Seattle's gloomy winter is still in full force. "What better way to get through the remainder of winter than taking a trip to bright, sunny Southern California?" I thought as I plan a weekend trip for my boyfriend and myself. .......... I was wrong. Los Angeles was just as gloomy and chilly as the Pacific Northwest.
We started the trip with a stop in Santa Monica, where we ate tacos in the rain, walked in the rain, and failed to find an umbrella in the rain. A couple hours and a bit of road rage later, we checked in to our AirBnB in West Hollywood and grabbed dinner at Stout.
Saturday morning we had breakfast at Street Level Cafe in Echo Park. This was a quiet, refreshing spot in comparison the sometimes pretentious cafes on Sunset Blvd. The food was great (you can't go wrong with cream cheese on a croissant!) and the waiter and owner were super friendly. We'll definitely be returning on our next trip to LA.
While the views would have been much better with sunshine in the background, I was determined to spend some time at the Griffith Observatory. Instead of lying on the lawn and taking in the landscape, we spent the majority of our time there seeing what we weigh on other planets and making earthquakes on the seismograph.
By the time we arrived at LACMA, the sun made a brief appearance. We soaked up the sun under the infamous lampposts before heading inside (and getting slightly lost). The Pavilion for Japanese Art was my favorite area of the museum and worth the walk to the end of the LACMA complex. It's also easy to check out some tar pits on the way back to the parking garage from there!
We grabbed pizza for dinner at Pitfire. I'm not sure what it is about restaurants on the ground floor of apartment buildings but they sometimes give off a chain restaurant vibe from the exterior. We were pleasantly surprised once inside with the chalkboard drink menu, accessible bar area, and cozy booth options. The pizza did not disappoint either. We opted for the pineapple & sausage and the seasonal - brussels sprouts & bacon. After feasting on two pizza, we accepted the imminent carb coma and called it a night, so we wouldn't miss our 6 AM flight the next morning.