My recent trip to LA was my first time visiting LA or anywhere in California since moving back to DC from the West Coast almost two years ago. To say I was excited would be an understatement! Not only was I anxious to revisit some of my favorite places and visit some friends, but I couldn’t WAIT to show my friend Tiff around! She had only been to LA once before, on a very short solo trip, and I knew she was going to love everything I had in store for her. Keep reading for a thorough recap of my trip, sprinkled with tons of my recommendations (in bold) for coffee shops, restaurants, shops, places to take pictures and more!
Day One: Koreatown
Since Tiff lives in Philly now, we had to fly to LA separately and meet up once we got there. The plan WAS for her to wait until I landed an hour after her, get the rental car together, then go to our AirBnb, but since Mercury Retrograde wanted to show out last minute, the plans got messed up! I ended up landing TWO hours after her, so she took an Uber to the AirBnb, and I went to pick up the car alone and meet her there.
After a long and somewhat stressful day of travel – and an even longer and more stressful couple weeks leading up to the trip – we were both exhausted by the time we saw each other! We felt like exploring, but there was no WAY we were getting back in the car and sitting any longer after being stuck on planes, buses and cars all day. Instead, we opted to walk around Koreatown, where we were staying.
The neighborhood around our AirBnb was super cute, and there were tons of Korean restaurants, cafes and grocery stores within walking distance. It is one of the few parts of LA I hadn’t really spent much time in when I lived out there, so I was happy to discover something new!
We stopped at a place called Kimbap for lunch, where I got a kimchi fried rice bowl and spicy pork “sushi” roll. They were both SO yummy, but the combo of spicy and hot was too much for me at the time and I decided to save some for later.
After that, we kept walking down the street, stopping for a photo op in front of Bumsan Milk Bar (a really cute little ice cream shop in a pink building), and then lattes at the Coffee Bean (basically the Starbucks of LA). I don’t know why, but basically every time we stopped for coffee it was at a Coffee Bean – not even because it’s that good, but it was just everywhere and I am always happy to have something that’s not Starbucks!
Once we got Tiff a phone charger at CVS (how TF do you forget to pack that??), we went back to the apartment to chill out, charge our phones, shower and get ready for dinner. Lucky for us, one of the places on my bucket list happened to be a few blocks away from where we were staying, which is great because I don’t think we had the energy to go much further!
We went to dinner at the Line Hotel, which I have been lusting after since I used to live out there and had just never made it. The restaurant is on the second floor patio/terrace of the hotel, built inside what looks like a green house – it is stunning! We got there right as the sun was setting and it was getting dark, so we unfortunately didn’t really get to take any good pics.
Once we sat and looked at the menu, we noticed the prices were um – different – so we opted to each get a drink and split two appetizers. It worked out in the end, because we were still full from lunch, so a small dinner got the job done. Plus, everything was DELICIOUS! Tiff literally inhaled her black salt margarita, and we practically licked the sauce off of our plates!
Our ambitious plan of going out in Koreatown afterward was quickly dashed as soon as we left dinner. Not only were we too tired and jet lagged, but we didn’t see the point of spending even more money on drinks if we were just going to fall asleep at the bar! Plus it was a Thursday night, so we felt ok about skipping the bars. We happily took our asses home to get some rest for the next day of adventures.
Day 2: Malibu & Santa Monica
Our first full day was our most ambitious. Malibu is pretty far from where were staying in Koreatown, so I figured we would start the day by driving all the way out there, taking pics, chilling on the beach, then making our way back down toward LA.
I should note, I am usually a non-planner when it comes to vacations. I usually like to play by ear and be more spontaneous, but knowing how spread out LA is and how tricky the traffic can be, I knew I had to be strategic on this trip to really get as much out of it as possible without overplanning and ruining the carefree vacay vibe!
Anyway, we both woke up super early (hello jetlag!) and walked to a coffee shop down the street called Spl. coffee. I found it on Google Maps and chose it because it was walking distance and also reminded me of a super cute little bubble tea cafe we found in Philly when I was visiting her!
The inside of the coffee shop was super sunny and bright, with a cute little corner to sit and sip our delicious matcha lattes and eat a yummy carrot cake muffin. It was a blissful little morning snack before what I knew would be a long day of adventures!
After walking back (and Tiff almost forgetting her purse at the cafe), we changed and headed out for Malibu. The drive was long, but it was so nice to drive with the windows down and enjoy the sun and breeze that it didn’t bother me at all!
I honestly wasn’t sure exactly where in Malibu I was going, but I wanted to find the place I had seen people take pics in front of these rock/cliff looking things on the beach (which I later found out is at El Matador State Beach, way further up the coast).
We ended up at a random public beach, which honestly was so disappointing after such a long drive. Not only was it tiny, but it was SO aesthetically displeasing! We found a way to finesse a few good photos out of it, then got back into the car to drive to my go-to beach in LA, Will Rogers State Beach.
I had planned on stopping at this hole-in-the-wall fish taco spot in Malibu for lunch, but I could NOT find it! Out of desperation, increasing hanger and diminishing options on the drive to Will Rogers, we just stopped at the grocery store to get some lunch stuff there. Once we actually got to the practically empty beach, I felt a wave of relief to finally sit and enjoy the beautiful day!
