Travel Guide: Los Angeles & Santa Barbara
You can check out our vlog from our trip on my YouTube Channel here.
Earlier this year Fred and I decided to book a trip for Memorial Day weekend to the west coast since we haven’t visited that part of the US together. We weren’t sure if California would be fully open by then due to COVID lockdown restrictions but decided to take a gamble because the airline tickets and hotels were dirt cheap at that time. We are Marriott Bonvoy members and had never stayed at one of their luxury collection hotels because they are usually much more expensive - until this trip! The SLS in Beverly Hills was the hotel we chose because of its proximity to the places we planned to visit during our trip.
The Los Angeles Metropolitan Area is so spread out we knew that renting a car would be worthwhile. We had never driven an electric vehicle before and decided to rent a Tesla so we could test drive it for the duration of our stay.
Our first full day, we stayed local in Beverly Hills and began our day at one of my favorite breakfast spots - Eggslut - which was just a few blocks from our hotel. When we arrived there we saw that they were not open for dining in and Fred spotted Pitchoun! (a French bakery) next door that offered indoor/outdoor dining so he walked over to check out their menu while I waited for my Eggslut breakfast sandwich. I joined him at Pitchoun! where he ordered the Salmon Eggs Benedict, an almond croissant and an order of chouquettes (sugar topped pasty puffs). We would highly recommend both of these restaurants if you’re in the Beverly Hills area. After our delicious breakfast, we walked over to the Beverly Center to find Fred some new shoes.
For lunch we met up with our friend TraVon at Via Alloro, an Italian restaurant that he recommended. I had cacio e pepe, one of my absolute favorite pasta dishes and the guys ordered frutti di mare. Overall the food was good, however, I would say that people probably come here more for the ambiance. TraVon headed back to work and Fred and I walked over to check out Rodeo Drive. This was my first time back to Rodeo Drive since my dad took me to California for my 16th birthday trip and it more or less looked the same. While waiting for our Uber back to the hotel, I ran inside Wallys to use the restroom and literally walked into James Corden!!! In case you’re reading my blog, James, it was a pleasure running into you!
The next morning we had a hearty breakfast at Toast Bakery Cafe to fuel us for our upcoming hike to the Hollywood sign. There are four different trails you can take to get there; the first trail we attempted was in a residential area therefore nowhere to park our car. We then opted for the Brush Canyon Trail which had ample public parking. This trail is the longest of the four (6.4 miles roundtrip) so be sure to take that into consideration. I would also recommend to take lots of water and wear sunscreen. During the hike, you can see how the smog obscures the LA skyline, but we were able to see the nearby Griffith Observatory. If hiking is not your thing, there are horseback riding tours that you can book. The hike took us approximately 2 hours (this is including lots of stops for photos/videos) to get to The Hollywood Sign. At this point Fred and I were already pretty tired and sore, but still had to power through the hike back down to the car. Overall it was a great workout and we enjoyed the scenery.
During our hike to The Hollywood Sign, we stopped for a brief but necessary photoshoot so I have to take a moment to brag on my very humble fiancé, Fred. He is now a published author y’all!!! He and his business partner, Jahn wrote this book: The PM Imperative. The paperback and ebook versions are both available on Amazon so I’ll leave the link here if you’re interested in supporting them and purchasing a book. You can also preorder the hard cover version here. Even if you’re not a project manager, I can assure you this book is a great read. It highlights many ways to help you become a great leader and also ensure your workplace is successful regardless of your field.
Later that evening we drove out to South Pasadena where my friend Lisa lives. I hadn’t seen her in a few years so it was so nice to catch up with her. She was even able to snag us some LA Dodgers tickets even though they were only at very limited capacity due to COVID restrictions. Fred thoroughly enjoyed his first experience at Dodger Stadium (It was my second time at a Dodgers home game - Thanks Lisa for getting us tickets).
On our third day we drove to Santa Barbara to visit our friends Syam and Gabby. From our hotel it was about a 2 hour drive; given that it was a holiday weekend, the traffic was pretty heavy but Pacific Coast Highway is a beautiful scenic drive so we didn’t mind the long commute. Upon our arrival, they took us to Boathouse at Hendry’s Beach which is a seafood restaurant that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. The food and drinks here were outstanding and I would certainly suggest giving this place a try if you’re ever in Santa Barbara.
On our last day, we covered a lot of ground, starting off with brunch at Veranda (located in the Georgian Hotel) followed by a walk down the famous Santa Monica Pier and stopped at one of the fruit stands to get some fresh mango & pineapple topped with lime juice, chamoy & tajin. From there, we made the quick drive to Venice Beach to check out the scene - which if you’ve never been is quite interesting. We then made one last drive down Pacific Coast Highway and stopped to grab a drink at the Malibu Farm Restaurant located on the Malibu Pier. Coincidentally, this restaurant is right next to the hotel my dad and I stayed in during my sweet 16 birthday trip - it was a nostalgic moment!
Our final dinner in LA was at Kazan Beverly Hills, which was located only a block from out hotel. Saying this was one of the best meals we’ve ever had is an understatement. Fred ordered the “Lamb in Lava” which is one of their spicy signature dishes featuring thin & thick homemade noodles served with lamb chops, cilantro & spices. I had the “#3 Cream Base Chasu Wonton”. My dish was composed of Kazan’s original Hirauchi soba thick noodles in a creamy a rich broth with truffle seasoning served with chashu pork and homemade wontons.
This was such an amazing trip filled with new memories and lots of good food!
We also uploaded a vlog of this trip to my Youtube channel - The Global Sojourner - so make sure you check that out as well and don’t forget to “like” the video and subscribe to my channel and as always, all of my outfit details are posted on my LIKEtoKNOW.it page.
I am so happy to be back to posting travel content here on my blog and hope you all enjoyed this post. Let me know in the comments below what upcoming trips (if any) you have planned and/or what other travel related content you would like to see from me aside from travel guides.
