Cali Recap

Here's my brief summary of my trip to L.A. this past weekend: beach = awesome, food = awesome, seeing friends = awesome, driving through residential neighborhoods and oogling houses = awesome, weather = awesome, traffic = SUCKS!!!  Oh my goodness, that traffic was insane.  B and I started off our trip with a meandering drive through some beach neighborhoods and along the coast and we loved that area.  Less traffic, awesome homes, and of course, the beach!  We stopped in Hermosa Beach at Umami Burger, which was on my list of restaurants I wanted to try - wow.  We both got the signature Umami burger which is loaded up with mushroom and umami flavor and topped with roasted tomato, a parmesan crisp, and umami ketchup.  We added a side of tempura onion rings for a truly awesome dinner!

After dinner we snagged some gelato nearby (we got chocolate hazelnut, pistachio, and lemon poppyseed flavors - yum!) and snacked while we wandered along the path next to the beach (picture above).   Our hotel was in Long Beach, the Hotel Maya which was pretty and well decorated but the sound proofing of the rooms left a lot to be desired.  I kind of wished we'd had a chance to check our their Latin influenced restaurant too.  On Friday we had tea and a little snack at a cute nearby coffee house and then made our way through insane traffic up to the Santa Monica area where we met up with some of my friends from high school for lunch followed by a trip to the Getty Center!

I LOVED the Getty Center!  I'm sure part of it was the company, but the weather, gardens, architecture, and art were just so perfect as well.  I'll go more into our trip to the Getty in my post tomorrow.  It was just a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful afternoon.  B and I headed back over to the Santa Monica area again afterwards for dinner and a stroll on the Santa Monica Pier (after a hurried trip to an AT&T store so I could get a phone charger for my dead cell phone...).  We wound up coming across yet another restaurant on my list near the pier, Blue Plate Oysterette, and decided to eat there for dinner.  Another excellent meal.  Brittany got the fish tacos and I ordered the lobster mac and cheese with a side of sauteed brussel sprouts.  We sat at the bar to avoid the wait for a table and I'd actually recommend it to anyone headed there - the view of the bustling kitchen area was mesmerizing!   After dinner we strolled on the pier and then headed to the airport to pick up J and A.  We then headed back to the beach area for dessert and a quick drink at a local dive bar! 

Saturday was the wedding, which took up most of our time.  We had a quick brunch at the same coffee shop B and I had discovered the day before and then we went back to the hotel to prett-ify.  I was pretty excited to be able fit back into an awesome backless purple dress that I've had for a few years and I added some adorable Kate Spade t-strap pumps to the look, so I was styling!  We had some free time between the ceremony and reception where we snagged another quick snack and then we headed to the Aquarium of the Pacific.  The wedding couple actually had their reception at the aquarium, so walking around the displays was a bonus wedding activity!

I may have had a minor jelly fish obsession...  The wedding was wonderful, we got to meet some lovely new people, saw old coworkers from our shuttle days (I used to work with the groom back in Florida), and naturally did some dancing!

Sunday we slept in, packed up, and then headed north to do the "Hollywood Thing".  I caught a fleeting glimpse of my new interior design obsession, the Avalon Hotel (I MUST go back there sometime!), followed by brunch at Mel's Drive-In, a walk up Hollywood Blvd to see the Dolby Theater (formerly known as the Kodak Theater, i.e. where the Oscars are held), the stars on the sidewalk, and Grauman's Chinese Theater, and finally a trip to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and Rodeo Drive!

Rodeo Drive had an incredible British car display going on with brand new European sports cars and vintages cars in incredible condition out-the-wazoo.  It was pretty cool to see and it definitely added a new entertainment to an already impressive street.  I also may or may not have been naughty and splurged in the Fendi store....  I'm in love.