Breathtaking Grand Canyon

Our visit to the Grand Canyon started with a 780km road trip, so we decided to get going early. I’m so glad we did, as even at 6:30am there was still some traffic getting out of LA. The drive itself was pretty uneventful, however we did do a bit of a detour between Kingman and Barstow to do a bit of driving onto Route 66. 

It was fun to see all the old signs and the ‘Route 66’ printed on the road all the way. We also stopped at the Bottle Ranch on the way. Someone decided to create a sort of forest with trees made from metal and old glass bottles. It’s equal parts eerie and beautiful walking through the trees and watching the sun reflecting off the different coloured bottles. It’s also filled with old bits and pieces which were fun to discover. I could’ve spent a good while walking around and taking it all in, but we still had a long way to go. Because that part of route 66 was pretty quiet I took over the driving for a while, and I must say our car drove like a dream. Driving on the right side of the road is weird at first, but when you are on the highway it quickly feels normal, it’s when you drive in the town that you really notice it. The worst part is trying to judge the width of the car on the right hand side, Jeremy had to keep reminding me to watch out for the shoulder. Although I must say being a passenger on the right is almost more difficult than driving. I think it’s because you aren’t used to being on that side of the car or the road, but it constantly felt like Jeremy was driving across the lanes, only to check the mirror and see that it was all fine! The rest of the drive was pretty boring and consisted of long straight highway roads, although the scenery was quite pretty along the way with deserts and mountains in the distance. 

View from one of the rest points

Finally in Arizona!

After a good 10 hours of being on the road, we eventually made it to the Grand Canyon National Park. I had read up that staying in a lodge in the park itself is the way to go, and luckily managed to get us a room. So we made our way to the lodge. You drive through the national park and you could be driving anywhere really, there’s just forest all around you, so when we got our first glimpse of the Grand Canyon we were completely unprepared. Even through the trees and people we could see that it would be an amazing experience. We quickly checked in and then made our way to the viewing point closest to where we were staying. To see the canyon in real life is just breathtaking. I had seen pictures of it, but it just can’t prepare you for being there in person. The sheer scale of the canyon is mind blowing. It carries on for as far as you can see, and it just makes you realise how small you and some of your worries are, in the grand scheme of things. The most beautiful part of it all is all the different colours that are present in the stones. As the sun breaks through the clouds it lights up a different part of the canyon and makes the reds more bright and almost looks like it is on fire. Even now I don’t think my words can do it justice.

We booked to stay in the Maswick Lodge, which was all that was available when we booked. It was perfectly fine for what it is. However if you get the chance, try and book at the Bright Angel lodge and ask for a room with a view. Some of the places are right on the view points and I can only imagine what sunrise must look like from one of those rooms.

The next day also happened to be our 3 year wedding anniversary, so we thought what better way to spend it than with a hike through the canyon itself. Most of the hikes are actually for overnight hikers, where you can stay over in the canyon itself. Unfortunately we definitely didn’t have the gear for that, so we just did the trail and then turned around after a few kilometres. We had been recommended to go down the South Kaobib Trail, which is the best way to get as far into the canyon as quickly as possible as it’s the steepest trail. This is great news for the way down and for the amazing views, but not so much on the way up! But it was so worth it. Experiencing the canyon from a completely different angle was pretty amazing, and it was an experience I won’t forget. We hiked down to Cedar Ridge point and back which was about 5km or so in total, and took us about 3 hours or so to complete. If you find yourself in the canyon, definitely do this.

After that we headed to the visitor centre, and watched a short movie about the history of the canyon etc, which was interesting. We then did another 4km work all along the rim, back to our lodge which takes you all along the rim of the canyon, and also offers some amazing views. 

After all that exercise it was time for a shower and some relaxation. We had bought ourselves a nice bottle of white wine in LA, so took that down to the view point (hidden in some take away coffee cups) and watched the sunset over the canyon. For our anniversary dinner we got some takeaway meatloaf dinners to enjoy in our room with a glass of Frogs Leap red wine from plastic cups. Definitely the least fancy anniversary we have had, but it was one I don’t think I will forget it in a hurry!

Sundowners 

Romantic dinner for 2 :)

LA - Day 3 Studio Tour

When you think of LA you immediately think of Hollywood, celebrities and movies. So naturally one of the things to do is to do a studio tour at one of the major studios to see how the movies and TV shows we watch are made. 

We chose to do the Warner Bros tour, partly because it fitted in with our schedule but also because I have worked there for over a year. It was cool to see some of the shows and characters I have been working with!

