In light of my recent trip to southern California and my sudden urge to get back into blogging, I figured I would talk about five places in L.A. I’d recommend checking out. There were tons of really cool things to do and see in L.A., but these were my favorite.
Venice Beach Boardwalk was SO much fun. My boyfriend and I headed to Venice Beach on our last day in California, because it was the warmest day of our trip. I had a lot of anticipation built up and I’m happy to say Venice Beach did not disappoint. It was one of the coolest place I had ever been. Venice Beach was like a cooler, more hipster Santa Monica. There were tons of shops and restaurants along the boardwalk, along some cool street performances.
Oh my goodness, this place was bomb.com. Before getting to L.A., I had done a little bit of research and planning so that we weren’t running around the city with no idea on what to do (don’t worry, it wasn’t anything like a Danny Tanner clipboard of fun!). The first time Dom and I had come here, it was before our tour of Paramount Pictures, and this place was a few minutes down the block. The service was great and the food was even better.
Best. Decision. Ever.
After checking out Rodeo Drive, Dom mentioned he wanted to try and get some photos near the Hollywood sign. As we were driving out of the parking garage on Rodeo, we asked the attendant where in the city she recommended so that we could do so. She suggested the Griffith Observatory. Now, prior to this, I had asked around and a bunch of other people had recommended going here as well but it slipped my mind. Nevertheless, I loved the observatory. I plan on doing a separate, more in-depth blog post on the observatory sometime soon, but this is one place I’d definitely recommend heading to when in L.A. We went during the daytime, but it’d probably be really, really cool to head there during sunrise, sunset, or the evening. Great views of L.A.
The Santa Monica Pier was really great. This was one of our first stops on our trip in California. It was pretty chilly the evening we went, so we didn’t get a chance to check out the beach or the water, man was it beautiful over there. I was in awe from the time we drove into the city of Santa Monica, to the time we made it to the end of the pier. I couldn’t stop taking photos and taking in my surroundings. The amusement park was really cute, Dom and I did the ferris wheel at the end of the night before we left. Click here to read a more in-depth post on the pier and our experience.
Everything I had expected Rodeo Drive to be, it was. I had my boyfriend running around the streets of Beverly Hills looking for the beautiful cobblestone pathways and was extremely excited upon finding it. There were a bunch of great shops and restaurants all along Rodeo (although most were waaaay out of our price range). Something I didn’t realize was in Beverly Hills before finding it was Sprinkles Cupcakes. I spotted the cupcake store and creamery from a block or two away (I’ve got a bit of a sugar tooth) and was so happy! I hadn’t had them since a trip to New York a few years prior.
The Staples Center also deserves an honorary mention. My boyfriend and I tried to go to a Lakers game the day we got to California but weren’t able to grab tickets, so we walked around the Staples Center and Downtown L.A. While walking back to our car, we ran into Chris Broussard, which was awesome! Dom had spotted him walking away from the Staples Center. I felt bad, I got really excited and messed up the photos I took of Dom with him. The next evening after spending some time at the Santa Monica Pier, we went back to the Staples Center for the Clippers/Celtics game.
