rural Los Angeles

We'll see if we can live up to our vow this year: to do/visit at least one new thing or place in Los Angeles each week.  I felt very strongly last year that although it was great fun living here, in a very broad sense, that because Alice already knew LA well, I missed the whole experience of going out and exploring.  Of course that's not exactly true - I went to and discovered all kinds of new things, and some days would, say, deliberately take an unknown street when driving to work.

But today, it was the turn of the Hollywood Reservoir, complete with views of the Hollywood Sign, delectable houses, including Castillo del Lago, which I checked out when I was home, and indeed, it was lived in (and from an architectural history point of view, apparently wrecked) by Madonna, until 2009.  And views of pine trees and water.  And deer.  And, really, very few people, given that it's a weekend and this is a huge metropolitan area ... though the fact that dogs aren't allowed might have something to do with that, too.  It was build by William Mulholland in 1924, and features in Chinatown.  Unfortunately, one can't get all the way round (landslides following heavy rains in 2005), but it was a good enough walk (and, after Switzerland, mercifully not downhill).  And yes, the water is a strange greeny-blue in places.  Perhaps one should boil it ...