From Hollywood to the Pacific Ocean: Unveiling the Magic of Los Angeles
When one thinks of L.A., one might think glam, glitz, fancy cars, Porsches, mansions and all that Hollywood portrays. While this is true, most of L.A isn’t like this. You have to be in the well-known areas like West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and around the studios for this experience. Even though a lot of L.A. appears rough, has an older city vibe and an increased amount of poverty in front of your eyes, I still liked the city. I think part of it was a certain level of nostalgia reminding me of back home in Kenya. The houses have a Mediterranean feel to them, most have terracotta roofs, and most of the houses even had grills on the windows like back home. The palm trees also add to a vibe which are throughout the city and hearing the Spanish language makes the city one that I definitely will add on my list to visit again.
Things To Do In Los Angeles
Hollywood Walk of Fame – This isn’t just one stretch or row but it spans most of Hollywood Blvd and some of the side streets too and runs along both sides of the streets. The famous starts with celebrity names on them. Take pictures of the stars alone or with you in them and see if you can find Marilyn Monroe’s star which is the most photographed star and apparently Donald Trump’s star used to get vandalized a lot. Even Backstreet Boys and the Olsen sisters have a star each if you were a fan of them back in the day.
Celebrity home bus tour – There are plenty of bus tours and many start from Hollywood Blvd. I chose the Star Track Tours which was a blue open window bus. They take you through Hollywood Blvd towards the Hollywood Bowl and up on the mountain where many celebrity homes are located. From there you get a view of the city and then move into the Beverly Hills area where there are many more celebrity homes. You will also drive through Rodeo Drive, the fancy Sunset strip, and West Hollywood on your back to where you started. This bus tour costs $40.00 USD.
If you enjoy art, be sure to check out the Venice Mosaic Tile House in Venice Beach which is only open Saturdays 12-3pm. There are painted tiles everywhere from the floors to the walls and the sculptures created are covered in these tiles. The owner, Cheri makes the tiles and Gonzalo applies the tiles and does the welding. It is easily accessible by car and you can take public transit but if you are doing the latter, I highly recommend to get off at Culver City train station and then take the bus. Also, making a reservation online gets you a ticket for $20 vs walk-ins which are $25.00.
Venice Beach – You definitely want to check out this area, take pictures of the Venice sign like all the other tourists who gather at the street corner, and walk along the Venice canals. You can walk the boardwalk towards Santa Monica beach and pier as they are connected. There are lots of vendors along the boardwalk if you want to shop and get some souvenirs too. The sand feels so soft and cool on your feet and the water was warm in September, perfect for a dip in the ocean. I would recommend getting there around mid-afternoon and staying until sunset is worthwhile so you can get a dip in the water, relax on the sand and even capture amazing sunsets for the ’gram.
Santa Monica Pier – This place is cute with some restaurants and amusement rides but it will get very busy and crowded as the rides are all in a small area. Most people seem to spend the day on the beach and then head to the pier at night when it gets dark so it may be less crowded during the day.
You will want to spend half a day or a day walking around downtown LA. Much of the downtown core reminded me a lot of Toronto’s downtown business district area. This is where the Crypto.com arena is located where the LA Lakers and Clippers play their basketball games. They do close at 4pm so after 4pm, you can only see the place from the outside. Before 4pm, you may be able to go inside. The Grammy Museum is also located downtown within a 5-minute walking distance from the arena. I was fortunate to see their special Shakira exhibit (huge Shakira fan over here). Make sure you go to the rooftop café just for the views of L.A and for some great pictures if it is a nice day. You can get tickets in-person for the museum and they are open until 6pm most days.
Rodeo Drive is where the fancy designer stores are located and could be great for celebrity watching and a must see if you can fit it into your schedule. Be prepared for $1000.00 and higher price tag items at stores on Rodeo Drive but if you want to do some shopping that is likely more within your budget, make sure you go to The Grove shopping mall. This is an outdoor shopping mall with a beautiful outdoor water fountain and area to relax. They even have a Lala Land café and outdoor seating that is great for some pics. It is a very picturesque mall so dress up, have a fully charged phone / camera and be ready to take lots of pictures.
If you love dolphins and have time in your trip, make sure to fit in a dolphin watching adventure off the Pacific Ocean. Long Beach is great for this through Harbor Breeze Cruises and easy to get to with public transportation because you just have to take the A line from 7th and Metro Station in downtown LA and it goes straight to Long Beach within an hour. It is a 3-hour boat adventure on the Pacific Ocean but you will see some dolphins, or if you get lucky like I did, you will see a massive pod of dolphins – mostly common dolphins but maybe a bottlenose or two will be swimming as well. Definitely my highlight as dolphins are one of my favourite animals and most likely my spirit animal too.
If you like hiking, there are plenty of hikes that you can do at Griffith Park and even one that will take you right to the Hollywood Sign. Unfortunately, this didn’t fit in our schedule and will be on the agenda for next time along with a studio tour but we did stay near the park and the Hollywood Sign and did get some good pictures of it.
Where To Eat
Cheesecake Factory – If you want a good cheesecake, check it out. I went to the one in The Grove Mall which was incredibly busy and had a wait list unless you sit at the bar which is first come, first served. Highly recommend you make reservations or add your name and then go shop around the mall. If you want to experience the first, original Cheesecake Factory, that one is located in Beverly Hills.
Mexican food is a definite must-have in LA if you like Mexican food. Soñoritas located downtown has a great ambiance however I felt it was more on the Americanized side of Mexican cuisine. If you are more like me and prefer authentic Mexican food, go to El Cholo which is across the street and the menu + ambiance looked more authentic but we ended up going to Soñoritas because the friend I was with wanted to go there otherwise my choice would be El Cholo.
If you do go to Long Beach, which you should as it is a lovely city with a very catered to tourists but a more modern vibe compared to Los Angeles, Tequila Jack’s was a delicious Mexican restaurant with an authentic menu and the chicken burrito was delicious and massive served with a Mexican corn pudding which was delicious!
Accommodation
If you are looking for an Air BnB for two people, the one we stayed at was lovely and a great host. It was right by the Hollywood/Western train station and also walkable to the Walk of fame too. It had a fully equipped kitchen and bathroom and was super clean. Here is the link if you are interested.
There are plenty of hotels in the area and many other air BNB options but the closer you are to Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, the more expensive things get. If you are renting a car, you may be able to find a cheap hotel near the airport too.
Getting Around
The best way to get around the city, especially if you want to travel to multiple areas of Los Angeles would be to rent a car but keep in mind that traffic can be a bit insane at any given time of day so be prepared to sit in traffic.
If you are sticking around the downtown core or Hollywood mainly, you can be fine with public transportation which is quite cheap. The LA Metro is $1.75 per ride and if you get the TAP card which you can load and re-load, it gets capped at $5.00 per day. After you’ve done $5.00 worth of trips on the LA Metro, the rest of your trips are free. This includes the Metro train and buses. Note that the blue buses are not included but they will still deduct money from your TAP card. You pay $2.00 for a TAP card and then can re-load it for the duration of your stay in LA. Most Metro train stations even have Ambassadors who can help you and have a train map that you can ask for.
Ubers and Lyfts can be another way to get around as well.
There you have it. Your quick list of things to do for a short trip to Los Angeles and a few restaurants to check out as well. Have fun and if you visit LA, follow @acaciawellness_kitchen and tag us in your stories especially if you do any of the activities above.
