City of Angels

Trav has been in school and working hard all summer, so we decided to take a much needed vacation this Labor Day weekend to the City of Angels- L.A.! We killed our feet walking all over the city, ate our weight in the most delicious food, and saw so many popular sites; We can’t wait till we can go back!

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F R I D A Y S E P T. 2

Our flight got to L.A. early that morning, and after taking a Lyft to our pad, we immediately hit the streets to get lunch at Yuko Kitchen, home of the sushirito (just what it sounds like- a giant sushi burrito) and some awesome Japanese food with a twist! I personally got their Udon soup, one of my favorite Japanese dishes they made with a Mexican flare, with a side of salmon cakes (fried rice cake with spicy salmon and avocado on top), and the most delicious and refreshing drink I’ve ever had, a green apple, mint lemonade!

Right after lunch, we went next door to Trav’s version of heaven, Milk Jar- a bakery that only sells the thickest cookies ,still warm out of the oven, with your choice of milk or ice cream to make an ice cream sandwich with. It was so good for the soul!

Then it was off to sight-see! Our first stop was the Petersen Automotive Museum, a display of classical cars from Bugatti’s to V8’s, classical Harley Davidson's, and the original cars used in Hollywood films.

Car used in the movie ‘The Great Gatsby' starring Leonardo DiCaprio

Classical Bugatti from 1930

One of the 3 original Delorean's used in the film 'Back to the Future'

After the automotive museum it was off to the LA County Museum of Art (LACMA), where there were 4 stories worth of original art works in just one of the several museum buildings. We saw original Picasso’s, Jackson Pollock’s, Andy Warhol’s, Paul Peter Ruben’s, and more! There’s nothing like seeing the brush strokes up close and how it made the paintings come to life!

Jackson Pollock Original

‘Untitled' (comb) by Vija Celmins​

‘Penetrable’ Installation by Jesús Rafael Soto

After walking over 10,000 steps all over the city that day, we crashed early, ready to do it all over again the next day!

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S A T U R D A Y S E P T. 3

Saturday we woke up bright and early to hit up a popular breakfast spot known as the La Brea Bakery. Trav and I are major foodies and heard about this place on a show on Netflix known as Chef’s Table (When you watch it you’ll feel like you’ve been eating trash your whole life!) and were so excited to taste it for ourselves! We started with the toast sampler, a basket of all their popular fresh breads with a platter of butter, jam, honey, and cinnamon sugar to top your slices. It was a great tasting of what they had to offer and our go-to breakfast spot during our trip.

Here’s a special they had another day: Toast with avocado, pistachio, lavender, and radish with a mustard glaze. Mmmmmmm!

After breakfast we were ready to start our day! Our first spot to visit were the La Brea Tar Pits- a natural tar pit region in the heart of LA where the tar is still bubbling with activity, and where active excavations are still going on today. They’ve unearthed mammoths, saber tooth tigers, giant sloths, wolves, and more. In fact, being that the tar pits are only surrounded by a fence, animals who can get through still fall in and get stuck to this day!

After satisfying our love for fossils we hit up Pizzeria Mozza for lunch, where they make stone oven pizzas right in front of you! We also got a shrimp and melon appetizer, an interesting twist that was surprisingly delicious!

Pineapple, Prosciutto, and Jalapeños- their version of a Hawaiian Pizza

Then we decided to hit up the Griffith Observatory, and man was it a hot-spot, there were hundreds of people there! We saw a show in the planetarium called 'Water: The Source of Life', and learned some neat fun-facts about the planets and took some great pics of the Hollywood sign.

Then we went home to take a solid nap and get ready for our dinner reservation at one of the trendiest and most delicious restaurants I’ve ever eaten at, Republique. This place has crowds of people lining-up at the door before it even opens for dinner, but we miraculously got an 8:45 p.m. reservation the day before after a couple cancelled, just our luck!!!

Parmesan stick appetizer

I had the bar tender surprise me with a mocktail of his creation- watermelon and lemon! Delish!

I ordered the Ricotta Ravioli topped with pistachios, basil, and a zucchini sauce. It was like biting into a cloud! I’ve never had pasta so fresh and lite tasting!

Trav got the Mezze Meniche, an enchilada pasta dish that tasted like it’d been stewing over a stove for days, absolutely delicious!

And of course, we couldn’t say no to dessert!!! Trav opted for a dark chocolate salted caramel cake.

My pick was a chocolate soufflé with ice cream, cookie crumbles, and cream sauce. It was TO DIE FOR!!! The best meal I’ve ever had my entire life- hands down!

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S U N D A Y S E P T. 4

Sunday we took it easy and went to the Santa Monica Pier to walk around and take pictures. It’s huge compared to any pier I’ve ever seen in FL, there are a ton of carnival rides, shops, and entertainers on the pier and a beautiful view of the coastline.

We also got to see a tiny aquarium at the pier where you could pet starfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers.

To end our last night in LA we hit up The Grove, rode the trolly, walked around the shops, and managed to get a treat at the popular Sprinkles Cupcakes! They were sooooo sweet and worth the wait :)

We had the funnest time getting to know this city together! And we can’t wait for our next Roberts adventure!!!

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