I had the opportunity to visit LA in January 2016 with my other half. It was a quick and short trip to the US, and our first. We decided to go to LA to pick up my upgraded engagement ring and band (will have a separate post for that) and decided that we wanted to experience New York in winter.  We weren’t bringing our kids so we decided to also squeeze in Las Vegas for a few days. 3 cities, 1 week – CRAZY I know.

After a 23 hours journey from Perth, we finally arrived in Los Angeles at 6am. Picked up our rental car and headed to Santa Monica Pier to kill some time before our Airbnb rental was ready. After a coffee and some shopping we headed to Woodland Hills for Lunch.

Yes, does this amazing salad look familiar???

Its none other than the Salad that the Kardashians always eat in their TV series.  The big salad bowls that they shake. (side note, they were there filming a day ealier…)

I had the Chef Salad which is Sliced Turkey Breast (I swapped this for chicken instead), shredded mozzarella, tomato, sprouts, sunflower seed with an AMAZING dressing. I also had the refreshing Mango Passion Iced Greentini (I wished I got the bigger size!!)

IT WAS AMAZING!  Craving it now that I am typing up this post.

After lunch we headed into town to our Airbnb. This was our first time using Airbnb so we were not sure what to expect. We wanted to try it out before booking any accommodation for our big Family Europe trip in a few months. We thought it would be easier to change to hotels with us two than a family of 8 if things went bad.

Luckily, Tanya our host was fantastic to deal with and the accommodation was perfect !. We also had our own parking spot underground which was ideal (cons for hotel:the crazy amount of money per night for parking). She even left some drinks and a light breakfast for us. Our Hollywood apartment was just below the base of the scenic hike at Runyon Canyon Park and the view from the balcony is amazing. Safe to say, it was a great first time experience using Airbnb.

The first night is LA went really quick. We went for a quick drive around and ended up at IN-N-OUT for dinner. You can’t go to LA and not try IN-N-OUT.. the line was crazy long, but it was worth it. =)

The Mr. had the Double-Double and I had the Cheeseburger. We also ordered the Animal-Styled French Fries, this wasn’t on the menu – apparently its a (not-so) Secret menu among fans… I just saw people ordering these so asked for the same. Hold on to your arteries, because this was a killer. Say hello to French Fries, mass of grilled cheese, topped with grilled caramelized onions and a lug of special sauce.

Total Wedding Diet Fail.

The next day we did all the touristy stuff. Hollywood Walk of Fame,TCL Chinese Theater, Highland Heights for photos of the Hollywood sign and Dolby Theater.

We didn’t stay here long, it was a tad too touristy for us so we headed to K-town for lunch and a haircut for the Mr. After Lunch we headed back to Beverly Hill to find my Cupcake ATM and took a walk down Rodeo Drive.

Cupcake from Sprinkles was amazing… I had cupcakes every night in LA. =p

That evening we decided to be spontaneous and just go for a drive. So we got in our car and drove up Pacific Coast Highway chasing the sunset. It was magical.

We finally decided to pull over and catch the final glimpse of the sun. We ended up in Malibu Beach and the sunset was spectacular.

On the way back, we stopped by a Malibu Seafood, which was a restaurant that we saw during the drive with a long line. When we got there, there was STILL a line. We braved the cold and decided to queue up for our dinner.

The food was really good and worth the long wait !  We ordered the Fish and chips, deep fried scallops and the seafood chowder. The seafood was really fresh and tasty.

Our last stop before getting back to our apartment was the LACMA for some touristy photos =p

The next day was all about meetings in the Financial district of LA and Ontario. We stopped by a few outlets and had our last LA dinner in Westminster for some homey Vietnamese food. =p

LA was really  good ! Wish we had more time. Would have loved to do the hike up Runyon Canyon Park. There is always Next Time.

Next city: Vegas Baby !!