Travel: Los Angeles

There are some trips that feel like vacations, and then there are trips that feel like chapters.

My July trip to California definitely felt like a chapter.

After spending the first part of our vacation in Las Vegas, we packed up and made our way to Los Angeles for the second half of the adventure. And while Vegas had its own very particular kind of energy, Los Angeles felt completely different. There was more space to wander, more neighborhoods to explore, more food to eat (always important), and that very specific California feeling that makes you want to slow down and take everything in.

This wasn't my first time dreaming about Los Angeles, but there is something different about actually being there. You can see the palm trees in pictures a million times, but nothing quite compares to driving down a California street with the sun shining, grabbing a burger, eating tacos, visiting a museum dedicated to movies, and realizing, oh…I'm actually here.

Our LA trip ended up being a mix of everything I love about traveling: really good food, a little bit of culture, beautiful scenery, touristy adventures, spontaneous stops, and plenty of moments where we weren't doing anything particularly groundbreaking—we were just enjoying being somewhere new.

And, of course, there was Universal Studios Hollywood.

So let's rewind to July and take a little trip through Los Angeles together.

Arriving in Los Angeles After Las Vegas

After an unforgettable few days in Las Vegas, it was time for the next part of our California vacation: Los Angeles.

I love that this trip ended up being two completely different experiences in one. Las Vegas was bright, loud, exciting, and very much Vegas. Los Angeles felt more expansive and relaxed. There was suddenly so much to see that we didn't have to rush from one attraction to the next.

We could wake up, figure out where we wanted breakfast, drive somewhere we'd never been, stop for food because something looked good, and let the day unfold from there.

And honestly? That's one of my favorite ways to travel.

I don't necessarily need every minute of a vacation planned down to the last second. I want a general idea of what we're doing, a few things I'm really excited about, and enough room for those random little moments that end up becoming the things I remember most.

Our first few days in LA were exactly that.

Breakfast at Met Her At A Bar

One of our first stops was breakfast at Met Her At A Bar, which felt like a very appropriate way to begin our LA adventure.

There is something about starting a travel day with breakfast that just makes everything feel official. You wake up somewhere new, get dressed, grab coffee and food, and suddenly you're like, okay, we're doing this.

After spending so much time in Las Vegas, it was nice to settle into a slower California rhythm.

And naturally, breakfast was only the beginning because apparently I had arrived in Los Angeles with one mission:

Eat everything.

Angel's Tijuana Tacos: One of the Best Meals of the Trip

If there is one thing I need you to know about this Los Angeles trip, it's that Angel's Tijuana Tacos absolutely delivered.

We headed there after breakfast, and I had what might honestly be one of the best tacos—and quesadillas—I've ever eaten.

And listen, I don't make that declaration lightly.

I love food. I love trying restaurants when I'm traveling. And I especially love finding those little spots that aren't necessarily the meal you spent weeks planning but somehow become the meal you talk about afterward.

This was one of those places.

The tacos were incredible, the quesadilla was incredible, and suddenly I understood why people get so passionate about LA's food scene.

One of my favorite things about visiting a city like Los Angeles is that you don't have to limit yourself to fancy restaurants or the places that show up on every tourist list. Some of the best meals can come from grabbing something casual and realizing five minutes later that you're already thinking about when you can have it again.

Angel's Tijuana Tacos was definitely one of those moments for me.

If you are planning a Los Angeles trip and love tacos, I'm just saying: put this one on the list.

Getting Ready for Universal at CityWalk Hollywood

After all that food, we made our way over to Universal CityWalk Hollywood.

This was basically the beginning of the Universal portion of our trip.

We were there to pick up our Power-Up Bands and get ourselves ready for what was going to be one of the most anticipated parts of the vacation: Universal Studios Hollywood.

There is something so fun about going to CityWalk before a theme park day. You're not even in the park yet, but you're already surrounded by the restaurants, shops, lights, music, and all of that Universal energy.

It builds the anticipation.