After a lovely beach picnic, I laid out and tried to tan for a couple hours while Tiff shivered under two jackets and all her clothes. Talk about a drama queen! 😂 I mean, it definitely wasn’t HOT, but it felt nice enough to me! Once I started to get cold, we took a few more bikini pics by the rocks, then headed back to the car for part two of our adventure.
We got down to Santa Monica around three-ish, right before traffic started to get bad coming down the 1. I parked in my go-to garage at 3rd Street Promenade – a popular pedestrian only shopping street – and we did a quick outfit change in the car before going to walk around. We stopped at the Nike Store, Topshop and Urban Outfitters to do a little shopping and take a few more pics!
Pretty soon we both got super hungry, so we went to Mercado for some much needed tacos and margs. Luckily, we got there right before the happy hour rush and got seated right away. I got carnitas tacos (as usual), which were TO DIE FOR! We were pleasantly surprised at how cheap the bill was with the happy hour prices – def go at that time if you visit (which you should!)
It was getting pretty cold by the time we left, but I was determined to see the sunset, so we stopped at the Coffee Bean (again) for hot lattes to warm us up. I made Tiff wait near the pier with me until the sun went down, then we both practically ran to the car to escape the cold. After the long ass drive home (and a long day overall), we had NO desire to go out. Plus, being out all day until 9 pm on a Friday is plenty of excitement for this grandma!
Day 3: Beverly Hills and The Grove
One of the things I was most excited for on this trip was visiting the Beverly Hills Hotel for the first time and taking pics on one of the palm tree lined streets nearby it. Since I started blogging after I moved back to DC, I feel like I missed out on SO many good photo ops in LA, and this was def one of them. I had literally been planning my outfits for weeks to wear there, LOL!
Since we knew we had a lot of content to shoot and wanted to get it all out of the way before crazy Saturday traffic jammed up the city, we got up and drove straight to Beverly Hills that morning. I saw on Google Maps that there was an Alfred Coffee right near the place we wanted to shoot, so we stopped there for matcha lattes (and pics of the cute plant wall with a neon sign – something I came to realize EVERY place in LA has 😆)
Our first stop was a palm tree lined street, where we wanted to take pics of us posing in the middle of the road. It turned out to be more a feat than I thought to find an empty street, but we lucked out and found the perfect one!
After getting a million pics, we changed and drove over to the Beverly Hills Hotel to take a million more pics: in front of the main entrance, in the back patio/pool area, inside the hotel – basically just all over. Every single corner was more breathtaking and aesthetically pleasing than the last!
On our way out, we stopped at the gift shop, which was my dream come true: everything was pink and tropical themed! 😍 I bought a pin for my new denim jacket, which is pink and shaped like the state of California. I felt totally satisfied with our visit, and so happy to finally check it off my bucket list!
After strolling through Will Rogers Historic Park on the way back to the car, we were ready for BRUNCH! Luckily Tiff is an easy travel buddy, because not only is she into the same stuff as me (eating, taking pics and exploring), she trusts me to take her wherever I think will be good. Also, she ALWAYS orders the same thing for brunch – eggs, bacon and toast – so she literally could care less what restaurant I choose!
Not wanting to overwhelm myself with options, I chose an old favorite of mine, Tart, which was nearby and also in the general direction of our AirBnb. They had completely renovated it since the last time I was there – which I wasn’t a huge fan of – but it was still cute!
She ordered – you guessed it – the country breakfast, and I ordered shrimp & grits, which were WAY better than I was expecting! It was also the perfect portion, because I happily devoured the whole thing. We parked in a one hour only spot, so I literally got the car while she finished eating and paying the bill, then picked her up just as she was walking out.
We popped right across the street to The Grove, which I personally think is just a tourist trap, but it does have some good shops. We went into ANOTHER Nike store (which was much bigger and nicer than the first) and then she went into Topshop (aka the main reason we went to the Grove). While she was shopping, I went to get yet another latte at the Coffee Bean, and called my friend we were going to stay with in San Diego on Monday to fill her in on our plans.
We were pretty tired when we got home, but it was still early enough that we had time to rest for a few hours before going out (which we were determined to do at least once!). I had my leftovers from Kimbap, and since Tiff didn’t want her leftovers, we went on a struggle mission to find her some food.
I was also determined to get pictures in this one outfit I brought with me – a Versace-esque two piece that I ordered for my Miami trip but didn’t come in time – so I made Tiff have a little shoot with me in the courtyard of our AirBnb. The courtyard was screaming “Italian Villa” vibes, so it ended up being perfect!!
After getting all dressed up, we started off the night at the Ace Hotel rooftop bar, which was so cute and had really good drinks! It honestly would have been perfect if we had some other people there with us – since it was a laid back bar that wasn’t too loud – but after three whole days together, we didn’t have that much to talk about anymore 😅
After our second drinks, we hopped in an Uber to a bar where this guy I knew was DJing. The second we walked in, we immediately decided it wasn’t our vibe, so we went to the bathroom and then got another Uber down the street to my favorite bar, Black. My brother told me it had recently been changed and wasn’t as good anymore, but I figured it was worth trying one more bar before calling it a night!
We stood in line for way too long behind a group of super annoying guys, then after initial our impression of the vibes being on point, quickly realized that it was annoying AF! It used to have a big back patio area – which they inexplicably closed down – so now it is just smaller and sweatier. Ugh. So disappointing, cuz that was literally the only bar in LA that I liked! Anyway, we tried to force it for about an hour, then called it quits. That was just about enough LA for one day! Lol
Head over to Part II to see what happens next…
