there are a lot of hiking trails inside the park if you are interested in. There are also a planetarium shows going in but we decided to skip it and leave for dinner. I feel Griffith Park is a must visit if you are visiting LA.

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Post dinner we went to the famous Walk of Fame. In my mind Walk of Fame will point towards or eventually lead to the Hollywood Sign rather it is a long strip filled with malls, cafes, restaurants, museums and an endless number of souvenir shops selling merchandise and five-pointed stars embedded with celebrities name in the sidewalks. By the time we reached most the places were already closed. Museum of Illusion was one of the places which were still open, the museum has exhibits which gives you a 3D effect when you click photos standing on the paintings. I loved the place, this is a paradise for Instagram lovers. After this, we went to a nearby bar and decided to call it a day.

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I was most excited about visiting Universal Studios Hollywood. Amusement parks have always attracted me and we were visiting the park which I have always dreamed of since childhood. Universal lives up to its name and its hype, this will probably be the best amusement park I will ever go to in my life. I thought there will be a lot of roller coasters and rides which are true but almost all the rides have hyper-realistic special effects, including 3D effects. Universal has created this amazing Harry Potter world inside the park, there is an entire section dedicated to Harry Potter world and it really feels you are in Hogwarts. All of the rides were exciting in its own way, my personal favourites were Harry Potter, Transformers 3-D ride and The Simpsons ride. This place has everything an amusement park should have thrilling rides, entertaining shows, character sightings, souvenir shops, super silly fun land for kids and a lot more. I was so attracted that I ended up buying the annual season pass at the end of the day.

I feel we could have spent more time in LA as there are a lot of things we could not do and visiting Disney is still In my bucket list. Now that I have the annual pass it gives me more of a reason to visit LA again and explore more of it.