Wandering on Cloud Nine: Sunny Day in LA

Hey everyone! Welcome back to Wandering on Cloud Nine! Recently, I went to LA for spring break with my family and I’m so excited to write about my trip. Usually I dread going on long car rides because I spend the whole time on the phone, but my cousin was able to join us so she was able to keep me company! The only real fighting involved a battle over red and blue gummy worms and sleeping in the least uncomfortable positions. Other than that, it was super fun! We spent four days in LA, which in my opinion, is not enough time considering that everything in LA is really spread out. It seems to be normal for everything to be 30 minutes away from you there. Unlike in SF, where all the boba places are pretty much everywhere, all the places I wanted to go were so far away from our hotel. However, I still had tons of fun. I hope you all enjoy my memories!

• DAY 1: LA BOUND, HOLLYWOOD, KBBQ

On the first day of break, we left in the morning and got to LA by 3:00 PM (could’ve been earlier, but of course there was traffic). The first thing we did was go to Hollywood to see the TCL Chinese Theatre and the Walk of Fame. There were so many people on Hollywood Blvd, it felt like the 2nd floor hallway at Lowell because everyone was squished together. Eventually, we were able to see the TCL Chinese Theatre, but I honestly was less impressed than the other tourists. I was able to see some cool handprints from Shirley Temple and the La La Land cast. The actual Walk of Fame was full of different impersonators and people with snakes. My cousin and I were afraid of the snakes because they were so close to us.

I think my favorite part of Hollywood Blvd is the shopping mall (Hollywood and Highland Center). We also saw this gelato place that I also visited in Italy also. We went around a bit more and saw the Dolby Theatre (place where the Oscars are held). We left Hollywood feeling a little starstruck and with gelato in our hearts! We went to our hotel which was south of LA in Downey. We rested there for a few hours before getting Korean barbecue! If you guys did not know, LA is known for its amazing and cheap Korean barbecue, so we had to get some. I think I ate too much bulgogi and kimchi that night, but it was definitely worth it. After dinner, the restaurant gives you free ice cream, which was awesome! Korean barbecue was definitely a great way to end our first day in LA.

• DAY 2: MELROSE AVE, LACMA, ANAHEIM

Our second day in Los Angeles was super eventful. The first thing we did that day was explore the different murals on Melrose Avenue. We saw the instafamous Paul Smith “pink wall”, which was literally just a pink wall, but we took like a thousand pictures there nonetheless. Also, actual professional cameras are not allowed at the pink wall and we still have no idea why, so if you do know please tell me! Across the street from the pink wall was the La La Land mural. It was just a painting of the movie poster, but it was very charming. My mom took many pictures of my cousin and I pretending to dance like Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling (which was kind of a fail).

We also saw the Made in LA mural, but we weren’t able to take great pictures because of this car that was parked right in front of the mural. Lastly, we saw a mural with the word ANXIETY painted in huge red block letters. This mural was very relatable especially since AP exams, the SAT, and finals are coming soon. After Melrose Ave, we went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to see their urban lights sculpture. The sculpture consists of a bunch of street lamps from the 1920s and 1930s. I’ve been here twice already, but this was my cousin’s first time. Naturally, we took plenty of photos. I prefer going to see the lights at night because they actually light up and it looks so pretty. I recommend seeing them at night to really experience the street lamps with lights on and they look so good in photos.

We went back to our hotel after LACMA to rest for a bit before going to get dinner. We decided to go to the Anaheim Packing District for dinner. I was so excited because I’ve seen so many pictures of it on instagram and the aesthetics of the place were so nice. It reminds me of the Mercato Centrale in Florence (mentioned in my Italy post). The Anaheim Packing District consists of different restaurants and lots of seating areas. It’s kind of like the Ferry Building. They had a boba place, gelato popsicle place, hawaiian/japanese restaurant, fish and chips place, grilled cheese bar, and a lot more! I decided to get poke from the hawaiian/japanese place, which was called Orange Tei and it was delicious.

My cousin and I decided to get boba at Mini Monster. They had the option of getting the boba in a mason jar or a light bulb jar so, after much debate, I decided to get thai tea in a mason jar. Honestly I regret that so much because the light bulb looked cooler, but oh well! If you ever go there, just get the light bulb and leave your regrets behind. Also, I definitely prefer the boba in the bay area than in socal and I’m totally not biased; it just tastes way better. I recommend going to the Anaheim Packing District if you want to try a variety of food or if you want to take food pictures in an aesthetic place.

• DAY 3: DISNEYLAND

I tried making this part short and sweet like the other sections, but just could not do it. Actually I wrote my longest post ever, so what do you call the opposite of short and sweet? I spent more than twelve hours in the park and I don’t regret any minute of it. So, stay tuned for my separate Disneyland post and trust me, it’s going to be magical!

• DAY 4: FASHION DISTRICT, SF BOUND, TEJON OUTLETS
  

It was our last day in LA and I was sad to go. Before going back to SF, we went prom dress shopping! My aunt told my mom about this place where all the girls in LA buy their prom dresses, it’s called Santee Alley. It’s located in LA’s fashion district and there are many stores that sell different prom dresses. I was feeling a bit doubtful about finding a dress since most of the stores only sold long dresses, but I actually found the perfect dress and literally said, “yes.” After finding my prom dress, we got mexican food and then hit the road. My cousin and I fell asleep around the time we reached Glendale. When we woke up, we were at these premium outlets at Tejon. Usually when I go to the outlets like the ones in Livermore or Vacaville, it’s usually very busy. However, there was literally no one around. Then again, the outlets are located in the middle of nowhere. We ate at Wingstop in their food court and there was only one other table occupied in this huge hall. After the outlets, we were on our way again and only made one other stop on our way home (In-N-Out Burger). We couldn’t go back to sleep, so I helped my cousin out with her homework. When we got back to SF, I was sad because I won’t be able to see my cousin 24/7 anymore.

Even though the trip was shorter than most of my other trips, it was definitely a memorable one. I was so happy that my cousin was able to go with us and we were able to bond more! Whenever I talk to her, we obsess about going back to Disneyland and it just makes me miss LA even more. I hope you all enjoyed reading my trip! Have a lovely day and stay tuned for my next adventure!