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EXPLORING LOS ANGELES | MY FIRST TASTE OF AMERICA

I was lucky enough to be going on a trip of a lifetime with my family in September/October 2015. This wouldn't be your typical relaxing by the pool with a cocktail in hand kind of trip, but instead would include hours of traveling, going to sleep extremely late and waking up extremely early to cram in what we could each day. After two flights lasting a total of 12 hours, we finally arrived in the 'city of dreams' : Los Angeles. We arrived late at night, picked up our hire car and drove to our hotel.

We stayed in the Best Western Sunset Plaza Hotel (Hotel Website Here) for three nights. The hotel was absolutely perfect for our short stay with big spacious rooms, comfy beds, and doors leading directly onto the pool. Breakfast was included and was incredible; every morning consisting of pancakes and lucky charms. The staff were also incredibly friendly and helpful throughout our entire stay. Another added bonus being the free wi-fi also! I would highly recommend staying here as the over all vibe is very relaxed and quiet, yet the hotel itself is situated right on sunset boulevard, making it in close proximity to pretty much everything!

I visited from the 17th - 20th of September. The weather was gorgeous with blue skies and constant sunshine. However, it was ridiculously hot which made being a tourist doing a lot of walking around very very difficult. If you go at this time of year i'd make sure you pack all your summer clothes and carry round water and suncream everywhere with you! While we were there we wanted to cram in as much as we could, making sure everyone within the group got to do at least one thing they really wanted to. Due to being there for such a short time it was more of a 'taster'.

Day 1 On our first day we enjoyed an amazing breakfast and then headed to Beverly Hills Mall, had a little shop about, and then walked through Rodeo Drive. Rodeo Drive is one of the most photogenic looking places i have ever been too. Palm trees everywhere, fancy cars etc. It is such a surreal place. After having a quick walk through, we then drove down to Venice Beach. Venice Beach is everything you expect it to be; beautiful, relaxed, and incredible. We walked along the shore line enjoying the beach itself and then walked through little stalls and shops on the beach picking up some trinkets! Then of course we checked out the 'muscle beach' part which didn't disappoint either. The over all vibe at Venice Beach is just so cool and i loved it there. Later in the evening we then drove to the famous 'Bob's Big Boy' to get one of their signature burgers and also attended the vintage car show that was going on there.

Day 2 On the second day we hung out a little around the pool in the morning, and then embarked on what seemed would be a quick walk to Hollywood Boulevard. How terribly wrong we were. It took us around an hour to walk as we kept having to make rest stops due to how tired out the heat made us.  But eventually we got there and were able to see what the most touristy part of LA had to offer. It was extremely busy and the heat didn't help. Over all i really enjoyed completing the Walk of Fame and it's another thing i can tick off my bucket list! We then went into the Hollywood Mall, and the view point to the Hollywood sign. Hollywood is such a surreal place, everything really does look like it came from a movie and is just so extravagant. After visiting Hollywood Boulevard we went back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed back down to Venice Beach for dinner. We went to C&O Trattoria by the Venice Pier (Restaurant Website Here), featuring an Italian cuisine that is just unforgettable. The restaurant is well known for it's 'killer garlic rolls' which definitely lived up to their reputation in being the nicest garlic rolls i've ever had in my eighteen years of living. This has to be one of the nicest restaurants i've been too; great food, great service, great atmosphere, and a unique decor. If you ever have the chance to go to Venice Beach and find yourself feeling peckish then this restaurant is a must.

Day 3 Our last day. We spent the morning packing our things and then relaxing around the pool for a little, before loading the cars up and checking out. We drove to Hollywood Boulevard and did some more shopping and went for a couple of drinks out of the heat. The time we spent at Hollywood Boulevard was short as we had a long drive through the desert ahead of us to get to our next stop: LAS VEGAS! (watch out for my Las Vegas post)

Thanks for reading! 

Jodie xx