July marked my first ever trip to LA. Los Angeles has been one of my top places to visit in America, so naturally I’ve spent a lot of time looking at flights and trips to go when my mum suggested going for my birthday. Aside from the generic pictures of palm trees, acai bowls, star spotting and Venice beach on tumblr and Instagram, I hadn’t got a clue on what to think of LA. Many of my perceptions of places come from my parents. Being quite well travelled people (they compete about who’s visited the most countries, my mums winning on 60) I’ve grown up hearing stories about their experiences. The last time they visited LA was 30 years ago, and while my dad said it was one of the most fascinating cities in the world, my mum expressed how scary it was at times.
We stayed just on the outskirts of Venice, on a road called Abbot Kinney. After arriving into LAX and being greeted by the famous rush our traffic, we made base at the airbnb, where the host Katarina introduced us to her family of pets. 2 dogs, a cat and a bunny, what a start. We walked down along AKB, where the overwhelming feeling that we were walking in a ridiculously perfect Woody Allen film came to mind. Buzzing little cafes, cute beach shacks that made you feel like you were in Byron Bay, unbelievably overpriced clothing and ‘‘vintage’’ shops and way too many matcha and wellness based stores, all ran along this tiny strip in the colossal landscape of LA. In the evenings we cycled down to Venice Beach and walked got pizza and spoke to people who were travelling around or lived in LA.
On my birthday we went to a place called The Butchers daughter, which really sums up some of the stereotypes LA has. Having seen pictures on instagram of people taking pictures of pristine plates of Avocado toast and acai bowls where the coconut bowls made you feel like you were a surfers town, it was a fun experience to go there, but really I think you’re just paying for the place itself and not the food. Having made our way down AKB, we also ventured out to West Hollywood, and walked all along Melrose place. I didn't realise how huge LA was until we took a 40 minute uber ride to get there, (where i thought the tiny gap on google maps was small enough to cycle there). Beverly Hills and hollywood were great places to visit, the huge stretch of Melrose as well as the seemingly small side streets which held the quaint Spanish inspired bungalows which had palm trees shading and creating patches of shadow and light streaming through. I think I actually preferred walking around a lot of the residential areas a lot more than doing typical tourist things (mainly because I was on the look out for vintage mustangs).
The one thing that's not great in Seattle is the shopping, not because it’s bad but it feels like a chore going into downtown and being greeted with traffic and hills which make me feel like I’m running a marathon. LA though was the retail therapy I’ve been looking for (I sound like Carrie Bradshaw). Whilst Venice had lots of independently run brands, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood had some of my favourite shops to look through. Reformation’s prices hurt my soul but the trying on experience was something new, the vintage shops were amazing, particularly American Rag and Republique, and then there high street places like other stories and COS. The walking wasn't any different though, minus the hills, everything is so stretched out so despite our goal to walk as much as possible, uber remained the saviour.
It was an amazing few days, and it feels crazy to be a short plane journey away from such an amazing city. There are so many things to inspire you there, obviously the sunshine and beach would make anyone happy, but i think people there, besides the materialistic aspects of life , are so different an have so much motivate and influence them. Sometimes I can’t wrap my head round things like people my age going to university there, as it has such a unique feel to it. Of course no where is perfect, walking down the side streets of venice when it’s getting dark probably wasn’t a great plan, and of course like Seattle, the amount of people living on the streets is awful considering the amount of wealth there. It really emphasises the divide a lot of major cities face, and how although from the outside, with pictures and constant coverage of how fantastic LA is, there’s so much that needs to change and people/families that need help.
(I won't end on a deep note though, I annoyingly have a wanderlust for LA now and I'll be back soon)!!