Our next adventure took us over to Los Angeles, California! Who knew that you could go around the city for a weekend. Of course, you’ll be exhausted after getting home so after the trip, make sure you request a day off work so you’re not like a zombie! Don’t be like me. Haha! If you’re thinking about doing a weekend trip to LA, here are my recommendations!
We flew out of SLC around 10:00 PM with Delta which got us to LAX at 10:40 CA time (11:40 SLC). We were surprised how cool and breezy it was when we got in. It definitely reminded us of our trip to San Diego. Thankfully, day weather was excellent putting us around 79 to 80 degrees during our trip. After the airport, we decided to meet up with my cousin and he showed us around. First place he took us to was the Urban Lights in LACMA. Best time to go would be later on the night since it can get packed! We went a bit past 11:30 PM and there were some people, but it was good enough that we can still take pictures. We then had some Korean food for dinner and let me tell ya, it was sooo good! We went to BCD Tofu House in Koreatown and I definitely would recommend it for its price and taste!
If you’re into hookah and bubble tea, there’s this place in Koreatown that serves both! Let me tell you, it is such a good hang out place. Music can be loud, but they play good music! Bubble tea was superb! We had the strawberry and loved it. Prices for hookah were in good range depending on what kind you’d like. Basic ones were $15.99 per hookah and we did their Starbuzz for $17.99. Give them a go and you might just love them like we did!
DAY 1!
Our official day one, we decided to keep it down low to explore and see more of downtown LA. We started off by taking the train to Pershing Square to see some sights. Right out of Pershing Square about a block up is the Angel’s Flight Railway. If this is not on your list and you’re a train/railway fan, check this out. It’s a simple railway, but its history makes it more special. Believe it or not, this funicular has been here since 1901! Rides are $1 each and $0.50 if you have the Metro TAP Card. We didn’t take a ride, but here’s a simple look of the railway.
We then walked another block and we saw one of the places they used for 500 Days of Summer and Blade Runner! It’s no other than the Bradbury Building! If you’re a Justin Timberlake fan, go here and make sure to listen to his music “Say Something” because this is the building they shot the music video at! Anyway, this building was originally built in 1893 and was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1977! The interior of the building was remarkably incredible. Dan and I were blown away by how beautiful it was! Also, to know that JT has set foot in this building?! Seriously amazed!
Right across the street from the Bradbury is the Million Dollar Theater. This theater opened back in February 1918 and was one of the first movie palaces in the US! How cool is that?! We didn’t check it out even more, but the building is still so beautiful no matter how many years have passed by. Unfortunately, this isn’t a functioning theater anymore. Instead, they’re turning it into a retail space to fashion startup CoBird. What a bummer, but I hope that they keep the building just the same.
If you’re an architectural buff or simply just love old buildings, LA has a ton for you! I also love the hints of murals everywhere on the sides of buildings. You wouldn’t even know where to look first! Next stop brought us to The Last Bookstore. This bookstore was founded in 2005 and it’s about 22,000 square feet! Imagine how many books this store contains because it is known to be the biggest library in California. They have all their genres separated and it’s very nice to see their collection. They have new and old! Oldest book we probably saw was written in 1866! You don’t have to buy a book even though it’s hard to resist the urge, but stop by and have a look. They also have the “book bridge” that you might’ve seen everywhere online.
We went ahead and explored some more through walking. We then decided to get some midday drinks from a local brewery. It’s 5 o’clock somewhere right?! We went to Modern Times Brewery and it’s crazy unbelievable how cheap their beers are! We tried a flight of 5 oz beers and it only cost us $10.50.
After having some brewskis, we headed up north and went to Union Station which is the main railway station in LA and the largest passenger terminal in the West! Who would’ve thought?! This is such an amazing building! We were both in awe of its beauty. Just look at the pictures, then again, pictures won’t do it justice.
After the Union Station, we went and visited BSweet which is a Filipino owned dessert shop. We tried their Halo Ube and it was amazing! It’s an ice cream sandwich stuffed with Ube (Taro) ice cream. We hit this dessert shop on our way to Santa Monica Beach!
You know how many times I’ve seen this beach in the movies?! Of course, we had to go there and lay out in the sun! The weather wasn’t too warm while we were day so it was such a bummer to not have been able to go into the water. It was not beach season! Anyway, we hit up the Santa Monica Pier and rode their Ferris wheel for a romantic touch. We also saw the end of Route 66. We ended our day with a short trip to the Korean store and called it a night.
Day 2:
Main reason for our trip was to hit up Universal Studios. Can you guys believe that Daniel has never been to Universal!? Like at all. I know, it’s pretty crazy, but as my treat for him.. we went and it was incredible. When you go, please don’t forget to do the Universal tour and Harry Potter! You’ll miss out if you don’t do those. Seriously.
After we spent our day in Universal, we took an Uber to the Griffith Observatory to see the telescopes as well as the Hollywood sign. If you head up there, please check out one of their shows as they are very cool and educating. It might make you a bit dizzy, but it is super worth it. Plus the price of it, it can’t be beat.
This is how we concluded our weekend trip to LA. It was short, but very worthwhile. Hope this helps you guys with planning your trip. Anything amazing we missed during our trip? Comment below.
‘Till next adventure,
Dan & Rein
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