First Time in Los Angeles

Hi friends! Finally getting it together and getting my long to do list done. This week has definitely been a busy one but I’m super excited because today I’m going to be sharing all about my first time in Los Angeles, CA. I honesty have no idea why it took me so long to visit LA but it was such a great place! Lots of it was still closed because of Covid but there was still plenty to do! I’m going to be sharing where we stayed, what we did, and what we ate! Let’s get into it.

WHERE WE STAYED

Since it was our first time visiting we decided to stay in the Hollywood area. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Los Angeles/Hollywood. The hotel was great and the location was great especially since it was our first time. Now that I’ve visited I would probably stay closer to West Hollywood. Most the restaurants we wanted to visit and did visit were in that area. If you want to do the more touristy things though Hollywood would be just fine. If you want to see all about the hotel we stayed check out my vlog below.

WHAT WE DID

DAY 1: Hollywood Sign, Walk of Fame, Weho

We took an early flight in to Los Angeles and were luckily able to check into our hotel early. We got dressed and decided to go out to see the Hollywood sign. I had read a few things before we left and everyone recommended to go to Lake Hollywood Park. It was the best place to go to see the sign as close as possible and a nice to place to take a light lunch a just sit and chill.

After the sign we wanted to check out the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Typical Los Angeles touristy thing but it’s definitely something to do since you hear it about it almost all the time. I thought the Walk of Fame was a small section of stars but I was wrong. It goes on FOREVER! The part of that we enjoyed the most was the part right in front of the TCL Chinese Theatre. If you decided to visit it I highly recommend this part of the walk.

For the rest of the time, we decided to go over to West Hollywood, walk around and visit different shops. I wanted to stop by the Instagram famous Paul Smith pink wall in Melrose. I of course got photos and then we went to Carrera Cafe that’s right across the street. They make incredible lattes and even do latte art. I of course got the crying Kim K.

DAY 2: Beverly Hills & Santa Monica

For the second day, there were two places we had in mind, Beverly Hills & Santa Monica. In Beverly Hills, I wanted to see the Beverly Hills sign & of course walk down Rodeo Dr. The Beverly Hills sign was located in Beverly Gardens Park. The park is really nice and again another great spot to just sit outside for while and enjoy a latte. The park is a short walk away from Rodeo Dr. So it’s a great spot to hit two spots in one.

Rodeo Dr is filled with lots of high end luxury stores. We didn’t buy anything but it was a great just to see all the store fronts and take a few pictures. My favorite spot was the cobblestone street near Tiffany & Co. It literally looks like a spot you would see in Europe. There are also restaurants in the area if you are wanting to do something near by and of course some hotels if you prefer to stay in this area.

Once we walked all the way down Rodeo Dr we were ready for the beach! We took an Uber out to the Santa Monica Pier and the drive wasn’t bad but it got pretty bad once we were a few miles from it. We got off a few streets before our stop and honestly so happy I did! We were able to stop by the Santa Monica Place Shopping Mall. There were a ton of shops and lots of places to eat so if you’re hungry or in the mood to spend some money then definitely stop here. Also it’s super close to the pier!

DAY 3: Hollywood

The last day of the trip we decided to do some souvenir shopping so we stayed around the Hollywood Blvd area. We were able to see the TCL Chinese Theatre, El Capitan Theatre, the Jimmy Kimmel Live studio area and more! We shopped around for souvenirs and stopped by the Hollywood & Highland shopping mall. It was a great way to end our trip.

WHERE WE ATE

Day 1
- The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf: $
  - Delicious coffee but the cream cheese danish was the BEST!
- Hot Motha Clucker: $$
  - Lots of great chicken options and you can customize your spice level
- Carrera Cafe: $
  - So many great lattes & cute latte art that you can choose from
- Fat Tomato Pizza: $
  - The Fat Knots are so good! Highly recommend!

Day 2
- The Butcher, The Baker, The Cappuccino Maker: $$
  - Super cute colorful latte and the food was delicious!
- Sur Restaurant: $$$
  - Great ambience and strong drinks! Plus major spot for any Bravo fan!
- Mashti Malone’s Ice Cream: $
  - So many ice cream flavors! Plus you can make it into a sandwich with wafers on each side.

Day 3
- Cabo Wabo Cantina: $$
  - Great mexican food & the Wabo Rita has their own homemade reposado tequila!
- California Pizza Kitchen: $
  - Easy last minute option that has a great BBQ pizza