My Experience In Los Angeles, California. The Glitz, The Glam, and Everything In Between.

I have dreamt of going to California since I was a little girl. I am not exactly sure why, but I always have. The way that Hollywood and LA is portrayed on TV and in the movies is so enticing to me. Three or four years ago with an extra 180 pounds on me, I would have never dared strutting down Hollywood Blvd. I just did not have it in me. I kind of forgot about it and at the beginning of June, I had just suffered my first true broken heart and was craving an adventure. So I booked a little Airbnb, got a ticket to LAX, and BOOM- started planning this trip. It started as a solo trip and as it got closer, I invited one of my closest friends Julie to come along! And I am so glad I did. I can be kind of a loner at times, but I do love having someone to pal around with, especially in a big city!

day one

I arrived late on Monday night and by the time I checked into my Airbnb it was time to unpack and head to bed. I met a darling girl on the plane ride there who lives in LA. We shared an Uber to our places. She is adorable and was so helpful at the massive LAX airport! My place included a full bed, a small couch, a small bench that overlooked Wilcox Avenue that led to Hollywood Blvd, a nice kitchen to cook some meals, a few closet spaces, and a bathroom. I was very impressed with the Airbnb for the price. It was very cozy and such a nice area to relax in after long days of sightseeing in LA.

day two

I woke up super early and was so excited to get out and explore. I quickly got ready and threw on some clothes and headed out to get coffee and go to Trader Joes, which was within walking distance. I looked down and could not believe my eyes. The Hollywood Star Walk was literally my sidewalk while walking to Trader Joes. I had made it. I was in Hollywood. I started taking pictures and videos and sending them to my sister. I was losing my mind!! I got my groceries at Trader Joes, got some cold brew coffee at Intelligentsia (which quickly became my favorite coffee place), and headed back to my place to get ready for my afternoon/evening adventure.

In the mid afternoon I got an Uber (this was how I traveled everywhere the entire week) and headed to Anaheim. I decided since the Anaheim Angels had a home game, I would get a ticket to the baseball game and indulge in my favorite past time. Did y’all really think I would go on a trip like this without baseball?? I grabbed dinner and a glass of wine before the game at a brewery across the street from the stadium and enjoyed the game so much. The ballpark was so much different than Progressive Field but was a really neat experience.

day three

Julie arrived from the airport around noon. I was so excited for her to arrive. We walked around the Hollywood Star Walk for a few hours and visited Shake Shack and Intelligentsia for some cold brew.

Then we got ready and headed to The Griffith Observatory, which was on our list of things to do for the week. It was number one on several lists of “things to see while visiting LA” and was highly recommended to watch the sunset here. The view of Downtown LA and The Hollywood Sign were PHENOMENAL! It was absolutely breathtaking.

Around 8pm we headed back to our place and we stayed in this night. We ordered Uber Eats and watched Netflix and laughed and laughed until our stomachs hurt!! This is what girls trips are all about, right?

day four

Julie had tickets to go to Universal Studios this day and I was heading to Beverly Hills to have brunch at The Beverly Hills Hotel. This has been on my personal bucket list since I was a kid. This is an iconic place and I have always wanted to visit the hotel. So we parted ways in the morning because I had an event to go to Downtown LA later in the evening. The Beverly Hills Hotel was so neat. I had brunch in The Fountain Room restaurant. I got the eggs Benedict and a cup of coffee. It was absolutely amazing and it was so neat to people watch while I ate. I walked around for a couple hours after looking at the beautiful scenery, gift shop, history of the hotel, and the gardens. There were Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Porsches, Range Rovers, and all sorts of luxury vehicles parked in front. I just walked in like I belonged there. Haha!!

It was a bit rainy this day, so I headed back to my place and relaxed before I headed downtown for my blogging event. It just so happened there was a blogging event in Downtown LA during my trip. This was the first time going to a blogging event to meet local Influencers and I am so happy I went. I met so many amazing women in this industry who are interested in helping other women succeed. I left there feeling so inspired, empowered, and with so many helpful nuggets in my toolkit for upcoming content creation for you all.

day five

Friday was our beach day. We got up and decided to start by heading out to Venice Beach. We had heard from many locals and tourist blogs that Venice and Santa Monica were two areas that we needed to visit since we were staying in LA/Hollywood Blvd area. So that is where we went. Venice is interesting. The beach is beautiful.

