Hello everyone!
Towards the end of October, my girlfriend, her sister, her sister’s boyfriend and I went on a trip to Los Angeles, California! It couldn’t have been a better moment in the year with the clear blue sky weather that we ended up having pretty much all the time, which was a crystal clear difference from the colder more fall-ish weather we were having up North.
Warning: This post might be longer than usual and very picture-heavy. This is not an itinerary but if you’d like to know more about how we organized ourselves, I’d be happy to share them with you!
One thing we all agreed upon is that Los Angeles is not something you can fully enjoy without a car. Nothing really is within walking distance unless you’re ready to be drained out every single night. The metro system isn’t exactly the most efficient thing out there too. So, do remember that if you ever go on a trip to L.A. On our first day, we decided to walk Hollywood Boulevard from one end to the other. We discovered a huge Funko shop that couldn’t have been any bigger and indulged the touristic atmosphere out there.
Our second day was first dedicated to a little bit of shopping (which ended up opening our eyes to the things we could easily snatch for incredible bargain prices in the States). The rest of the day was spent on a Warner Bros Studio Tour. This gave us an idea of all the magic that goes on behind the screen of some of our favourite shows and movies and obviously allowed me to enjoy a bunch of DC-related material, including a reconstructed Batcave. While I won’t show any proof of it, I also got the chance to ride the Batpod motorcycle from Nolan’s The Dark Knight. đ
The next day we decided to make it our Califonia coast trip, starting off with Malibu Beach and working our way down to Venice Beach before ending the day around Santa Monica Pier. Believe it or not, this was our first time near the Pacific Ocean and the first time we all saw wild dolphins and a sea lion! That alone turned me into an overexcited 5-year-old.
The next day was spent walking around the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Even if we wanted to visit an exhibition inside, it was unfortunately closed on that day. Instead, we hiked (it was a very, very small hike) to a neat spot, with no one (okay, maybe just one person illegally climbing up the mountain with dumbbells…) where we could spot the Holywood sign afar. We ended the day by driving up to the Griffith Observatory where we got to use their ancient telescope and clearly spot Saturn with its ring!
The following day was mostly all about downtown Los Angeles and, boy, let me tell you, there’s no way you could mistake this sector from the rest of L.A. From the skyscrapers to the lack of palm trees, you just know it’s a whole other business down there. We ended up exploring several spots on foot including, what most stuck with me, was The Bradbury Building and its beautiful interior architectural design and The Last Bookstore. The rest of the evening was when we split up and did things that we each wanted to do and that’s when I was dropped off at the Academy Museum of Motion Picture and fully enjoyed my tour of this multi-level museum. At night, we gathered together, ate out, and also had an unforgettable night celebrating my girlfriend and her sister’s anniversary (did I even mention they were twins?).
The final day in Los Angeles was mostly spent exploring the last things that we wanted to see or do. We started things off by visiting Skid Drow (this was mostly due to my insistent pressure to do so out of pure criminological desire; sorry, years of studying in the field makes me more curious than the average person about criminality), and, boy, is it true that Skid Drow is no place to be walking around leisurely. I feel bad that a place like Los Angeles lives in such a dichotomic structure (rich vs. poor). We then went on to check Little Tokyo (what a kawaaiii neighbourhood!) and watched a show at the Griffith Observatory called Signs of Life.
I didn’t put any food pictures yet because of how diversified and numerous our food escapades were! So here’s a glimpse of the things we got around to eating and adoring during our trip to L.A. And, let me tell you, the food was amazing! If you know what you’re looking for, you’ll get it alright!
Oh, and, of course, there’s always something unique that happens whenever I go on a trip, and this time, we got to witness the Los Angeles Fire Department in action as a room 2 doors away from us caught fire and immersed our whole floor with smoke. No worries though, everything was handled super quickly and, from what I could guess, the troublemakers must have screwed up with something they put in their oven… That being said, Los Angeles was awesome. It is the second time I’ve visited it, but I can continue to say that it’s a great corner of California (as long as you’re well-prepared) that I’ll gladly revisit throughout my life!
P.S. Thank you to the other two pigeons who tagged along on this trip and made it memorable and fun from start to finish!
Till next time! đ
Roars and Echoes 
Thanks for sharing your fabulous trip!
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It is my pleasure, Carol. Thanks for passing by! đ
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Los Angeles was awesome. It is the second time Iâve visited it, but I can continue to say that itâs a great corner of California (as long as youâre well-prepared) that Iâll gladly revisit throughout my life!
That does it. I’m calling your boss and having you committed until your sanity returns!
In all seriousness though, glad you had a good time. You are definitely an urbanite though, as everything you described made me twist uncomfortably đ
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Hahahah I had a good laugh with your comment. I know it seems insane but understand that up here, we don’t get to see the things you guys have down South (and West specifically hehe). đ And yep, my traveling style isn’t one that I can recommend to just about anyone too. I know a good number of people who’d rather just stay outside the cities or by some sort of form of water. đ
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You all are such fun people. Thank you for sharing another one of your exciting journeys.â¤ď¸
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Thank you so much for reading, AOC! đ
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This sounds like the epitome of fun trips indeed! I very much understand your sense of wonder from the visit to Warner studios: in my first trip to the USA, my friends and I went to Universal Studios and felt like kids in a toy shop đ
Thank you so much for sharing the pics of your journey!
