After a three-day road trip from Chicago, my bother and I had a few days together in Los Angeles before I flew back home. While our main priority was getting him unpacked and settled, we still had plenty of time for some sightseeing.

I will warn you, since I didn’t have much time in Los Angeles, we pretty much did all of your typical touristy things, since I had never been there before. I very much wish we had more time so I could have explored more of the coast and all of the gorgeous hiking trails. (It’s on the list for my next visit!) But, I always like doing touristy things with a mix of local flavor, so here we go!

Santa Monica Pier & Dinner at Mercado

On our first full day in LA, once we were done unpacking, we decided to head to Santa Monica Pier to hang out and grad some food. We walked around, and watched people play on the beach while listening to performers on the pier. We then stopped at Mercado for some drinks and apps (a recommendations from my brother’s new roommate), and it was SO good. We both got blood orange margaritas and split a few appetizers. The perfect cap to a day of unpacking and organizing.

Hollywood Walk of Fame

Your stereotypical Hollywood tourist attraction. This wasn’t something I was super excited to see, but it was one of those things I felt like I had to do since I was there. Kind of like going to Dublin and going to Guinness. You just have to do it because everyone will ask you if you went or not, haha.

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It was as I expected. Over-crowded, lots of tourists, and lots of people trying to sell you something (guided tours, their latest album, taking a picture with superman, etc.) Not really my scene, BUT I was very excited to see some of the stars along the boulevard. Some notable starts for me were Kermit the Frog, Walt Disney, and my favorite… Tom Hanks.

Griffith Observatory

After walking Hollywood boulevard, we headed to the Griffith Observatory to get a glimpse of the famous Hollywood Sign. From the top of the hill, and where the observatory actually sits, you can see the famed sign and the skyline of Los Angeles!

I do wish I had my hiking shoes with me so we could have done more exploring, but I only had room to pack my allbirds in my bag, so we will have to add hiking to the list of things to do when Brian and I visit soon.

Despite the fact that I was wearing the wrong kind of shoes, this was one of my favorite spots we visited. There is something magical about seeing the famous Hollywood sign in person. A sign that has brought so many stars to LA. It was pretty cool to see it along side my big brother as he started his new life in Tinseltown.

In & Out

Yes, we did an obligatory visit to In & Out, and it was actually pretty good! We ended up going inside to eat since the drive thru was so long, and we just didn’t feel like eating in the car. We both got burgers and fries, and I got a chocolate shake. 10/10, would recommend.

Rose Bowl Stadium

A photo in front of the Rose Bowl Stadium was literally all we went for, haha. My husband is a huge college football fan, so I knew he would have wanted to go there if he’d been with us. So we drove up to the stadium, hoped out for a quick pic, and went on our way! (That being said, I’m sure they have tours of some kind and I’m sure any football fan would enjoy it very much!)

Malibu

After a long day of driving through LA traffic to see the sites, we drove up the coast to Malibu for one final stop. Not only was the beach gorgeous, but the drive there was too. We drove through the Hollywood hills and saw multimillion dollar homes after every turn. I could have drove around all day just starting at the real-estate.

Once we could saw the ocean, we parked our car and climbed down the cliffs to the beach. We hung out for a little while, dipped our toes into the Pacific and enjoyed a few moment in the sun together before heading back to pack up my things. It was bitter sweet, but I was happy knowing my brother would be in such a beautiful and vibrant place. Until next time, Cali! Be good to my big brother <3

I can’t wait to go back to Cali and see more of the coast (and visit my brother of course)! Any places you think we should stop at on our next trip?