Getting to the tour ended up being a bit more stressful than anticipated. Because of the LA marathon loads of the roads were closed so we had to try and find a away around it all. And then once we managed that we got to our destination, according to the GPS, only to find ourselves on the highway with definitely no studio around us! Turns out the address we had put it was different to where to GPS thought we should be :) By this time we had missed our slot for the tour, but luckily once we had eventually made our way to Burbank, they could slot us into a later tour.

The tour starts out with a bit of a history of WB, and then takes you onto some of the outdoor sets that are built and stay up and just get changed as necessary for each movie. One of my favourite parts of the tour was exploring these parts and seeing what was filmed there. It’s incredible that so many scenes from so many different movies and TV shows are filmed in the same place. We also saw the ‘set’ where Gilmore Girls’ Stars Hollow is filmed and it makes you feel like you are in the show.

Stars Hollow

Our tour guide was a wealth of knowledge, especially about all things Batman. He was so excited to share his knowledge with us, it was very infectious. We visited the WB museum next, which has a load of the costumes from Batman as well as Harry Potter to see. It was amazing to see it all. After that we got to see some of the cars that were used in the Batman movies, which we all amazing to see. Even more impressive was that all the cars we saw actually work and can be driven around.

Our tour continued into the prop department, which is where all the WB props from movies and shows are kept. It was interesting to find out that most of the props can actually be rented privately for parties etc. I could only wish to have a party in LA with some of the props they had available, it would make for a fun party. Also in the prop department is the Friends Central Perk cafe. This is no longer in the stage where they filmed, but it is recreated here, and we got our obligatory picture on the couch. The blackboard listing the specials is apparently the one that was used in the last show which has been preserved, so that was interesting to see too.

Lastly we got to see an actual stage where the shows are filmed. We got to see the Big Bang Theory stage, which was amazing to see. The set is all in one line basically. So you have a built portion of Sheldon & Leonards apartment, then the corridor and the Penny’s Apartment. The ‘apartments’ seem so much smaller in real life than what they appear on the show. It made me wish that we had thought ahead to try and get some tickets to a taping. But either way it was very cool to see. Unfortunately you weren't allowed to take any pictures, so you will just need to use your imagination :)

After all that excitement we headed for some mexican food, which is plentiful in LA. We went to a chain called Rubio’s for some fish tacos and burritos. When we first tried the fish tacos, I didn’t know if I would enjoy them but they are delicious. If you get a chance to try them somewhere, definitely do.

Anyway we thought that we couldn’t pass up another opportunity for some exercise and views before we left LA, so decided to do a sunset trip to Runyon. We did the easy route this time, jogging down and walk/jogging back up (mostly walking on my part). I must say if I lived in LA I would definitely make use of this place as often as I could. It’s a really nice place to get some exercise in,and the views mean your mind isn’t focusing on the exercising you are doing :)

Since we had to drive about 800km the next day we thought an early night in would be a good idea, so we stopped to grab some pre made salads and a bottle of wine for us to enjoy on our way home. However when we got home our ‘landlord’ told us about a place called Roscoes which is famous for chicken and waffles, and is even more famous for Barack Obama visiting it! After realising it would be our last chance to visit, we decided that the salads could wait and went to check it out. It was a great experience. The restaurant makes you feel like you are walking in somewhere in the south, and the food was delicious. The comb of fried chicken and waffles shouldn’t work, but it does. It is delicious, and if you are ever in LA, I would definitely recommend a visit!

LA - Day 2 Beverly Hills & Santa Monica

First up on our agenda for the day was to check out Rodeo Drive and the Beverly Wiltshire, which is the movie made famous by the movie Pretty Women. I love that movie and one of my favourite scenes is the one where she goes shopping on Rodeo drive, so I definitely wanted to make sure we checked it out. Rodeo drive itself is actually a long street, but the portion with the shops on is quite small. It was fun to walk up and down and check out some of the expensive cars and plastic faces :)

Beverly Wiltshire

After that we made our way to Santa Monica. This part of LA is really cool, and has a very different vibe to the rest. It's very beachy and everyone seems quite laid back. We checked out the Santa Monica Pier which was absolutely packed. We didn't actually realise that the next day the LA marathon would be taking place, and it ends in Santa Monica. So I think it was even busier than normal. We rented bikes from a place right by the pier and then cycled along the beach bike bath towards Venice beach. This was a really nice cycle all along the beach in a bike lane and was a nice way to see some sights. 

