Spending Christmas with my family in LA was a dream. Living in Toronto where the weather is pretty cold more than several months a year, California sun was really medicine. This was our first time in LA. We stayed at Marina del Ray Hotel. Great, relaxing hotel with the pool and marina view. The restaurant was excellent with nice terrace and fire pits to keep you warm later in a day.
Like any other tourist, you can't go to LA and not go to Griffith Observatory and take a few pictures of the Hollywood sign. So we did that and drove around the area. There are many tours to take to get closer to the sign, but we skipped that part.
The views are great, and in general, any walk in the area felt great. Green colors and the sun made it a perfect afternoon.
Our next stop was Rodeo Drive. Wow, richness 🙂 Nice area with designer shops and some great restaurants. We had an amazing lunch and glass of wine at Bevelly Hilles. Sitting outside, people watching, chatting.
We did a mistake and after Rodeo Drive, we went to Hollywood Star Walk of Fame. Did not like it at all. Too crowded, dirty...
Another day we spent in the area of Santa Monica. I was amazed by the Venice neighborhood. This is a must-see. It is a little area with canals and is little Venice in LA. So colorful, with flowers, peaceful, decorated nicely. Words don't do it justice, beauty.
We walked by the Venice Beach to Santa Monica Pier. To be honest, not a big fan of Venice beach. The pier was just how I imagined it from the movie sets. Walking around, taking a few shots, and watching the sunset.
Good dinner and a great experience we had LA downtown at Perch Restaurant, rooftop. Really nice, and the food was excellent. Definitely recommend. Another restaurant we went to in Santa Monica was Fia. It had a super nice patio, very nicely decorated. Food and service were not the best. Again, food is very subjective and even though I like to try all kinds of foods, the combinations did not really go well for any four of us. One more restaurant that is worth mentioning was rooftop at Santa Monica Proper Hotel. Nice ambiance with excellent food.
We did two other outings, one to Malibu Pier and one to Hermosa Beach. Malibu Pier is OK, in my opinion, nothing special. Drive to Malibu beach was gorgeous. Malibu Farm Restaurant had amazing food. Hermosa beach is a lovely little place, really enjoyed, and got a couple of beautiful sunset shots.
Definitely glad we went. And again everyone is different and likes different things. This was our trip 🙂