Day 4 - Grammys, observatories and cemeteries

These three words are not often used in the same sentence but they sum up our day today. Louis made an early start, meeting up with a software guru in a local café to talk about complicated stuff. The rest of us thought coffee, scrambled eggs and cinnamon & raisin muffins sounded like a more enjoyable way to spend the morning. After eggs and technology, it was time to board the Ford Mustang Mid-Life-Crisis-Mobile, wind down the roof and head into town to visit the Grammy Museum.

It was an excellent place, full of musical history and memorabilia, including exhibitions on the great Stevie Ray Vaughan, one of the finest blues/rock guitarists ever, and also the Laurel Canyon music scene, which Louis has already talked about.

There were some great photos, guitars, diaries, clothes etc, bringing to life a very creative period in California music history. The museum also had a great section on the pioneering Blue Note jazz label. You could easily spend a day in this place, but Nathalie had an appointment in Griffith Park with Roxy, an old friend from Berlin, so that’s where we headed next (Griffith Park, not Berlin, as that would have been too far and we had only recently flown in from Europe, so going back there so  soon would have been silly).

The Griffith Observatory is famous for many things, including being an observatory with telescope-type things, being featured in a scene from Rebel Without A Cause and having a great view of the Hollywood sign and of LA generally. We had the novel idea of taking a photo with the Hollywood sign in the background, I don't believe anyone has done it before.

Lunch was taken in the café, with spectacular views.

While Nathalie enjoyed some quality time with Roxy, we went to visit the Hollywood Forever cemetery. It is a haven of calm not far from Sunset Boulevard and there are many famous people buried here: Cecil B de Mille, Peter Lorre, Douglas Fairbanks Jnr & Snr, Tyrone Power, Fay Wray, Mickey Rooney and last but least, legendary punk guitarist Johnny Ramone, as well as bassist Dee Dee Ramone - that's half of the Ramones in one cemetery! Here is my sensitive and moving tribute to Johnny...

In the words of animation legend Mel Blanc, "That's All Folks!" A great day enjoying some of LA's unique delights. Shame about the weather though...