And because I knew I wanted to give Universal Studios Hollywood its own dedicated video, I tried not to give too much away during this part of the trip.

Let's just say I was excited.

Very excited.

A Little Hollywood Movie Magic at the Academy Museum

As the LA portion of the trip continued, we shifted from theme parks and tacos into another side of the city that I really wanted to experience: Hollywood and movies.

We visited the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, and this was one of those stops that felt incredibly fitting for a trip to Los Angeles.

After all, when you think about LA, you inevitably think about movies.

Hollywood is so deeply connected to the way we experience movies, television, celebrities, red carpets, awards shows, and pop culture that being in Los Angeles can sometimes feel like you've stepped onto the other side of the screen.

The Academy Museum gave us a chance to actually explore some of that history and artistry.

I loved getting to slow down and take in something cultural during the trip. Travel doesn't always have to mean constantly moving from one attraction to another. Sometimes it's nice to spend a few hours somewhere, look around, learn something, and let yourself actually absorb it.

And if you're a movie lover, visiting the Academy Museum feels like a particularly appropriate thing to do in Los Angeles.

Lunch at the Original Farmers Market

After the museum, naturally, it was time to eat again.

We headed to the Original Farmers Market, which was another fun way to experience a different side of LA.

I love places like this when I'm traveling because they give you a little bit of everything. There's food, people watching, shopping, history, and that general feeling of being somewhere that has been part of the city for a long time.

It's also the kind of place where you can wander without necessarily needing a strict plan.

And at this point in the trip, I was very much embracing the idea that our Los Angeles itinerary didn't need to be packed with major attractions every second.

Sometimes lunch is the activity.

Sometimes wandering around a market is enough.

Sometimes you're just happy to be in California eating something delicious.

The Win-Dow: Yes, the Burger Lived Up to the Hype

And then we had to try The Win-Dow.

You know those foods that get hyped online so much that you're almost nervous to try them because you're wondering whether they're actually going to be worth it?

That was The Win-Dow for me.

Thankfully, the burger lived up to the hype.

And yes, I was very happy about it.

One of the things I love about putting together travel content is that you get to revisit these tiny moments later. At the time, you're just eating a burger. But when you're editing footage weeks later, suddenly you're remembering the day, where you were, what the weather felt like, what you were talking about, and how excited you were to finally try the thing.

That is the magic of travel for me.

It's not just the destination.

It's all of those little details that become memories.

Spending the Fourth of July in California

Then came the Fourth of July.

And instead of spending the day doing something overly complicated, we rented a car and decided to take one of the most beautiful drives of the entire trip.

We hit the Pacific Coast Highway.

And honestly?

This might have been my favorite part of the entire Los Angeles portion of the vacation.

There are some experiences that are difficult to explain until you've actually done them. Driving along the California coast is one of them.

The scenery was beautiful, the ocean was right there, and the whole experience felt like one of those quintessential California moments you see in movies and immediately think, there's no way it actually looks like that in real life.

It does.

There was something really special about being able to get out of the city for a little while and simply drive.

No rushing.

No trying to make it to five different attractions.

Just the road, the coastline, and California stretching out in front of us.

And that's the thing about a Pacific Coast Highway road trip: the drive itself becomes the destination.

Of Course We Stopped for In-N-Out

Because what would a California road trip be without In-N-Out?

We had to stop.

Obviously.

I mean, we're in California.

There was no universe in which I was going to take a road trip through Southern California and not get an In-N-Out burger.

Sometimes travel traditions are as simple as that.

You find yourself somewhere you've been wanting to visit, you order the food you've seen approximately one billion times online, and you sit there thinking, okay, I really am doing this.

It was such a simple part of the day, but it fit perfectly into the whole experience.

Ending the Day With Tacos

And because apparently I cannot go more than a few hours without finding something delicious to eat, we ended the Fourth of July with tacos.

Honestly, the food itinerary on this trip was kind of iconic.

Breakfast.

Tacos.

