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After eating at Pink’s, we went on to Griffith Park, which covers the hills above Hollywood, including the famous sign, and walked up-hill to the Griffith Observatory. The walk is not very long, but climbs at a fair rate, and in the heat of a Californian summer day it was a relief to get to the top.

We didn’t stay at the observatory long enough to do any observing – the telescope is open to the public after dark – but we did sit through a show in the planetarium (enjoyable and informative, although not likely to tell my audience anything new) , then wandered round the museum. The upper floor was mostly devoted to meteorites, and the lower to planets of the solar system. Pluto has not yet been eliminated, although its change of status was noted elsewhere – the gift shop sells “Pluto – Revolve In Peace” T-shirts and baseball caps.

We bumped into a familiar face:

There was an excellent view over Los Angeles from the top of the hill.

When we got back down to the car, a coyote dropped by, and posed for a few seconds on the bank opposite, but moved off just before I managed to press the shutter release on the camera.

Perhaps the coyote was just leaving The Trails, a little Zagat-rated cabin café selling high-quality snacks and drinks for people in the park, including interesting varieties of shortbread (lavender, and fennel and almond) and a variety of vegan-friendly fare including shepherd’s pie, pigs in a blanket, chilli and galettes.