We left London in the afternoon and landed in Los Angeles the same day in the evening which always sounds cooler than it feels like on the body, after actual 11+ hours and a whopping 8 hrs time difference. We were obviously exhausted but once we dropped the luggages at the hotel (we stayed in Santa Monica) we walked to the ocean in the hope to catch the sun setting, as it helps regulating the circadian rhythm. Although it was quite chilly and having had enough of plane's A/C we headed back to catch some much needed zzz.
We had the pleasure to stay at the stunning Santa Monica Proper, aka design heaven — I must have manifested it because I had a Condé Nast Traveller's cutout picture (of this specific corner below) on my vision board a couple of years ago!
On the first day we embarked on a nice one hour or so walk toward the famous Venice neighbourhood, founded by a man called Abbot Kinny who sought to recreate the Italian Venice's look and feel here in LA, despite being from Italy myself, I am an architecture lover and I found this man-made replica quite charming with its variety of architectural styles, from beach houses, to craftsman bungalows, to revival houses and pretty colour palettes throughout.
You might be thinking: ‘Wait a minute, this isn’t London, it’s LA, so where’s the sun?’
I am sure not many of us living on the other side of the pond are aware of a weather pattern called “June Gloom” (or “May Gray” or “No-Sky July” depending on which spring/summer month you are visiting) happening in the once-believed ever-sunny Southern California. Yep, basically in the morning we got overcast skies and chilly temps because of clouds forming overnight above the cool water of the Pacific Ocean, aka “marine layer”. It clears up later in the morning but locals told us to come back around August for assured all-day sunshine.
Hollywood through my cameras might not be looking exactly as you are expecting it since I am not big on the touristy stuff. Although, between pretty buildings and some cool signage, I got to check out the Walk of Fame (my mum requested a picture of Marlon Brando’s star while hubby happily spotted the Fab Four), I saw the iconic landmark on the hills and drove up, but not stopped at, the Griffith Observatory for a brief view of downtown.
We also had lunch at the Pink Palace, for just a glimpse of that Golden Age glamorous ambiance. but because of their no-photo policy I did sneak only a few of the outside. And then, continuing on the golden era theme, we went to enjoy our chilled afternoon in the secluded verdant gardens of the Bel Air Hotel.
One day, as soon as the sunshine started to come out we jumped on the hotel's bikes and cycled all the way (and back) from Santa Monica to Venice Beach. Our idea of vacation is somehow always being on the move - love these kind of “chill days”!
The whole trip was planned for our second year wedding anniversary but on the day of, May 30th, we made it even more special - hubby rented a hot red convertible Ford Mustang for the full American experience as we breezed through those wide roads dotted with palm trees. We had a lovely breakfast at Chateau Marmont, then stopped by a few other places, like the Getty Museum, while on our way to the beachy Malibu. In the evening we hit a few spots on Sunset Strip and ended up at the naturally-chic Juniper lounge and garden for a laid back, vibey end to an awesome day. Check our Instagram Reel here as well as more trip highlights!
