Sitting in the terminal with windswept hair, sun kissed cheeks, and rocks from Griffith Park in my shoes, I could not stop smiling. The weekend had all the indicators of a perfect one – tons of smiley selfies on my phone, a suitcase stuffed with wares of local artists (including a bottle of nam prik sauce I begged TSA to let me carry through), memories of tasty meals and unique lattes, and a carry-on stuffed to the brim.
While 48 hours flies by in a blink, it was the perfect amount of time to catch up with one of my dearest friends and trek around an unfamiliar city. For anyone in need of some sun and a cosmic reboot (I’ll explain), I highly recommend a weekend trip to sunny southern California, especially in the wintertime.
Los Angeles is an explosion of culture, complete with scrumptious cuisine and beach vibes mixed with big-city-cool. A haven for all things organic (and juiced), the city has a Floridian beach feel, a palate for exotic flavors rivaling Houston’s food scene, an Austin level air-of-coolness, and competes with Seattle for density of cute coffee shops.
In LA, you can start your day with pearls in your latte while listening to marimbas serenade you at a farmer’s market, spend an afternoon under palm trees with sand between your toes, and finish your evening noshing on an ice cream cone shaped like a goldfish.
If you’re planning a weekend in or around LA, be sure to soak up the local culture and venture off the beaten path. You’ll be happy that you did!
Bask in the sunshine!
Enjoy a sunny day in the outskirts of the city with a bike ride along a beachfront path. If you can spare the time, start in Venice Beach and head towards the Santa Monica pier. The AirBnB that Brooke and I stayed in was perfect for this – just a steps away from the water and the ideal home base for our weekend excursions. If your lodging accommodations do not have bikes to use, there are Jump bikes scattered throughout the neighborhood that you can pay a small fee to ride.
Take a hike in Griffith Park! With what seems like endless miles of trails, it would be easy to get lost in this desert wonderland just minutes from the center of downtown LA. Fortunately, the visitor center has handy maps that guided us to Vista Viewpoint. A short hike up a dirt path or road will lead you to a heli-pad with sweeping views of the city – including sky scrapers, the ocean, and snow capped peaks. Park in the Los Feliz neighborhood at the Cedar Grove trailhead for a shorter and more direct hike up to the viewpoint. If you’re not short on time, there are an abundance of longer trails to reach this view as well as similar lookout points!
Stroll through the Silver Lake / Echo Park neighborhoods – we just couldn’t stay away from this area! Just south of Griffith Park, the east side of LA boasts unique shops featuring artisan wares from paintings to crystals to hand poured candles, along with spas, eateries, and everything in between. Fun and trendy restaurants, bars, and cafes literally line Sunset Blvd. Be sure to keep an eye out for street art as you wander in and out of shops!
Peruse the Santa Monica Main Street Farmers Market (& the rest of Main Street) – on Sunday morning we took a stroll down Main Street from Rose Ave all the way to Ocean Park Boulevard. This street is lined with more boutiques and an abundance of food options. The farmer’s market off Ocean Park Boulevard is definitely worth a trip! Complete with live music, cooking demos, a keto food stand, and produce, it’s a perfect way to start the day.
Look for local markets / pop up events – Brooke and I initially picked LA since it’s a tour spot for the Renegade Craft Fair – a tradition we started with a trip to Renegade in Austin a couple years ago.
Renegade is a curated gathering of makers, doers, and designers that makes stops throughout the US and abroad. It’s no surprise that Renegade has been welcomed here with open arms – given the sacredness of art and food in LA. Unfortunately, Renegade only passes through twice a year, so if you’re not in LA during a Renegade weekend, be sure to check Facebook or local coffee shop bulletin boards to see what markets and pop up shops are happening the weekend that you visit! LA is a thriving community for artists and makers, so you may be surprised by what you will find.
Stay nourished!
It’s important to stay hydrated in LA given the dry climate, and what better way than with a scrumptious latte or fun juice concoction. There’s no shortage of local coffee roasters and juice bars throughout the LA metropolis, but if you’re staying in the Venice Beach / Santa Monica neighborhoods be sure to drop by the places below.
Grab a table on the sidewalk at Dogtown Coffee – channel your inner skater (or surfer) and check out this coffee shop for refreshing açaí bowls and the tastiest matcha lattes! The açaí bowls here are mysteriously chocolate-y in flavor and come topped with fresh strawberries, bananas, and granola. The matcha latte comes standard with almond milk and honey which is a decadent combo that I absolutely fell in love with.
Fortunately, DTC serves breakfast all day and lunch fare too, with ample gluten-free and vegan options. In addition to great food, they are known for their coffee which is both organic and locally roasted.
Since DTC is only a short walk from the beach, I recommend stopping here either before or after your bike ride through Venice/Santa Monica (which is exactly what Brooke and I did!)
Sample the lattes and magical tonics at Moon Juice on Rose Avenue in Venice! This is SO much more than a juice shop – it’s a divine experience and a great place to start a cosmic reboot! Whether Moon Juice’s drinks are magical elixirs or not, the smiling employees with glowing complexions may just convince you. This is definitely the place to step outside your comfort zone and sample a fancy concoction. Moon Juice is not only a one stop shop for juices, lattes, and treats but it is a self-proclaimed “cosmic beacon for those seeking out beauty, wellness and longevity.”
