I travelled to Los Angeles (LA) from 31st May to the 5th June 2017 primarily for a family function, a family reunion of sorts. Even though  LA is 10 hours away from London I decided to only go for 6 days as I did not want to spend too much time in the States.  My perception of the states I must admit has been coloured by  the recent political situation. However I  was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed LA and I wish I stayed a little longer.

The Essentials
Flights: I flew with Air New Zealand, it was  a direct flight from London Heathrow to Los Angeles JFK airport for £467 including a checked in luggage.
Accommodation: We stayed at an Airbnb Apartment in West Hollywood for £380 for 5 nights. It was a beautiful 2 bed apartment with two bathrooms so we essentially had a private bathroom, the apartment was centrally located being a short walk to  Beverly Hills and a 10 min taxi ride to  Hollywood Boulevard.
Transport: We used Uber to get most places and the most we paid was about £7. We also had a family member who took us around. But I recommend hiring a car to as you can’t freely move around without a car.

I am going to split my trip to LA into small post so here we go ………………………………………

LA PART 1
Runyon Canyon Park
The first thing activity we did was visit Runyon Canyon Park. Having developed a taste for hiking from my trip to the Lake District in England (which you should certainly check out) I asked a few people the best hike to do and most recommend Runyon Canyon Park as it is an easy hike and the way up is scenic. The hike indeed was very pleasant and we completed it in just over an hour. We decided to go against the flow (unintentionally I should add) and did the hike the harder way, by that I mean we walked up the recommended route down and walked down the recommended route up but even with that the hike was fine. So if you do intend to visit, wear appropriate footwear, carry a bottle of water, have a good camera ready and use the recommended correct route; start on the hiking trail on the right hand side of  the entrance.

Pictures From The Hike

 

Overview
Runyon Canyon Park was a nice opener to the trip and it was a great introduction to LA, I truly recommend  going on the hike if you can, even take a picnic as there are areas you can sit down at the base, midway or on top of trail  to relax  soak up the environment and eat some food.

What next?
Do you want to find out what we did in LA then follow my blog to find out more and also to be notified as I upload more posts.