The next day, we had a wedding event in the morning, and then the plan was to go to the Griffith Observatory for sunset.
The wedding was beautiful and nothing like I’d ever experienced before. It was the first Sikh wedding I had ever attended. It started with the groom coming up the road in a fancy convertible, and we all greeting him with music and dancing on the street. After partying in the street for a while, we were served a large breakfast setup under a tent. Wasn’t expecting that but it was absolutely delicious! And I wish we hadn’t eaten breakfast at the hotel earlier! Soon after breakfast, we were ushered into the Gurdwara. A Gurdwara is a place of worship for the Sikhs. Everyone had to cover their heads, and the men and women sat on opposite sides. See you later, Nisheet! Luckily, I knew some of the girls and didn’t have to sit alone! I couldn’t understand most of the ceremony as it wasn’t in English, but it was beautiful and emotional none-the-less. And afterwords, we were treated to even more scrumptious food!
After the wedding, we had our sights set on the Griffith Observatory. But, on the way, we drove past a BAPS Hindu Temple. Immediate U-turn! We were already dressed for the occasion, so we couldn’t not stop. Plus, it was a holiday weekend for Hindus with Diwali around the corner, so the timing was perfect, And, it was absolutely amazing. Inside the temple, the aroma of sandalwood incense and the peacefulness of immaculately carved marble walls felt like the ultimate nirvana. I wish I could have taken pictures from inside the temple, but photography wasn’t allowed. So, you’ll just have to go see it for yourself!
After about an hour at the temple, we finally made it back on the road and on our way to the Griffith Observatory. We almost made it to our destination, but we got side tracked again. We were both a little tired from getting up early for the wedding ceremony, so we made a pit stop for some coffee. It wasn’t just any ordinary coffee shop though. It was Philz Coffee. Definitely in our top 5. Plus it was in a charming neighborhood called Glendale. Unfortunately we didn’t get to spend to much time exploring this area, but we added it our to-do list for the next time we are in LA. (Who else creates a next time to-do lists for cities? Please comment and tell us we aren’t weird for doing this! 🙂
And, now, FINALLY, we were really on our way to the Griffith Observatory. We originally thought we would have most of the afternoon to leisurely stroll to the top of the hill where the observatory was, but we were wrong. Sunset was quickly approaching, so we had to drive up the hill instead. Parking was C-R-A-Z-Y since we were arriving so late and closer to the sunset time. Nisheet always has luck on his side though, and someone left their street parking spot just below the already full parking lot, so we snagged their spot. Winning!
The stunning views start before you even get to the actual Griffith Observatory. You can even see the famous Hollywood sign (look below the antenna in the photo below)!
And, in case you didn’t know, this is one of the locations where The Terminator was filmed. Nisheet is pretending to be recreate The Terminator’s arrival scene in the photo below. I think he did a great impression of him, don’t you? Hehehe.
Griffith Observatory has some pretty cool exhibits inside that are all free of charge. Nisheet decided to check out some of the amazing exhibits on planets and astronomy while I chose to spend my time admiring all of the views from the terrace and the roof. On one side of the observatory, you could see the hills and beaches. On the other side, you were rewarded with stunning views of downtown LA. I couldn’t stop admiring. It was so beautiful from up here. And we got to see the golden orange colors of sunset slowly change to night’s darkness and watch the city lights turn on and sparkle. Such a cool pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming experience.
Finally, we dragged ourselves away from the views and headed down the hill for some dinner. Koreatown was nearby, so of course that put us in the mood for some Korean food! We found a cute little place called The Bun Shop, and ended the night with some yummy steamed bao buns and Yoshi fries.
