May 23, 2015

Off to a great start in LA

Chiara Di NORTH AMERICA, TRAVEL Beverly Hills, California, Griffith Observatory, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Rodeo Drive, Santa Monica, Travel, Venice Beach, Wanderlust 0 Comments

It’s hard to believe we’ve almost been back from our USA trip for a week now. Where does the time go?

It was bad enough our trip went so quick. We were away for a month from mid April to mid May and I’ve decided to dedicate a blog post to each city we visited – first stop being Los Angeles.

Prior to arriving in LA, I hadn’t had many positive reviews on the city from friends or family who had visited so I was arriving with no expectations and an open mind.

When we arrived at LAX we took the complimentary car rental shuttle to Alamo where we met our lovely friends from Toronto, Malado and Paul. We picked up an SUV and drove to our hotel – The Hollywood Roosevelt.

We arrived at the hotel around midday and were luckily able to check into our rooms to freshen up. Then it was a quick wander along the Hollywood Walk of Fame outside on Hollywood Boulevard before hunger took over and we were back in the car to tick our first west coast experience off the list – In-N-Out Burger on Sunset Boulevard.

I must admit I was going in with high expectations (it’s generally what happens when people talk things up so much) but at the end of the day it was just a burger. Then we drove along Sunset Boulevard and stopped at Primo Caffe for some people watching – one of the best things to do in LA as there are so many different characters.

We then retreated to the hotel for some drinks by the pool – the Roosevelt is known for its pool parties. Malado and I ducked out to check out a movie premiere happening at the Chinese Theatre but you couldn’t see too much from across the street. We did spot Russell Crowe though.

Dinner tonight was at The Ivy, which was quite nice but I think we should have opted for a breakfast or lunch booking here instead. It just didn’t have a dinner vibe. We finished the night with a drink at a Cuban bar, La Seguarda.

Day two started with driving up the Hollywood Hills to Griffith Observatory where we took in the view of downtown Los Angeles and the Hollywood sign. I must admit, I did think the Hollywood sign was a lot larger than it is in real life. The view at the observatory is definitely worth the visit and you don’t actually have to visit the observatory to enjoy the view.

Then it was time to refuel at Toast Bakery Cafe on Beverly Drive. This was such a cute cafe with it’s cake and candy bar decor. We all enjoyed a breakfast of eggs of some kind.

Then it was off to the coast – Venice Beach first. And what another world that was, definitely an eye opener. It had an arty-grungey-alternate-hippy vibe with a lot of busking and loitering. After about half an hour we headed for Santa Monica, which was only a five minute drive away but felt like world’s apart. Santa Monica was quite beautiful and felt a lot safer. We explored the pier and Third Street Promenade where the shopping is.

That night we went for dinner at Sur (Sexy Unique Restaurant) from reality TV show Vanderpump Rules. The restaurant and bar had a great vibe and it was a very glamorous establishment with plush chairs, chandeliers and large flower arrangements. We only saw Jax from the show, who was behind the bar when we arrived. After dining in the restaurant we had a couple of drinks and a bit of a dance at the bar, which was a little cougar town.

We spent our last day exploring Beverly Hills. We started at the Beverly Centre, which was fairly quiet. Then we explored the LA Farmers Market with cute patisserie, candy, fudge, meat, chilli and more stalls. We had lunch at Cafe Marmalade at The Grove where I had my first of many cobb salads. At The Grove we were also introduced to American Girl, a doll chain whereby girls practically treat their dolls as their own child.

After The Grove we went for a drive up Beverly Drive and Mulholland Drive to explore the world of Beverly Hills homes. Even though we saw a lot of fences, gates and shrubs, it was still pretty impressive.

It was then time for coffee at Urth Caffe before exploring the world of Rodeo Drive. I’m not sure if it was because it was a Saturday or people in LA just have so much money, but the number of luxury cars we saw within an hour was insane. It was never ending. You could literally people (or car) watch for hours. We did the tourist thing down the pedestrian friendly section of Rodeo Drive and saw Jason Biggs drive past in his convertible!

We spent our last night enjoying Japanese cuisine at happening restaurant Katana. It was very flash and full of beautiful people catching up with friends. We enjoyed a number of share plates and after had good intensions of checking out a bar or club but three full on days had us back at the hotel and checking out the end of a Roosevelt pool party.

I must admit I really enjoyed LA – it actually ended up being my favourite place of the trip. I think having our friends with us definitely influenced that as Malado and I were able to get away and do the ‘celebrity hunt’ things we wanted to do and it got us out and about a bit more at night. It’s also a very flashy and glamorous place which is great for people watching.