This travel to Los Angels does not cover entire tourist attractions of Los Angels but just about what important points attracted me to cover in our two nights stay in LA. We drove our car in an around LA covering the sites Malibu, Santa Monica beach , Griffith Observatory, Walk of style, walk of fame, going through the residential colonies of Hollywood.
99% of the 10 million tourists who visit LA don’t miss to see Universal Studios and Warner Brothers Studio but at this senior age we had not much interest in that. Since the time with us was 2 days we covered the attractions as
Griffith Observatory, Hollywood sign, Santa Monica beach, Malibu – 1 day
Hollywood Walk of Fame, Walk of Style, Beverley Hills, Los Angles down town- 1 day
Hollywood sign – Can be seen by tourists from Griffith Observatory, though it is very far yet visible.
Today the 45-foot-tall, 350-foot-long sign is in its best condition ever, thanks to the ongoing preservation efforts of the Hollywood Sign Trust.
It was dedicated in 1923 as “HOLLYWOODLAND” for a real estate development but it faced neglect and vandalism. In 1979 it was again revived by fund raiser project and individual letters were funded by auctioning off to the famous Hollywood figures.
Malibu – It is the costliest settlement in Los Angels with the houses of business tycoons and famous Hollywood stars. The houses in Hollywood can be bought from 2 million onwards but houses in Malibu are beyond common reach due to being in heart of city and pacific ocean beach views. There are many surfing clubs here.
Malibu is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains, situated about 30 miles from LA downtown. Paradise Cove bluffs, Malibu colony, Encinal Bluffs, Serra retreats are one of the most expensive residential colonies of LA county. In LA Beverly Park, Beverley Hill accounts for richest cities of LA and above Malibu. Average houses in Malibu range from $4.5 million to 10 million.
Griffith Observatory –
The Griffith Observatory is greatest attraction, offering spectacular views from the Pacific Ocean to Downtown LA from its perch on Mt. Hollywood in Griffith Park. It was opened in 1935.
It shows live experiments of earth revolution, Tesla coil electricity generation, planets, asteroids, meteorites and comparison of planets, elements exhibit so far found as per periodic table etc.
We saw the Northern light show and its scientific basis in the observatory. Telescope is also open to public. telescope usually targets the Moon, planets, and the brightest objects in the Milky Way. The telescope serves up to 600 visitors per night.
The story of the Griffith Observatory begins with Colonel Griffith, who donated 3,015 acres of land surrounding the observatory to the City of Los Angeles in1896. In his will, Griffith donated funds to build an observatory, exhibit hall, and planetarium on the donated land. His goal was to make astronomy accessible to the public.
found at the Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona. It is 92% iron and 7% nickel.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame – 2,600 stars today.
The names of famous entertainers are written here in field of one each in category of Radio, Recording, Motion Pictures, Television, and Live Performance. The Walk of Fame is administered by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and maintained by the self-financing Hollywood Historic Trust. Gene Autry is the only entertainer who has 5 stars under all these categories.
Apollo XI astronauts have their name under Television, boxer Muhammad Ali has his name under Television. It is a popular tourist destination, with an estimated 10 million annual visitors in 2010.
The Hollywood Walk of Style –
This is about 2 KM short walk in Hollywood area.
Similar to the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, recipients of the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style are presented with a bronzed plaque that features a personal quote and their signature, which is then embedded into the sidewalks along the street.
A few quotes are – “Beauty is a powerful thing. It can add enormously to the quality of life.” and “Fashion and cinema together for life.” etc.
Santa Monica –
Unique about Santa Monica is perfect blend of laid-back beach town and bustling cosmopolitan lifestyle. It is 3.5 miles in length, is within walking distance to popular hotels, shops and restaurants and offers a variety of activities and attractions. It is just a short 16-mile distance from Los Angeles to Santa Monica Beach. In the middle of the beach, extending from Colorado Blvd and the center of Santa Monica is the Santa Monica Pier. The pier is a landmark for the beach and the city, featuring an amusement park, aquarium, shopping, restaurants, and more.
In two day visit we had to miss Disney Land, Universal Studios and Getty and I am not describing these here. We stayed in the hotel WestIn. Comfortable stay it was.
Epilogue
Two day tour to LA is not enough as LA is famous for diverse points like film Studios like Universal, Warner, endless beaches, Hollywood, observatory and museums. Each of these points needs at least one day to spend. But for a senior citizen like me I chose the points of my choice and my son knows this. The hotels and food in LA are costly. We can get plenty of Indian and Asian food. I observed darker side too of LA though two days are short time to comment. The places in LA seem to be quite crowded may be like any big city. Hollywood area did not fit so much in my image what I heard about Hollywood glamour in TV. There seems to be much gap between poor and rich like any big city. Some scenes of homeless were disturbing like I had seen in Mumbai.
But as a whole Los Angles is a city which holds top name in cities in entire world. It is proud city to hold exceptional theatre and cine talents, world famous studios which attracts millions of tourist every where. I was one of the few fortunate to have seen the city and credit to my son and daughter-in-law.
Good bye LA!!
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