Back to the City of Angels

While the clouds continue to cover most of the sky in New York City, I’d like to take a trip down memory lane, all the way back to… well, last month. After a long but enjoyable winter in Scandinavia, I yearned for warmer climates and it didn’t help that I kept seeing #WinterinLA pictures on Instagram. So off to Los Angeles I went!

Although it wasn’t a brand new city for me (since I go there at least once a year to visit friends and extended family) Los Angeles always has something new to show me and that’s what I love about it. For example, I’d never been to Laguna Beach (pictured above) and it’s definitely a more polished beach than what I’m used to; there were paved walkways, little informational signs, lookout points, and pretty benches. Well-maintained gardens lined much of the waterfront there.

There’s always some unexplored wondrous area of LA that leaves me feeling refreshed and happy – though sometimes it does happen to be after 3 hours of traffic and 1 hour looking for a parking space. I’ve never been used to “car culture” and it almost feels like I’m a foreigner when I go to a place where “cars = life,” which incidentally, is EVERY SINGLE CITY that’s not New York. I mean, driving a car is a special-occasion-thing for me, not an everyday thing.

A normal day in NYC is stepping outside and walking/biking around, so going to LA and having to step directly into a car as soon as you got outside was a bit jarring to say the least.

I saw something quite poetic during one of the let’s-spend-30-minutes-trying-to-find-parking excursions, which I posted to Snapchat (if you’re not on Snapchat yet, you are missing out):

Springtime In New York Cafe
Springtime In New York Cafe

But all sarcasm aside, I loved every second of sun-soaking and instead of barhopping my friends and I went beach-hopping. I think I must have spent at least some part of every day at one beach or another, including:

  1. Malibu Beach – definitely the most beautiful of all the beaches I’ve been to. Go early in the morning if possible.
    Malibu Beach
    Malibu Beach

     

  2. Laguna Beach – very pretty, good for a date!
    Laguna Beach
    Laguna Beach

     

  3. Santa Monica Beach – crowded in the winter. The WINTER.
    Santa Monica Beach
    Santa Monica Beach

     

  4. Venice Beach – great place to watch the sunset.
    Venice Beach
    Venice Beach

     

 

We weren’t the only ones enjoying the sun at Santa Monica Pier:

 

Sea Lions at Santa Monica Pier
Sea Lions at Santa Monica Pier

 

And as usual, I did A LOT of eating, but this time it was always with a great view, like at Las Brisas at Laguna Beach. Best place for a breakfast buffet. Breakfast foods are THE BEST.

 

Breakfast at Las Brisas
Breakfast at Las Brisas

 

And C&O Trattoria, for some delicious Italian food and buttery garlic rolls, where everyone joined in to sing “That’s Amore”:

 

C&O Trattoria
C&O Trattoria (and my friend James)

 

And healthy food at LEMONADE! This place is definitely one of my favorite places to go eat whenever I’m in LA. The food is quick, healthy, and interesting!

Lemonade, Beverly Hills
Lemonade, Beverly Hills

 

Although I’m embarrassed to admit this, I did wait over an hour to get a slice of Earl Grey pie at Pie Hole on Pi Day:

 

Pie Hole on Pi Day
Pie Hole on Pi Day

 

The most memorable parts of this trip were probably The Last Bookstore in downtown LA, where they were showing art work for the Downtown Art Walk:

 

LA Downtown Art Walk
LA Downtown Art Walk

 

The Last Bookstore LA
The Last Bookstore LA

 

And the 7-hour hike up Mount Woodson in San Diego:

 

Mount Woodson, SD
Mount Woodson, SD

 

Ah, that hike was quite strenuous. I honestly had some moments where I didn’t think I would get to the top. But after 4 hours there I was, smiling and sitting on top of the world. Thankfully I was with my good friend who was my cheerleader and quite literally pushed me to the top. (Thanks Hwan!) It took 3 hours to get to the bottom and go straight into Phil’s BBQ. LOL.

Sitting up there on that mountain, little did I know that a month later, I’d be doing a different kind of hike that was waaaaaay harder, and made this 7-hour hike seem like a walk in the park!!! It would be all in the water!! In Utah!!! It would leave me black and blue!

But I’ll save that story for the next post. đŸ™‚

Looks like the weather in NY is finally catching up to LA though, so get out there and enjoy!