I think I may have waited my whole life to be able to say “yeah I’ve been to LA”. I grew up reading Sweet Valley High books, watching MTV’s “The Hills”, crushing on Justin Bobby and wanting to be that girl on the back of his motorbike. And as an adult needing constant heat and sunshine, and riding that health wave of pescatarianism and vinyasa yoga. I also grew up on a beach, and having lived the city life for a near decade now, I was craving the Californian dream. I’m currently living a life of “why not” and “if not now, when”, so what better way to spend the last birthday of my twenties than going where I’ve always wanted to go (also anywhere with a lobster roll and I’m a smitten kitten).
So naturally I kick started vacay by going to Disneyland on my birthday, because why wouldn’t you? I’d never been before, but also seemed to forget my pure terror of rides. Advice? You’re never ever going to do Disneyland in one day, not even a weekend. Now I totally understand why there’s an abundance of hotels on site. I won’t exaggerate, the queues for each ride averaged a minimum of two hours, so I’d research which rides are priority to you and grab a fast track ticket which gives you an allocated time to come back and jump the queue. Life hack! It was the best day escaping the reality of being an adult and just living in a world of pure happiness whichever direction you turned. And damn straight I wore a princess crown all day.
We drove from Anaheim to Laguna Beach that evening, and once again Hotel Tonight pulled through for us with a cute easy breezy room on the shore. Cue the biggest thunder and lightening storm LA has seen in tiiiiime (honestly years, the news harped on about it for days). We watched it roll in sat on the sand in the rain, the night sky flashing all shades of angry purple. It was perfect.
The thing with LA is you need to be prepared to drive everywhere. And I mean everywhere. Also traffic is no joke here, so plan your trips accordingly.
So we drove the “green machine” (or “green dragon”, but I refuse to call it that. Eye roll) back to base camp Santa Monica and explored the neighbouring Venice Beach to spy on those famous skater boys and back to Santa Monica pier for the arcade games at sunset. And let me tell you, there is nothing like a candyfloss LA sunset...
A family hike up a mountain in Malibu followed over the next few days, as did a classic drive through Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Naturally we ended up at The Beverly Hills Hotel, dropping the green machine off with the Ferraris, Lambos and Porches, and ate the most expensive tofu salad of my life. But hey, at least I dined like Elizabeth Taylor sat in the flamingo pink pool side restaurant amongst palm trees for an afternoon. And yes, I stole the check pen.
Oof and how could a personal shopper forget the ultimate shoppers dream that is Abbot Kinney. After a brief hello at my beloved Habitas, I lost myself in a world of linens, leathers, denims and vintage. Dubbed the coolest boulevard in America, you’ll also find my favourites “The Butchers Daughter” and “Blue Star Donuts” to boost energy levels.
It was an overwhelming yet strangely familiar feeling being in LA - somewhere I daydreamed being and then was suddenly living. But that’s my mantra; stop daydreaming, start living. Cos I mean I got Joshua Tree to hit up, Silverlake, Big Sur...
