We arrived in Los Angeles early in the morning, and right from the beginning, we had a taste of the immensity of this city. Dropped of at the Greyhound station downtown, it took us almost 2 hours with the public transportation to get to Venice Beach, right on point to enjoy the sunrise… Welcome to LA!
Right from our arrival, we were surprised by a couple of things:
- Temperatures: on February 4th and after having experienced snowstorms in the Grand Canyon 2 days before, it was already the end of the winter for LA (75ºF). Time to pack coats, scarves and gloves and wear flip-flops at last!
- Healthy living: 6am on a Monday morning in LA? People are running along the beach, having their Pilates class or already grabbing their protein shake in a Lululemon outfit whereas it’s not even daylight…
- Rhythm: you can take your time here. Living near the beach may play a role but rhythm seems to be completely different than the one we knew on the East Cost. Don’t get us wrong though, we took the bus with latino-americans at 5am and these people were going to work. But still, LA seems to live on its own pace.
We walked along Venice beach, looking at the body-builders showing off their testosterone, enjoying skateboarders tricks, and waiting with surfers for the perfect wave. We also went for a walk along Venice canals which remembered us some Californication episodes…such a cool neighborhood. We couldn’t help but take a moment to enjoy the Californian sunset where palm trees’ black shadows stand out in oranges and roses sunbeams. Cliché but definitely worth it!
The day after, we rented a scooter to explore the city. Starting the day with a hike to the Hollywood sign (as good tourists, we couldn’t avoid it), we then went to a tour through Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Melrose Avenue and Century City where we bumped into Benicio Del Toro. We finally ended the tour in Santa Monica where Terry, our super great host, treated us with Mexican ceviche.
Despite the traffic, we really loved Los Angeles. If one day, we end up coming back to the US, we would love to settle here, it seems the perfect place to have a career and still have time to enjoy all of the cool stuffs over there.
After another crazy-long public transportation trip, we discovered another part of LA: Pasadena. Less hype neighborhood with a lot of charm, we walked through the old town, wandered in the farmers’ market and ate delicious Chinese pastries.
And to finish our trip on a high note, we watched the 50th Superbowl at Nico’s and Derev’s super neat house in Venice, with real Broncos fans. Great people, good food and an amazing time, it was the perfect ending to our Californian stay. Thank you guys!
