The Crew:
These people are (most) of my best friends in Utah. They basically live at me and Ryan’s place during the weekends, and are pretty fun to be around (except when the guys just wanna play Fortnite and APEX— then they are lame). BUT this weekend no videogames were allowed. We were excited to spend a weekend together exploring LA, and are hoping to go on more trips together in the future! We were in LA for 2 days, and here was what we thought was worthwhile.
Our must sees/dos For 2 Days in LA:
Take A Hike!
We had all intentions of hiking to the Hollywood sign… but google lied to me. I found a website that told us the shortest hike to the Hollywood sign was from Griffith Observatory. And then we were at Griffith Observatory, ready for our hike and found out that it was 4 miles EACH way instead of the 3.5 mile round trip some sketchy website I read told me (Thanks for reading the map, Ryan instead of just starting to hike like I did, thinking it would get us there eventually 😉 ). Read THIS blog post if you’re ever actually trying to hike to the Hollywood sign because from what I know it is actually accurate.
Even though we had a change of plans, we had a beautiful hike to the peak of Mount Hollywood. The hike was full of panaromic views of the mountains, city, observatory, and even the Hollywood sign. Plus, was convenient to our next stop, Griffith Observatory. Here is some detailed information about this hike.
Griffith Observatory
The Griffith Observatory was free, cool to check out, and also had some amazing views of the city. Although we ended up not getting to go back at night to do it… PSA: you can look through the telescope there for free! (The Zeiss telescope there has been looked through by more people than any other in human history) Also, the sunsets there are supposed to be beautiful, which I can imagine from the view we had of the city all the way out to the coast during the day.
Bird/Lime Around the City
We had so much fun riding limes around the city at night. It was after 8 so parking was free, so we found some limes, parked, and rode! Although, if you do this, know that it can be hard to find a bunch of scooters together that are all charged and working at night. One of us always seemed to have a scooter that was dying. Regardless, it was so much fun to zoom through the streets and window shop, all while taking in the warm California breeze.
I’m 100% a foodie. To me, a huge part of traveling is experiencing the food. And so, we did. But LA food is EXPENSIVE. Trying to find dinner that wasn’t with meals for under $20 each was difficult. I mean heck, we paid $7 for a (delicious) ice cream sandwich.
Ryan eating some Mexican corn at Santa Monica by the Pier. He loved it.
People brunch hard in LA, so I would highly recommend going out for brunch at least once while you are there! I mean I had NUTELLA STUFFED FRENCH TOAST. Need I say more to convince you? The restaurant we went to was adorable and the food was amazing (Ryan got the burger and I ate some of it… the burger was a great one and the french fries are to die for). (I’m asking my group for the name of this place because I can’t remember… but everyone in our group loved the food).
Another crowd pleaser was Granville. The restaurant was very elegant yet casual, and the food was amazing. They had organic sodas on tap that the guys really loved, and all of their food is made from scratch which is pretty impressive. I highly recommend their chicken mac n cheese and beef stroganoff! Everyone absolutely loved this place.
The Walk of Fame
Last minute on our final night, I realized we never had checked out the walk of fame! This area is super touristy, but a must do, especially if it is your first time in LA. It’s so fun to recognize celebrities on the streets (well, their names on the sidewalks) and to just take in stereotypical “Hollywood”. The Chinese Theatre is also gorgeous. I would love to go inside and see a movie there one day!
The Grove
The Grove is one of the most popular shopping areas in LA and for good reason! My personal favorite stores there (where I did a lil shopping) were Zara and Madewell, but there’s something for everyone! Also, while you are there, the farmers market is a super cool place to experience a variety of different foods of all different cultures. You won’t be short on food options to taste from around the world- from Brazilian, to Mexican, to French cuisine- they pretty much have it all!
The Broad
This was an awesome (and free) modern art museum. While it is free, it is very popular. So book tickets in advanced! Otherwise, I’ve heard you will be waiting in line for hours. At first glance I didn’t know much about the paintings, and appreciated some a lot more than others. But one of the guides there was amazing, and she totally even got Ryan (who hates art) interested in the stories behind the pieces!
The Beach
While you’re in LA, you’ve gotta check out a beach. We went to Santa Monica since it is one of the closest beaches to LA. While it was super busy and touristy (we did go on a Saturday), it was super fun to be on the beach! Notice I said ON the beach… not in the water… at 52 degrees Fahrenheit it was not the Florida water us southerns are used to. I really enjoyed checking out the excitement of the huge pier complete with an amusement park. Also, the sunset there was gorgeous.
Even though the trip wasn’t long enough,
We loved LA and all we got to see there! It was a super fun weekend trip. I’m looking forward to going back sometime soon, hopefully next time to Disneyland 😉
Xoxo,
Kiersten
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