A City in Pictures: LA

A picture tells a thousand words right? I'm going to be taking a trip down memory lane, easily done by going through photo archives, to some of my past travels. I will tell the story with some of my favourite photos as a guide. I started with "Trip in Pictures" posts but now am looking back at some of the great cities I have visited... I hope you enjoy!

Santa Monica Pier

As part of my 2016 'gap year' trip, I visited California and spent a week in sunny LA. I stayed in a hostel in Santa Monica which was a great spot because it was right by the beach.

Other seaside spots I visited were Manhattan Beach (south down the coast) and famous Malibu (north up the coast). Also in the Santa Monica area is (in)famous Venice Beach!

Malibu was a particular highlight as it was much quieter than busy Santa Monica.

Heading inland, I was getting around amongst the infamous LA traffic in my trusty hire car, trying not to cause any traffic atrocities! I checked out Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Runyon Canyon and Downtown LA.

These pictures (above) are from Downtown LA and are unexpectedly pretty!

Hollywood walk of fame, i.e. a fancy pavement ("sidewalk")

My favourite part of Hollywood was Griffith Park and surrounding parts such as Runyon Canyon. Navigating without sat nav was interesting, and parking at Griffith Park was also interesting, but I managed!

Views from the Hollywood Hills

I was on a pretty tight budget so didn't explore all of the eateries of LA but I did have my first (and only) Chipotle and In N Out Burger, as well as a range of other bits. Food just wasn't my priority during my travels then but looking back, I can't stop thinking about all of the different places I could have eaten at! The other big plus to LA is the the hot & sunny weather... Have you been to LA or is it on your bucket list? Let me know!

If for some reason you need more pictures, check out my Insta'd pics from the trip below!