After about 15 mins we started seeing the start of Venice Beach. I know most people would've seen or heard of Venice Beach, but it's even more crazy than you can imagine. There are people everywhere selling all types of things and people performing and walking around. One thing Jeremy and I noticed is the amount of homeless people in the US. I'm not sure if it's just because you become so unused to seeing them while living in the UK, or because we weren't expecting it, but it is really prevalent everywhere we have been so far. Venice beach definitely has it's fare share of homeless people and a lot of them are along the street selling things or begging. Although in Venice beach it doesn't seem as out of place really. We stopped at the skate park to watch the people skating and some of the guys there were really impressive. We spent a good while watching them do tricks. One of the cool things about Venice beach is just the sheer number of things going on. There are the handball courts, muscle beach, people skating, rollerblading it's just endless. You basically spend most of your time turning your head trying to look at everything. It was fun, and the photos probably don't do it justice.

Venice Beach Walk

After we had seen all we thought there was to see, we headed back towards Santa Monica to drop our bikes off and hopefully check out the sunset. Unfortunately we couldn't find much in terms of bars along the beach, but eventually found a sushi place with an outside section where you could kind of see the sunset. It was really nice to relax and take everything in, but the place was a bit overpriced for what we got. It was nice enough though and one of the waiters was the guy that played the Sherminator in American Pie, which was the only 'celeb' we saw. Guess American Pie didn't pay that well after all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1CgGxPWyI0

Once the sun had set we decided to head to the 3rd street promenade which is a pedestrianised shopping area in Santa Monica. We had a good time wandering around and listening to the various singers and performers who were all playing on the streets. 

It was a good way to end of what was a really fun day in Santa Monica.

LA - Day 1 Sun Glorious Sun

For our first full day in LA we started it as any true star would... with a hike up Runyon Canyon!
With all the delicious food we have been eating we have been trying to keep active at the the same time, so we thought it would be a good way to kill 2 birds with one stone. Get some exercise and some amazing views at the same time. If you happen to watch any trashy E reality show, you would've no doubt have seen a 'celeb' kick start their fitness routine with a hike up Runyon. *cough, cough* Kardashians... (not that I watch that of course)

Anyway we got to Runyon, waited an age for some parking and then got hiking. There is 3 routes I read, the easy one, the difficult one and one called the hero. Unfortunately there isn't really a proper map so we went with one that looked difficult but not crazy. Turns out we took the hero one (I think) but luckily for us we did it the other way round to everyone else so I don't think it was as tough as it could've been. We were going down all the steep uphill bits that everyone else was dying on.

But it was a really good hike, and the views of LA are amazing from up there.

Views for days

Gotta get a selfie

After a quick shower and change, we made our way to the Hollywood walk of fame. Although it was very busy with tourists it was fun to see. The stars go on for ages, although the most famous stars tend to all be clustered around the Chinese Theatre. This was also interesting as in front of the theatre there are a lot of stars hand and footprints and signatures. We spent a good while just checking these out. There are also quite a few street performers along the stretch some of who are really good. We saw a girl doing some dancing to Michael Jackson who was impressive.

Griffith Observatory was next on the agenda, which is up there as an attraction on the LA lists for some great views. The views were good and the park surrounding the observatory looked like it would be a good place to explore, but I think after already seeing views in Runyon, we weren't as impressed. Although you did get some good views of the Hollywood sign which is cool to see! We didn't quite stay for sunset, although I'm sure that sunset from there would be impressive.

LA is known for good sushi, so we decided that's what we would have for dinner. The airbnb owner recommended a place called Sugarfish to us, and I had read it was good so we decided to check it out.
They have a few branches around LA, so we decided to check out the Beverly Hills one. The restaurant itself was quite low key, but the sushi was amazing. They have a 'trust me' menu that is recommended so that's what we went for. They choose a few different types of sushi and bring them out. All the fish was really fresh and very tasty. When we arrived we had to wait for a table as they don't do reservations. They have a bar outside though so we people watched all the rich people while we waited, which is always fun to do. We also got chatting to the people next to us about where to go for some drinks after and they recommended some places in West Hollywood to check out. So after dinner we hopped into a cab and made our way to Laurel Hardware but unfortunately the queue was crazy so we ended up in Hudson. This was a pretty cool place, sort of looked like an old train carriage and had some good music and very strong drinks! Most places in USA seem to free pour any spirits you order. We stayed for a few drinks and then headed off home.