Los Angeles ~ The City of Angels👒🌴

Los Angeles has so many vibrant and beautiful neighborhoods surrounding the city that I never get tired of visiting! I just took my second trip to L.A this year and it was absolutely phenomenal! The weather was also on my side delivering nothing but sunny skies and warm weather.

I decided to plan another trip to Los Angeles this year for one of the most important events in Pasadena; CATCON! I learned about CatCon late last year and told myself I would go the following year no matter what. Sure enough, I made sure to fulfill that goal last month and dragged my mom along with me! LOL! It was amazing to say the least, but we planned a whole vacation around the event instead of just going for the weekend. I’m glad we did so because we got to enjoy the nice weather and venture off to different places we hadn’t had the chance to last year.

We got to L.A early Thursday morning and just enjoyed our day at the Airbnb. We stayed up in the hills in West Hollywood, so the view itself was breathtaking. We were supposed to go on an evening hike to the Hollywood Sign, but we were so tired, so we decided to cancel the hike and watch the sunset from our balcony instead. Even though we missed the hike, the views from our place made up for it.

On Friday, we got our day started early and headed to Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air for breakfast. My mom is a huge fan of Wolfgang, so this one was for her. The atmosphere was astonishing with the blooming flowers around the restaurant outside and the private booth seating they had throughout the restaurant. I would definitely recommend visiting this place for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. You will not be let down by their incredible service and gorgeous ambience!

After breakfast, we drove straight to Santa Barbara. It was a really nice drive because we rented a convertible, so the top was down the entire trip there. We also got to drive along the coastline for the most part, so there was always a view to look at!

We stopped at Stearns Wharf, which is a pier in Santa Barbara with shops and places to eat. They didn’t have much to offer compared to other piers like Malibu’s or Santa Monica’s, but it was still great to check out.

After some sightseeing on the pier, we headed to our lunch reservations at Bella Vista at the Four Seasons. This was probably one of the best views we had while dining. The restaurant was so close to the ocean, but yet, far enough to still have some greenery and a beach to divide the two. It was really pretty honestly! The entire resort/hotel had so much to offer. We probably stayed here for a good two hours enjoying lunch and some drinks.

Shortly after, we went by the beach and drove around Santa Barbara for a bit. It’s amazing to see how people live in these neighborhoods in the hills, while everything by us in the midwest is so flat! We’re so used to driving in leveled areas, but in California, you are constantly driving up and down hills!

After Santa Barbara, we ended our day at the Airbnb and watched the sunset from the balcony again. It was really relaxing to just do nothing and rest. Especially with CatCon being the next day. I knew I had to be ready and full of energy!😊

When Saturday arrived, we made sure to head to Pasadena early. We had no idea what to expect since this was our first time going and only their fifth year hosting CatCon. Nonetheless, the event was AHHHH-MAZING! If you’re a cat lover, this would definitely be up your alley. They had countless vendors from all over the United States, as well as other countries, with products to buy for your cat(s) and for yourself! They also offered a handful of seminars and workshops that were educational and helpful for cat owners. The only seminar I attended was the Kat Von D Cat Eye where Leah Carmichael showed how to do a purrrrfect cat eye on Chrissa Sparkles with the tattoo liner.

Besides just going to CatCon, I had the opportunity to meet one of my favorite “celebrity cats.” This meet and greet was added in a few months after I bought my admission ticket, so when I found out Suki was going to be there, I had to grab a ticket to meet her too! I found Suki on Instagram over a year ago while looking at bengal cats and followed her ever since. She is just as gorgeous in real life as she is in photographs! She is also soooo soft! Even my mom was surprised by how soft her coat was. My mom was more interested in talking to Suki’s mom though and finding out if she spoke French while I kept petting Suki! LOL! (Side note: French is one of my mom’s first languages and Suki’s mom is from Alberta, Canada, so she wanted to see if she was fluent in French).

After meeting Suki, we stayed for a little while longer and then headed back to Los Angeles. The event was going on all weekend, but we only planned to go on Saturday for the day. We relaxed a bit at the Airbnb before heading back out to our dinner reservations in Beverly Hills.

We had dinner at The Polo Lounge inside the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel. This was another beautiful place to dine with dim lighting and live entertainment. The food was appetizing and the service was outstanding as well. I even had to get my dessert to go because I was so full, but could not miss out on their cake! I really enjoyed this restaurant though. They showed the true meaning of five stars!

Sunday was the first day we were able to sleep in past 7 a.m. We were getting our days started so early, so it was nice to catch up on some sleep. We had brunch reservations at Chateau Marmont which was just down the hill from us. (We were able to see the hotel right from our Airbnb. They were part of our view). Chateau Marmont is known for some of their celebrity guests and the infamous death of John Belushi who overdosed in one of the bungalows.

After brunch, we checked out Rodeo Drive. Some of the stores had lines just to get in like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci. I’m not sure if it was because it was Sunday or because Rodeo Drive is a tourist spot in general, but the lines were long. Most people weren’t shopping to begin with, but I guess it’s “more for looking instead of buying thing for most?” Either way, it’s a cool, stylish place to check out if you’re in Beverly Hills. Later on in the day, we also grabbed dinner at 208 Rodeo. It was a convenient spot to grab some food and people watch. Their outdoor seating was pretty ideal.

When we finished dinner, my mom had mentioned that she wanted to check out The Walk of Fame. I personally have been here before when I visited California the very first time in 2011. I really didn’t think it was my mom’s cup of tea, but I decided to take her anyways. I also thought it wouldn’t be so packed on a Sunday night, but again, I was wrong. LOL The sidewalks were busy with locals and tourist, as well as vendors selling their merchandise. We stopped at a few souvenir stores and took some pictures. I think my mom was satisfied with the small amount of time we spent on the boulevard and I was ready to leave whenever since I had already visited before.

Monday was our last full day in California, so we had planned to spend it in Malibu. One of the things I didn’t get to do last year when we visited Malibu was go to Point Dume, so I made it a priority this time. We got up early again and drove up the coastline towards Malibu. The drive there is always so pretty with the scenery and having a convertible made the drive THAT much better.

Point Dume was absolutely gorgeous! I’m so glad I made it up there and was able to sit down and enjoy the view for a while. I wish we would have had enough time to go down to the beach as well, but that’s something I might have to check out another time when I’m around.

After spending some time at Point Dume, we had an early dinner at Nobu. The food was so flavorful, but the view was remarkable! We were literally sitting on the beach enjoying dinner in the warm summer sun. You could also walk down to the beach right from the restaurant. That’s how close we were.  I’m not a huge sushi fan at all, but everything we ordered was delicious and well prepared!

When dinner was over, we went to Venice Beach to watch the sunset. Venice is my favorite place to just sit down on the beach and watch the waves come on to the shore. It’s also a really good spot to watch the sunset behind the ocean in the winter months and behind the mountains in the summer.

We ended our vacation the following day after grabbing lunch at The Original Farmers Market. We seem to stop here every time we come to L.A now and my mom loves farmers markets, so there we were! LOL!

Los Angeles was such a great time, but per usual, the trip flew by! Like I said in the beginning though, I’ll never get tired of visiting!

Until next time L.A!✌️

Xox

La Flare