The people are…. well… interesting. There were many tourists but many homeless people as well. I actually feel like we saw just as many homeless people around the Venice Beach area as we saw around the Hollywood Blvd area. There were so many cute little shoppes and places to eat with live music. We decided to walk down to Abbot Kinney Street in Venice and had lunch and a cocktail at an adorable restaurant called Green Leaf Chop Shop. I got a turkey sandwich on a pretzel bun with a side of potato salad and Julie got a BBQ chicken flatbread pizza.

Then we got a baby scoop of ice cream at a highly recommended place called Salt & Straw. It was AMAZING! I got strawberry and toasted white chocolate in a waffle cone!

Then we headed to the Santa Monica Pier to watch the sunset. It was so cute and was a great family place. It was within walking distance. It took about 15-20 minutes to walk there and was a beautiful walk along the coast. The sunset here was also breathtaking. They had rides and many activities for kids and also shoppes and restaurants.

We grabbed dinner at a place called Seaside On The Pier and I got a grilled Mahi Mahi sandwich, which was delicious! We walked about 10.6 miles this day. We were exhausted- we ended the night with a cocktail (vodka and water with lemon) and our Uber driver Octavio showed us ALL AROUND THE CITY!

day six

We slept in on Saturday and spent the day roaming around Hollywood Blvd and seeing all the “Stars” on the Star Walk of Fame. We went to Hollywood and Vine, Hollywood and Highland, Highland and Orange, Sunset Blvd, some souvenir shops, and just wandering around the city. We went to the famous In and Out Burger and to be honest, I prefer Shake Shack.

Then we headed back to get ready to head to West Hollywood and Beverly Hills.

We got to Rodeo Drive around 5:30pm and OMG- that place is beautiful. I can’t even describe how beautiful it is. I did not go in any stores and I did not buy anything big on this trip. The trip itself was “my treat” to myself. But we got to see Bijan, the most expensive store in the world, a men’s clothing store where suits start at $25,000. We walked around Rodeo Drive for a bit and then headed to PUMP Restaurant in West Hollywood.

We had reservations at 7:30pm and from the outside, PUMP did not look like anything special. But the inside was gorgeous. It was very dark inside and actually a bit difficult to even see the menu. I ate a penne pasta with tiger prawn shrimp with a light sauce with fresh tomatoes, onions, and garlic. Julie got a chicken Milanese that was lightly breaded and pan-fried with fresh lemon and served with an arugula salad and Lisa’s homemade potato salad. The cocktails were STRONG. We got the PUMP vodka, water, and lemon. I had to lighten these photos quite a bit so you girls could actually see the place! Haha!

Lisa’s husband, Ken walked in mid meal with their dog Giggy around 8:30pm and a few minutes later Lisa walked in with her friend. They sat a couple tables over from us and waved and said hi when they walked in. I have never actually watched the show, I got all my inside information from the girls who sat next to us and my sister who I was FaceTiming! Haha!

When we left there, we tried to go over to TomTom’s next door (also owned by Lisa Vanderpump) and there was a line wrapped around the building. So we decided to head back to good ole Hollywood Blvd. We walked around for a bit and boy, just imagine the people watching on a Saturday night on Hollywood Blvd. We meandered around the city for a few hours and hit the hay!

day seven

By Sunday, we were pretty partied out and pooped! We got coffee and decided to hit up Shake Shack one last time. Julie and I began packing up our stuff and getting our things organized for our flights back. Julie left for the airport around 8pm and I laid in bed to catch up on messages, emails, DMs, and Grey’s Anatomy! 🙂

Day eight

I left my Airbnb around 9am for the airport and prepared for a very long travel day. Traffic in LA is no joke. It took about an hour and a half to go 12 miles to the airport. It is insane. I do not know how these people get to work everyday. I met the nicest couple at the airport who were moving from LA to London and their story was so heartwarming. I can not even believe the people that God placed in my path over the course of eight days.

to sum it up

My trip was amazing. I would most definitely visit California again and maybe even the same area. I think if I went to Cali again I would venture to San Francisco or try San Diego! Traveling is so good for the soul. If you are thinking about taking a trip, you should do it. It doesn’t fully heal a shattered heart, but it can help start to mend it. It may seem like I ate complete junk my entire trip and I did eat things I don’t normally eat. I gained 4 pounds on vacation. And here I am having been back for five days and I stepped on the scale today and I’ve lost 5 pounds since I got back. So if you gain a couple pounds on vacation, don’t stress- it will come off.

Life is short. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Do something out of the ordinary. Take a leap of faith. Let God lead the way. He won’t let you down. I promise!

Love & Hugs

♥ Maddie