Another destination I was able to visit and leave the hotel was to Los Angeles, USA. I’ve been to LA before and its not a destination I overly love. I originally had a trip to Washington DC for a twenty four hour layover, but someone sent me this swap for a forty eight hour layover in LA so I happily accepted as it gave me a few more flying hours and a bit more rest after that long sixteen and a half hour flight over!

We left Dubai at 08:55am landing into LAX Airport at 14:15. When we got to the hotel I was so exhausted, so I ordered some Chipotle for dinner, my favourite when I’m in the US and fell asleep around 6pm. Bear in mind the eleven hour time difference between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

Waking up around 2am, the joys of jet lag! I spent the rest of the night/morning watching TV until I was ready to head across to Runyon Canyon for some exercise out in the fresh air. I jumped in an Uber and drove across the city for thirty minutes. Unintentionally I had placed the drop off pin at the top of Runyon Canyon and I experienced the most gorgeous drive through the Hollywood Hills. The homes you see here are SO spectacular, I felt like I was on an episode of Selling Sunset. It’s something I wish that everyone could experience at some point in their lives.

I thanked the Uber for the ride and headed on into the 160 acre park. It was relatively quiet as it was very early morning and midweek and I honestly didn’t have a course I wanted to follow or if I even knew where to go. I just decided to follow a path and see where it led me. It wasn’t long until I could see the infamous Hollywood sign! You might have to squint your eyes to see it in the picture, but it was pretty clear to the naked eye that day.

I’ve been recommended Runyon Canyon a few times to do in LA and I’m so glad I’d finally ventured out to do it. It’s easily signposted, it is a managed terrain the majority of the way round which you can see in the photo below, there are a number of different loops for all abilities and you get to see some incredible homes that you wouldn’t be able to see otherwise and the view across Downtown LA.

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When I reached the bottom of the canyon there were an abundance of camera crew all filming what looked like some reality show. I wish I knew what they were feeling cause theres a good chance I would be walking in the background of the shot, I mean this could be my big break – haha! People in LA must see this quite often and not be phased because no one even seemed to be even glancing over. I on the other hand found it rather exciting. Maybe it’s because we’ve been kept inside hotel rooms for so long!

Such a gorgeous more close up view from the bottom, I continued the loop round and began hiking upwards now which was a lot more strenuous and as I was doing so I could see the clouds beginning to darken around me. Trying to ignore them and have a PMA (positive mental attitude) that it wouldn’t rain I carried on going.

I got about half way up the hill when I felt a couple rain drops and knew that if I wanted to catch another Uber it would be better to catch it at the bottom of the Hollywood Hills rather than the top, so I turned back round and towards the Vista entrance of the park and came out right by the Walk of Fame. I’d hiked around 5.5km according to my Apple Watch, and I was so ready to have something to eat. So I called into Trader Joe’s a supermarket I see raved about on TikTok and had wanted to visit since the pandemic began to see what all the fuss was about.

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I really enjoyed my wander around this supermarket, I do recommend visiting one if you’re ever nearby a Trader Joe’s. They’re the famous creators of the hugely popular everything but the bagel seasoning. The food was glorious and I enjoyed my little picnic in the room and the delights I brought back to Dubai with me too. I had a leisurely afternoon before another early night and before I knew it, it was time to head back to Dubai the following day.

It was great to head back outdoors in the US again. Theres always something for me to do here and I never mind seeing an American destination on my roster. Hopefully I’ll be able to visit New York again soon, I’ve been missing one of my favourite cities SO much!

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