24 Hours In Los Angeles – MUST SEE, MUST EAT, MUST DO!

Happy Fri-YAY, all! Most of you know that last weekend the hubs and I went to LA (very pregnant, I might add) also that I could accept my Beauty InfluenceHER of the Year Award at the Her Campus Her Conference! It was a TON of fun, and I loved getting to know the other category winners and listening to all of the keynote speakers. I definitely took some good notes and plan on putting a lot of things into action over the rest of this year. BUT – prior to the conference on Saturday, Adam and I had a good 24 hours to ourselves in the city to explore and find some really fun things to do. Check out my quick guide to enjoying 24 hours in LA (+ watch our cute vlog)!

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24 Hours In Los Angeles – MUST SEE, MUST EAT, MUST DO!

Itinerary:

*I kind of mashed up the 2 days we were in Los Angeles to make a full 24 hours itinerary simply because we had Her Conference events scattered on both days that you obviously wouldn’t be working around!!!*

Breakfast – Airport food

We opted to eat breakfast in the airport because we flew out Friday morning. We snagged bagels + cream cheese and tea from the Starbucks at our gate to get us started for the day. It was super early – like 5am – so we knew if we didn’t eat we’d be hangry and starving by the time we got to the city.

Uber from airport to hotel – Hampton Inn & Suites Los Angeles / Hollywood

Uber will be your friend in the city if you don’t have a car or friends to drive you around. Unfortunately, the public transportation was kind of awful, and it was difficult to navigate if you weren’t from that area.

Brunch/Lunch – Vine Street Cafe

Oh. My. Stars. Ok. So. 10/10. This was a cafe right up the street from our hotel that the front desk recommended to us. It’s locally owned and probably one of the best lunch meals I’ve ever had. I opted to grab the BLTA (bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado) on sourdough with a peach/mango smoothie. Adam had their portobello burger and he loved it, too. It’s a bit of a wait even if they’re slow (we were one of two people in at the time), but they are making everything from scratch and by hand – and honestly it was worth the wait. Price point was about $$. We spent $36 between the two of us.

Uber to Santa Monica Pier

Explore the pier

Take your time walking down the pier – pop into the shops, check out the kiosks, take a break and just enjoy the view of the beach! If you brought swim appropriate clothing, head down to the beach and dip your toes in the water. 

Grab an ice cream cone in the park, and then pop onto the Ferris wheel for a STUNNING view of the city + the beach

There is a little ice cream place RIGHT inside the park that is SO yummy. Adam got cookie dough, and I got a scoop of the sea salt and caramel. SO yummy (though they were also a bit pricey at $6.95/scoop. We expected this, though)! Once we finished eating our ice cream, we bought tickets for the Ferris wheel ($10 / person) and took a ride to the top! It was a BEAUTIFUL view, and you get a nice long ride on the wheel so it’s definitely worth the $10. We got a cart to ourselves and had a blast.

Head over to any one of the many bike rentals around the beach and ride to Venice Beach

Once we finished at the Ferris wheel, we found a little bike rental shop right outside of the aquarium. Bike rentals were $8/hr per bike and they had a ton of different ones to choose from. We went for the little trike bikes because they were the only ones I could peddle on with my big baby belly, plus I was low to the ground so I wasn’t worried that I would accidentally fall and hurt myself or the baby. We rode all the way to Venice Beach (about a mile away), explored the shops over there, and then turned around and headed back towards the pier. By far one of the favorite parts of the day!

*potential alternative here: Stay for dinner on the pier and grab your bite to eat at Seaside On The Pier*

We had an event to go to on the first day, so we missed dinner here. BUT. I SO WISHED we could have gone here for dinner because it smelled incredible and came highly recommended by just about EVERYONE I talked to. It had something for everyone on the menu and was right there on the pier.

Uber to Hollywood Blvd

Hollywood Blvd is kind of like the Times Square of LA. It’s a little dirty, a lot crowded and very touristy. HOWEVER – it’s kind of a must-do if you’ve never been to the city before.

Dinner at Mel’s Diner

CANNOT RECOMMEND this cute place enough! They have 3 locations in the Los Angeles area – but this is the one of Hollywood Blvd. I had their mozzarella sticks and their Pink Panther smoothie and both were super delish. Adam had a chicken sandwich and fries, which he rated a solid 7/10. We both enjoyed the old Hollywood feel of the location, and the friendliness of the staff. It’s a great “all-American” restaurant!

Walk around Hollywood Blvd with smoothie in tow to see the Chinese Theater, the Hollywood Museum, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Some hot spots to hit if you’ve got time: Hollywood Museum (keep in mind – closes at 5pm), the wax museum, the Chinese Theater and the Hollywood Walk of Fame! We didn’t get to do the museums or go inside the Chinese Theater, but we did get the check it out from the outside. We then walked a few blocks of the walk of fame and tried to spot all our favorite celebrities! It was a great way to walk off all our heavy dinner foods! 

Late night tacos at an authentic taco truck (they’re all over the city)

This was something we found specifically for Adam. Having lived in Mexico for 2 years, he is ALWAYS on the lookout for good, authentic tacos. When we realized one of the taco trucks what parked right next to the hotel, Adam OBVIOUSLY had to go and grab some late night tacos. He rated them a 9/10 and said they were the closest he’s had to the food he ate in Mexico! I wasn’t super hungry (still full from dinner earlier) but I did grab an Horchata (a milky drink made from ground rice and a bunch of delicious spices) and it was PHENOMENAL. It’s one of my favorite Mexican drinks and it didn’t disappoint.

PIN THIS FOR LATER:

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Over all, we had a really amazing weekend. I won’t lie – we were on high baby alert all weekend just in case something crazy happened and baby boy decided to come early but he stayed put right where we wanted him and now we are home and near our own OB and hospital (phew). I’m still glad we took the weekend to enjoy one last trip pre-baby!

I am also still so grateful I had the opportunity to go to LA to accept my influenceHER award. It was such a great time meeting everyone, and I’m super energized and ready for the next 2 quarters of the year.

Have you ever been to LA? What was your favorite thing to do??