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I’ve noted down Universal Studios as a must-do theme park/visit for the next time I pass by California hahah It was my pleasure to share this with y’all. Thank you for reading, Maddalena! đ
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Looks and sounds like a brilliant trip Lashaan! Love all the photos and that coffee art is amazing! đ
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Thank you so much, Nicki! YESS! It was mandatory for us to order up their in-house artistic latte. We all have different artwork on our latte and they were all so gorgeous!! đŽ
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Well well I see you had a grand time and I would have had one too! The Warner Bros visit reminded me of my Harry Potter visit!
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The Warner Bros Studio tour had a whole Harry Potter section too hahah We even got our hats sorted and all that. So much fun, Sophie. I definitely recommend it if you ever decide to go to the States for a book event or just on vacation! đ
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Climbing up the mountain with two dumbbells…? Sounds like an intense workout for that person.
Sounds like a great trip though. I might make it out to visit Cali next year, so I appreciate the tip about driving in LA.
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They looked like less-than-5-kg weights but I was more impressed by the law-breaking by that person than the activity itself hahahah And yes, absolutely think about renting a car or preparing yourself to Uber/Taxi around a lot. Everything is quite far from each other but totally worth the trip! đ
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I can spot an In ‘n Out burger and fries a mile away! Lol. Glad you had such a fun trip. I’ve lived here my whole adult life and haven’t been to half these places!
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Hahahah! YES! It was quite mandatory to pick up our In-n-Out burgers and some of their secret menu stuff! đ I envy that everything is so much closer to your though. Never too late to visit some of these places, Tammy! đ
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I’m glad to see that you had a fun trip! I felt the same way about LA as far as public transportation. Me and my husband ubered everywhere and it was pretty expensive.
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Oh man, I totally sympathize! It’s hard to do everything without a car but everything is totally worth it! đ
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Thanks for sharing all these photos, as well as the story that goes along with them. I really enjoyed this, Lashaan, and I’m very glad to see how much you enjoyed the trip. I’ve never visited LA or any of the surrounding area, but I can tell there’s a lot to see there. It is interesting when you visit a big city that wasn’t built with a single downtown area that’s suitable for walking to everything. LA seems one of those that grew over time, spreading out as it grew. And of course, I always love seeing the food. đ By the way, very nice backlit photo of the basketball court, well done! I also thoroughly enjoyed the night views of LA from the higher grounds of the observatory.
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It definitely grew a lot since its creation and separation from Mexico. Some districts are flagrantly different from others and it’s easy to not feel like you’re in L.A. sometimes when you get used to palm trees and wide open skies without skyscrapers. We personally do look forward to redoing L.A. for a more nature-heavy Californian adventure in the future (including Death Valley and whatnot). I’m sure there’s plenty of nature-heavy treks we could do and you’d personally love too. Thank you so much for your professional and kind comments about the basketball shot. In all honesty, I found it awesome too when I took it hahah
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Looks like you have fabulous and fun trip with little bit of unique experience. Love this post.
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Thank you so much for reading, Yesha! đ
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The trip looks like it was a fabulous time, Lashaan. Jealous you got to take in that Warner Brothers tour. I had the chance to visit LA years ago, but it was for business and I didn’t get to see it like you folks did. Hoping to get back there and take it all in some day. All the photos are great – thanks for sharing them!
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I definitely recommend a more touristic trip to L.A. to take advantage of its rich pop culture and iconic landmarks, Bruce. There’s so much to see and do. I look forward to checking out Universal and Paramount Studios in future trips to L.A., for example! Thanks for reading as always, Bruce.
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The Warner Bros tour sounds fascinating. Say what you will about WB’s struggling output lately, but the studio’s got a rich history of groundbreaking movies and shows.
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Absolutely. It’s what I told myself while visiting. They’re in a sad downward spiral but what they’ve accomplished over the years is still incredible.
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Looks like an amazing trip!
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It really was, Mogsy! Thanks for reading! đ
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Yay – what an awesome trip it was Lashaan! LA is surely very different from all the other cities I know and I still can’t wrap my head around how big it is! The European “big cities” look like tiny villages next to it ahahah! Anyway, I’m glad you had fun on the trip and enjoyed it to the fullest, including the house fire next to your flat đ
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Hahaha I totally understand! Americans love everything that can reach for the skies and make everyone feel small. It’s even more so in New York and hopefully, you’ll get to do that someday soon! Thank you again for the awesome trip and I look forward to our future adventures. đ
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It looks like you had a great trip! I was the same way when I first saw the Pacific Ocean. Seeing sea lions, dolphins, and whales was such an incredible experience. And I still get that way every single time.
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I tried so hard to spot whales but I think it would’ve required us a boat for that hahaha
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We’ve done a couple boat tours to see them. I know there are some places with overlooks that are good for whale watching, but I haven’t tried it.
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The pictures are so beautiful!! đ And this really sounds like fun all around, fire aside!!
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It was so much fun, Susy! I already miss it a lot. đ
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It sounds like you had such a great time. There seems to be so much to see and do. Someday, I will get out to LA and now I know some things I need to see. Thanks for sharing your vacation with us and Happy Belated Birthday to your girlfriend and her sister.
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That’s very kind of you, Carla! Thank you! đ And yes, there’s soooo much to do in L.A. and having a car to do even half of them is almost mandatory. I hope you get the chance to visit L.A. someday. đ
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Beautiful place indeed đ. Thank you for sharing.
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Thank you so much for reading! đ
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It’s my pleasure
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