Los Angeles, California

Snezana Petreski
Jul 14, 2015
3 min read

So I had the pleasure of hitting L.A for the 3rd time and I must say L.A gets a mixed bag of reactions, not just from me but also from most people who I know that have been, seen and conquered. For my third time there I must say it was my favourite trip to L.A even though I still did some touristy things I really seemed to enjoy it and embrace it's diversity whole lot more. Starting out on Sunset Blvd we stayed at the very trendy up market Mondrian Hotel, which as a word of warning if you're not into partying or loud music then this place is not for you. We on the other hand loved every minute of this vibing happening hotel. We were lucky enough to have a room with a balcony and a view of the famous Skybar and pool where every Friday, Saturday and Sunday plays host to massive pool parties, we were lucky enough to be staying there on those days a coincidence truly but am so glad it turned out that way as we had a ball drinking at the trendy bar. The crowd was a mix in ages, which gave the place a nice atmosphere, everyone was just out to have a good time and listen to the DJ spin his tunes.

Other than our fab hotel we did the whole tourist thing of visiting Hollywood Blvd I couldn't pass that up as the Victoria Secret store is huge and I must say I think I spent 2 hours in there tying to figure out what to buy and what to leave behind. MAC cosmetics took a hit to my credit card, I don't know if you know this ladies but Mac is so much cheaper in the states then here in OZ so naturally I went a little berserk in my purchases.

The other real tourist thing we did was hike up to the Hollywood Sign, which by the way greets you with a sign warning you of mountain lions and rattle snakes WTF! What is that about! Anyway much to my mortification we hiked up to the sign which took us a good 40 minutes and then another 10 minutes to realise It was right in front of us as the fog was so bad we could only make out the silhouette of the sign (I will post a pic you'll see what I mean) so the sign hike was a bust but I must say it was worth the trip if you are in L.A make sure you hike up to the sign on a nice clear day.

We also did the Venice Beach and Santa Monica walk it still doesn't get old; I find it pretty even though it's packed with tourists. The Promenade in Santa Monica is pretty cool for shopping, it's an outdoor shopping mall/strip and it's got every brand you want it's pretty in summer walking around in the sunshine and it's open late which is handy. I also became obsessed with a supermarket called Gelson’s, which was just off Sunset Blvd; yes I did say a supermarket lol. I mean this supermarket was the crème Della crème of supermarkets it had everything you could think of so much variety I didn't know where to start. It had so much food to choose from like a fresh bakery to a buffet of breakfast foods to the freshest shiniest fruit I’d ever seen oh and not to mention fresh flowers galore I mean I loved that place!

Ok so other than shopping galore, Rodeo Drive and Melrose Drive my most favourite thing we did in L.A was hire a boat in Marina Del Rey. We hired a boat for two hours and drove it all the way over to Santa Monica Pier and then around the marina where you can see all the beautiful boats and yachts that line up the pretty marina. I sun-baked on the front as my beloved drove me around lol. We also got to see the seals soaking up the sun and make lots of noise they're super cute!

If there were one thing I’d advise when in L.A I’d say make sure you rent a car there is so much to see and do that you don't want to waste time with tours or catching public transport. If you're game enough to drive on the other side of the road then get yourself a trendy car preferably convertible if you're planning a trip in summer. Hit the streets and make the most of what L.A has to offer. XX