Burgers.

More tacos.

And I'm not mad about it.

There is something about traveling that makes me want to try everything. I'm more willing to say yes to foods I've never had, restaurants I've never heard of, and little stops that I might normally scroll past.

And Los Angeles is a particularly dangerous place for someone like me because there is so much good food.

One More Trip to Universal Studios Hollywood

Eventually, it was time to start thinking about heading home.

But before we left California, there was one thing I absolutely couldn't resist doing.

We went back to Universal Studios Hollywood.

Again.

Because apparently one visit wasn't enough.

And honestly? I'm glad we went back.

There are some places that you visit once and feel like you've seen everything you needed to see. Universal was not that for me.

I loved getting to experience more of the park, see some character meet-and-greets, take in more of the entertainment, and—of course—watch WaterWorld again.

Because I stand by this:

WaterWorld is that good.

There is something so fun about seeing live entertainment at a theme park, especially when you're already someone who loves movies and storytelling.

Universal Studios Hollywood was the perfect way to end our California vacation because it brought together so many of the things I loved about the trip: movies, nostalgia, entertainment, food, and just a little bit of childhood magic.

And yes, I absolutely have an entire Universal Studios Hollywood video dedicated to the experience, because there was no way I could fit everything into the LA travel vlogs.

What I Loved Most About Los Angeles

Looking back at the trip now, what stands out to me isn't necessarily one single attraction.

It's the variety.

Our Los Angeles trip wasn't just about Hollywood.

It wasn't just about Universal.

It wasn't just about food.

It wasn't just about the beach.

It was all of it.

We had breakfast spots and incredible tacos. We visited a museum. We wandered through a historic market. We ate burgers. We drove along the Pacific Coast Highway. We celebrated the Fourth of July. We went to Universal Studios Hollywood—twice.

And somewhere in the middle of all of that, I got to experience Los Angeles in a way that felt really natural to me.

I wasn't trying to see absolutely everything.

And honestly, you couldn't.

Los Angeles is huge. There is always another neighborhood, another restaurant, another museum, another coffee shop, another beautiful drive, another place you've saved on your phone that you haven't gotten to yet.

I think that's part of the appeal.

You can visit LA and still leave with a list of things you want to do next time.

Would I Go Back to Los Angeles?

Absolutely.

I don't think a single trip could ever be enough for Los Angeles.

There is still so much I want to see and experience, and I love that this trip gave me a taste of the city without making me feel like I had to conquer it.

If anything, it made me want to come back.

I want more neighborhood exploring. More food. More coffee. More California drives. More movie magic. More time simply wandering around and seeing where the day takes me.

And maybe that's the biggest thing I took away from this trip.

You don't always need to have the perfect itinerary.

Sometimes the best travel memories happen when you have a loose plan, a rental car, an appetite, and nowhere you absolutely have to be for the next few hours.

My July California Chapter

Our California vacation started in Las Vegas, continued through Los Angeles, and ended with me wishing I could squeeze just a few more days out of it.

That's how you know it was a good trip.

Los Angeles gave me beautiful scenery, some genuinely unforgettable meals, movie magic, a Pacific Coast Highway drive I'll be thinking about for a long time, and one last dose of Universal before heading back to New York.

It also reminded me why I love traveling so much.

Not because I need to constantly be somewhere new.

But because every once in a while, getting out of your normal routine gives you a chance to see yourself—and your life—from a slightly different perspective.

July was full of movement for me.

New York → Las Vegas → Los Angeles → back home.

And while I'm very much a New York girl at heart, I have to admit…

California was pretty good to me.

Until next time, LA. ♡

Want to See the Trip?

If you'd rather experience the trip with me, you can watch the L.A. Diaries on YouTube and come along for all the food, exploring, California sunshine, and chaos.

Thank you for reading all about my trip. I’m currently writing a post about Las Vegas that will be published very soon, so keep an eye out for it.

Check out the L.A. Gallery on the site.

xo alessa ♡