Long Weekend in Los Angeles & San Francisco

Hi all! A few weeks ago I traveled around the two of the biggest cities in California: Los Angeles and San Francisco! And let me tell you, this was a whirlwind of a trip. We moved hotels every day so we could see different parts of each city which made for an awesome experience. My family and I have been traveling to California for years, it's our go-to destination and we always feel like we are home when we are there. This year's trip was full of new experiences that made us fall even more in love with our favorite state!

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Day 1:

First we flew into LA. I don’t think I could get my toes in the sand fast enough! But first, we stopped for breakfast at the Coffee Company in Westchester. This was a great start to our trip! The coffee was sweet and smooth and our food was delicious. We are breakfast people, so it’s hard to do breakfast wrong... I would highly recommend this little spot as it is close to the airport check out the menu and website here: https://www.thecoffeecompanyla.com.

Then it was full speed ahead to our favorite beach! We discovered Manhattan Beach a few years ago when we came during a spring break trip and immediately we fell in love. The town is studded with cute little shops and restaurants, juice bars, and boutiques. We love exploring this little beach town and eating our way through it. After beach bumming for a couple of hours we climbed up the hill to our favorite quick service restaurant; Lemonade! This California based chain offers healthy food quick service style! It's one of our faves. They offer a variety of fresh salads, sandwiches, hot sides and delicious lemonade. If you're looking for a healthy and quick bite take a peek at this Californian fare restaurant: https://www.lemonadela.com

After checking into our hotel near the airport and a quick happy hour, we found ourselves in the cutest town of El Segundo for dinner. The hotel concierge recommended a Spanish/Mexican restaurant called Sausal... and ya'll, I still think about the food we ate that night! Fresh guacamole, homemade blue corn tortillas, cilantro lime rice... This was probably the best meal of the trip so if you ever find yourself near the LAX airport... EAT HERE!!! The mood lighting and deliciousness of our food prevented me from taking a photo but find the whole menu here: http://sausal.com

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Day 2:

Our second day started early (we were still on MN time) and we drove to Hollywood Hills to explore Lake Hollywood Park. We were planning on hiking to the back side of the Hollywood sign but our trek was cut short. We ended up in a little strip mall with a juice bar called Breakroom Cafe; where I had my first smoothie bowl of the trip! My favorite!!! The bowl was huge, I couldn't finish it all. It was so refreshing after our "hike". (Menu can be found here: https://www.thebreakroomcafe.com)

After a quick checkout of our hotel, we were back to Manhattan Beach! We had to soak up every single minute we had left of our favorite little part of ocean. By lunch time, we were on the verge of sunburn and wanted to dine at a new beach side restaurant. We decided on The Kettle, one of our favorites for breakfast, for a light lunch before heading to Beverly Hills for the night. The outside patio has ocean views and we all enjoyed our last meal in our favorite beach town. Ya'll know me, I love a good sandwich. I had the BLT with avocado and the fries... man, so good! The Kettle has a variety of food options for lunch and breakfast is served all day; menu can be found here: http://thekettle.net.

And just like that we were off to our next adventure: Beverly Hills! So our family is part of the Hilton Honors program and if you spend a certain amount of money on the credit card you get a free room at any Hilton Hotel (up to $1,000!!!). Of course we chose the boujiest one in California: The Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. Just the cars that were coming up to valet was an experience! We definitely did not fit in, but it was an incredible taste of how the rich and famous must travel. We wanted to spend as much time as we could using the hotel's amenities like the rooftop pool, bar and Los Angeles city views!

For Friday happy hour we decided on a small local bar/restaurant called Citizen (https://www.citizenbeverlyhills.com). We enjoyed fun cocktails and light appetizers before having dinner down the street at 208 (http://www.208rodeo.com). It was a warm night and we sat outside where there was live music. This place had a super great atmosphere and solid food. I decided on a lighter option since I had a heavy lunch and some appetizers. Once I was done I had full intentions of taking the rest back to the hotel but I left my boxed food on the table :(.

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Day 3:

After waking up from probably the worst sleep I’ve ever had, we walked a couple of blocks to the cutest little juice bar for açaí bowls! What a great way to start your day! This place was super cute and sold only whole foods... think like cold pressed juices, bone broths, and energy balls. This was probably the best bowl I’ve ever had and I wish I could have one right now! Kreation has locations all over LA, check them out here: https://www.kreationjuice.com.

Then it was time for a quick dip in the hot tub before heading to the airport for our second destination: San Francisco!

Obviously, after touching down the first thing we did was go across the bridge and it is magnificent to see in person! We had dinner at the cutest little pizza place (Pizzeria Delfina http://pizzeriadelfina.com), we knew we were at a local hotspot when we noticed that we were the only travelers in this little joint! This pizza is Neapolitan inspired and was oh so good for our first meal in SF! After dinner we were searching for something sweet... complete coincidence that Salt & Straw was literally around the corner! I'd heard such great things about this growing ice cream chain but I'd yet to try it. I'd travel back to the West Coast just for this ice cream (yes, it's that good!)!! They have various locations on the West Coast including LA, SF, and Portland with more opening soon! Menu & locations here: https://saltandstraw.com.

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Day 4:

Our first full day in SF was filled with sights and sounds! We tried to hit all of the big "must-do" tourist experiences including Lombard Street, the Painted Ladies, a trolly ride, and Fisherman's Wharf! We also found the best spot to take Golden Gate Bridge pictures: Baker Beach! In the morning we ventured to the nearby suburb of Palo Alto to have breakfast and see the Stanford University campus. We ate at a little cafe (Crepevine Restaurant) that served omelets, pancakes, and crepes! I would recommend getting out of the city and exploring the Bay Area suburbs! Crepevine menu can be found here: https://crepevine.com/locations/palo-alto/.

Sightseeing and exploring a new city was probably the best part of being in SF. You just can't get enough of that gorgeous big bridge, cute row houses and just overall charm that the city has. I get pretty bad anxiety being in large cities, but I don't let that stop me from exploring! For late lunch/early dinner we found ourselves at Fisherman's Wharf after a trolly ride! We ate at an Italian restaurant right by the water, it was just warm enough for us to sit outside... which was lovely!! All the carbs were had before taking the trolly back into downtown. (Cioppino's menu: http://cioppinos.letseat.at/menu).

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Day 5:

Our last day!! We did some traveling out to Sacramento for a few hours for a work meeting but made it back into the city for what I was most excited to do the entire trip: The Museum of Ice Cream!!! That's right, there is a museum in SF completely dedicated to ice cream and magic. This place is truly magical. The upper floor is full of different swings and the best part... a POOL FULL OF SPRINKLES! The lower floor is separated into different themed rooms and stops for delicious creamy treats along the way! It was the best way to end our adventure. This museum is kind of pricey but I would recommend doing it at least once!

Then it was time to catch our flight back to MN, until next time!!!✨✈️