Brooke let me steal a sip of her latte and it definitely had notes of the cosmos – or maybe that was just the chai? The lattes can be served hot or cold and you can choose espresso, chai, matcha, or gynostemma tea, mixed with a blend of almond and coconut milk, and sprinkled with a special blend of adaptogens, affectionately named Moon Dust. I highly recommend the Roots Royal – one of the many cold-pressed raw juices you can choose from. Coined the “regal root trio of energy” – the Roots Royal packs a punch with Apple, Beet, Lemon, Ginger, and Turmeric. Check out all the fun options here.
Fill yourself up!
I wish we had more meals to eat in LA, because the food options are endless & everything we ate was so tasty! Brooke and I savored every meal, genuinely enjoying the variety of flavors and ambiance of each place we dined at.
Savor fresh fish at SUGARFISH by sushi nozawa – you can’t make reservations but the sushi is more than worth the wait! Committed to delivering the highest quality sushi, SUGARFISH is known for hand-selecting fish, sourcing sustainable ingredients, and an unwavering attention to detail. For dinner, try the TRUST ME. It’s perfect to share and includes organic edamame, tuna sashimi, albacore sushi, salmon sushi, yellow tail sushi, NZ Sea Bream sushi, hirame sushi, a toro and a crab hand roll. Hands down the freshest sushi I have EVER had.
Embrace the spice at NIGHT + MARKET Song – Brooke and I put our tolerance for spice to the test at this authentic northern Thai eatery. Known for traditional yet inventive cuisine paired with a selective wine list, we were very happy with our choice.
We shared a variety of small plates – string beans, a variation of pork belly, and a cucumber salad dish – and left the selection entirely up to our server. Even though our eyes watered, we were able to deal with the spice thanks to a tasty French wine that our server also recommended. While there’s usually a long wait, try snagging a seat at the bar which is first come, first serve.
While NIGHT + MARKET doesn’t have a mission statement per se, if it did, it would be “We aim to make the most delicious and authentic Thai food to facilitate drinking and fun-having amongst friends.” Cheers to that! Check out their expansive menu here!
Devour a bowl at Honey Hi – a simple walk up café that’s perfect for a quick yet super satisfying lunch. After walking through Griffith Park, Brooke and I were starving and wanted a quick healthy bite that wasn’t too far from the airport. Yet again, we found ourselves driving through the Echo Park neighborhood.
Honey Hi serves up sustainable comfort food that’s free of refined sugar and food additives. Instead, their dishes have nutrient dense ingredients sourced and prepared locally. “That grain bowl” was the perfect portion and pre-flight meal for me – roasted delicata squash, rainbow cauliflower, turmeric pickled onions, nettle tahini pesto, cashew buckwheat dukka, organic black rice, and kale topped with a soft boiled egg!
Brooke had the miso bowl which also looked amazing – jade rice, shredded chicken, purple cabbage, rainbow carrots, spicy cucumbers, daikon, cilantro, almonds, and ginger chickpea miso dressing. Both were fresh, light, and tasty! Thank you @LeeFromAmerica for suggesting this AMAZING cafe on your blog!!!
Be anything you want to be at Cafe Gratitude – connected, thriving, dazzling, vivid…! A bright café with tons of tasty breakfast options, Café Gratitude is a perfect place to start your day. Brooke and I both chose to be vivid that morning with our selection of Açaí bowls, but everything on the menu looked delicious!
Alessandra recommended this café after visiting the San Diego location, so we knew it would be great. The menu is plant based – striving to support individual health and sustainability for the planet and community. Read up on their mission, here.
Smile as you eat goldfish-shaped dessert at SomiSomi – one of the many highlights of the trip, Brooke and I wandered through Koreatown in search of these cones! With fun flavors like matcha and black sesame, cone fillings like taro and nutella, and unlimited toppings you can customize your fish-shaped dessert however you would like to! I promise it is as fun as it is tasty!
Cheers to the weekend!
Every weekend is one worth celebrating in my eyes, but the ones that leave me feeling nourished, refreshed, and inspired are the ones I especially cherish. The ones that leave me wishing I could rewind and repeat it without changing a thing… the ones that leave me filled to the brim with happy memories… the ones that remind me that true connections are not broken by miles.
Moving further west has been another adventure that has tested my ability to adapt. With each move I have had to let go of routine and accept that so many of the people and places I love will no longer be a part of my everyday. If you ask me where I want to live when I grow up, I would say anywhere – so long as all the people that I cherish live within a 1 mile radius. I mean, if there was a Whole Foods, some killer hiking trails, a ski lift, AND a yoga studio down the street I wouldn’t complain either… ha!
While I’m learning to accept that this vision is a bit of a fairy tale, living in a different place than so many of the human beings that I love can have positives – like the chance to meet somewhere in the middle and spend a weekend exploring a new place while catching up on anything and everything!
Brookesbeans – thank you for being YOU and always being game for an adventure. Love you to the moon and back & can’t wait for our next girls trip… Miami 2019?
sending love and sunlight to each of you
xoxo marissa
