I’ve lived in New York all my life and I didn’t think I would be able to live anywhere else. Until I visited LA. Well, I still prefer NYC > LA, buuuuuut if I ever had to leave NYC, I would head to LA fer sure. Mainly because there is beach, weather is mostly awesome, food is so delicious, AYCE KBBQ is like $15, and I would try to attend all the show tapings. The traffic is meh but so is NYC’s. What was interesting is that I’m usually a typical Noo Yawker in sense of being very fast-paced, efficient, on-a-schedule, and everything is urgent and at first, the lax culture in LA really made me uncomfortable. I didn’t like the pace at all. But after a few days, I loved the chill, beachy vibes.. I could get used to this!
We spent a total of 5 days in LA. LA is huge and you WILL need to drive everywhere, unless you plan on spending a lot of money on Ubers. Parking is pretty cheap compared to NYC though. We could have crammed everything we wanted to do in maybe 3 days, but I’m glad we took the time to enjoy each point. PLUS, I had way too much food I wanted to try. I’ll do this post a little differently than my SF one, but will of course still give a run down of what we did. I split the trip into East LA and West LA.
Super long post, but here’s a quick run down:
Day 1 (Arrival from PCH drive ~1:30PM) – East LA
- Check In at Four Points by Sheraton LA Westside (Culver City)
- Late lunch at Tsujita LA Artisan Noodle (Ramen)
- Quick shopping at Daiso Japan Discount Store (everything is $1.50!)
- Dessert at Blockheads Shavery (Shaved Ice Cream)
- Walk around Santa Monica Pier
- Late dinner at Hae Jang Chon (AYCE KKBQ)
Day 2 – East LA
- Breakfast at Panera Bread
- Warner Brothers Studio Tour (Buy tickets online)
- Check in for the Conan Obrien Show (We got tickets online in advance, but they double book, so you need to check in early to ensure your spot)
- Lunch at Porto’s Bakery (Cuban)
- Hollywood Sign
- Taping of the Conan Obrien Show
- Dinner at Ohana BBQ (Hawaiian BBQ)
Day 3 – East LA
- Check out of Four Points
- Breakfast at The Cow’s End Cafe (Cafe, Coffee Shop)
- Venice Beach
- Late lunch/early dinner at The Boiling Crab (Seafood)
- Check in to Sheraton Pasadena
- Dessert at Half and Half Tea Express (Bubble tea)
Day 4 – West LA
- Lunch at Golden Deli (Vietnamese)
- Stroll Little Tokyo Shopping Center
- Eat mochi dessert at Mikawaya
- Stroll Old Chinatown
- Eat dinner at Sushi Show (AYCE Sushi… As a sushi lover, BEST AYCE sushi place I ever encountered)
Day 5 – East LA
- Breakfast at 85°C Bakery
- Griffith Observatory
- Drive through Beverly Hills
- Rodeo Drive
- Niiiiiice, very expensive houses
- Lunch at Tsujita LA Artisan Noodle (Ramen) (yes, again! so good)
- Stroll through Hollywood Blvd
- Walk of Fame
- TCL Chinese Theatre
- Dessert at Blockheads Shavery (Shaved Ice Cream) (yes, again!)
- Santa Monica Beach (Last stroll before airport)
- Return rental car at LAX
