Los Angeles Travel Diary

Today I want to share with y'all the longest stop on my family and I's West Coast roadtrip, Los Angeles. We spent two full days here, one exploring the city and the other enjoying Venice Beach. While I'm sure we only made a dent in everything there is to do and see in the city, we made the most of our 48 hours! My brother is now set on living here when he grows up, and while I had so much fun experiencing LA, I think I'll stick to living vicariously through my favorite TV shows!  

We pulled into LA on a Saturday evening, and thankfully, the exit off the interstate for our hotel was right before traffic came to a halt. I seriously don't know how we were able to avoid traffic our entire time in the city; I guess luck was on our side! We stayed at the Inn at Venice Beach, which was walking distance from the beach and tons of restaurants. Plus, the staff was super nice, and it had the cutest outdoor courtyard that we enjoyed during breakfast each morning. 

By the time we got settled into our room, everyone was exhausted so we walked next door to Baja Cantina for a quick bite to eat before calling it a night. I wasn't that hungry, so I just ordered some chips and guac as my dinner. But let me tell y'all, not only was this one of the biggest bowls of guac I've ever seen but it was also one of the best I've ever had! 10/10 would recommend!  

Sunday morning we took an Uber out to Hollywood to see the Walk of Fame. While this was obviously purely a tourist attraction, it was fun to see the more eccentric side of the city. We walked by the Chinese Theatre, ate lunch at Hard Rock Cafe and went to Madame Tussauds, a wax museum. 

The day we were exploring the city was also my sister's 15th birthday, so we made a quick stop at the Sprinkles Cupcake ATM to get her a birthday treat! Anyone else think Kansas City needs one of these too?! 

After getting our sugar fix for the afternoon (my family does not do well without our sweets haha!) we took another Uber out to Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. Needless to say, walking by all the high-end storefronts was like a dream, and my brother was drooling over all of the cars driving by. 

The couple hours we spent in Beverly Hills also got me hooked on watching 90210 the rest the summer!

The one thing I really didn't like about LA was how un-walkable the city was. Every place we wanted to go required an Uber ride, so after we our fill of the lavishness Rodeo Drive had to offer we headed to downtown LA to check out the Last Bookstore. I'm a huge bookworm so this was a fun, quick stop, but it was so busy! Honestly, I don't think the 30 minute drive was worth it, but if you're already in the area then I'd say it's totally worth stopping by. 

Although, our driver afterwards, on our way to The Grove, made the long drive so entertaining! He was part of an a cappella group that was on The Voice a few years back, and he played videos of his group performing the whole way. It made for a very fun and upbeat ride! 

The Grove actually ended up being my favorite spot in the city; it was a super laid back and refreshing area. We sat outside and listened to some live music while eating ice cream, and then we concluded our day in the city by jumping on one of the super obnoxious yet hilarious TMZ celebrity sighting buses. It was a total tourist move, but it was also a quick and easy way to see other parts of the city we hadn't gotten to.  

Instead of having dinner in the heart of the city we headed back to Venice Beach and winded down at The Terrace Cafe. It was so nice enjoying the summer night sitting outside. I got the spicy shrimp and sunset rigatoni, and it was delicious!  

Opting for a more lowkey day after a crazy day running around city, we spent all of Monday roaming around Venice Beach. We started our day off by walking along the beautiful canals, and we saw some of the cutest homes. I was actually amazed by how creative these people were with their small spaces. 

We then grabbed a quick lunch and rented some bikes to ride along the beach. We stopped at Muscle Beach, a definite must-see if you're in the area, and then proceeded to Santa Monica Pier. We went up the ferris wheel there and got some of the coolest views of the beach and city!  

The rest of the day was spent relaxing on the beach. Honestly, I felt like a kid again playing with the rock and shells along the shore with my siblings and then laying in the sun watching the seagulls. We concluded the day with THE BEST dinner I had our entire trip at C&O Trattoria. The food was amazing; I ordered the rigatoni with tomato cream, but the best part was when everyone in the restaurant started singing together. They servers passed out sing-a-long sheets, and it made for such a fun and enjoyable atmosphere! It was the perfect ending to our time in LA! 

That wraps up today's travel diary! I feel like LA was so different from what I expected, but I still loved every minute of it. I'm just so thankful that I've had the opportunity to travel so much and experience so many different cities even in just this past summer alone. I'm also trying to finish up my travel content from the summer soon, so be expecting lots of that on the blog the remainder of this week! 

What else have y'all done in LA?