Travel Diaries: LOS ANGELES

Hi friends! I'm excited to be writing my first blog post on something I am very passionate about: Travel! One of my favorite places to visit is LA. Whenever I visit, I love exploring the surrounding cities and checking out all the good eats (and there sure are A LOT of them!). There always seems to be something exciting to do whether it's shopping, dining, hiking, or heading to a local farmer's market. If you're like me, eating and exploring new cuisines is a must for any travel endeavor. So today, I'll be sharing some of my favorite spots to eat, explore, and shop in LA.

E A T

1. Smorgasburg Market: Every Sunday 10am-4pm; So many good eats, all in one place. This outdoor market is perfect for all the foodies. From pastrami sandwiches to tacos, dumplings, acai bowls, and much more, there are endless options.

-My must haves: Tacos al pastor from Tacos 1986, Happiness Capsule by The Base (fun drinks with matcha and other fresh flavors), Pastrami sandwich from the Ugly Drum

Another great perk: Parking validation (!) and the lot is right on site.

2. Din Tai Fung: Xiao Long Baos (XLBs) for the win; If you're not familiar, XLBs are Chinese soup dumplings filled with seasoned meat and the most delicate dumpling skin. They're AKA "soup dumplings." Even with the long wait times, I must say it is absolutely worth it. Besides XLBs, they have a great variety of other items, like their special pork chop, Chinese veggies, noodles, rice, etc.

3. Urth Caffé: BEST. Matcha. Blended. Boba. Drink of ALL TIME. This spot is an absolute MUST. Luckily, there are a bunch throughout LA. If you're a matcha lover, you gotta try their iconic blended matcha boba drink. They use high quality matcha for their drinks and I have yet to find another blended matcha drink like this one (even in Japan!). I also like to eat here for breakfast or lunch. They have a good mix of healthy items, like salads, along with sandwiches, pizzas (favorite breakfast pizza), desserts (blueberry cheesecake and matcha tiramisu, please) and more.

4. Mama Lu's Dumpling House: Another spot with expected wait times (but SO worth it). They also have a wait list for you when you arrive. If you're in the mood for indulgent and classic Chinese foods, such as dumplings, noodles, soups, pork chops, veggies, etc. look no further. This is my fave spot to grab dumplings (XLBs, please; can you tell there's a trend yet?). I also love their hot and sour soup.

5. 85C Bakery: BUNS BUNS BUNS. Love this spot and always have to get my bun fix from here. Known as a Taiwanese chain bakery, there are so many different buns to choose from, including sweet, salty, and in between. My favorite is the "chocolate mountain" that is exactly what it sounds like. Chocolately, soft, chewy goodness in the form of a Taiwanese bun. They are also offered at a really affordable and reasonable price!

Other fun things to do: S H O P and E X P L O R E

1. Downtown LA/Little Tokyo: If you love Japanese food and all things Japanese culture, head to DTLA. Here you'll find a bunch of cute shops and restaurants and even supermarkets to check out. With so much to choose from, you can't really go wrong. Although, some spots can vary in the "authenticity" of the foods they offer. For those with a sweet tooth check out Cafe Dulce (donuts!).

2. Westfield Century City: If you love to shop like me, you've gotta head here. I would argue this is one of the most beautiful, impressive, and quality malls that I've been to. With both lower end and high end shops, there's a store for everyone. There's also an incredible food scene with coffee shops, chain restaurants (hi Shake Shack), Din Tai Fung (YAS!), and healthy spots (because we're in LA after all).

Gorgeous views all around the mall

Iconic XLB

Super indulgent meal! Cue the workout (or do vacation calories not count?) Shown here: Stir fried Rice cakes (left), Fried Pork Chop with Fried Rice, and Stir Fried Green beans

3. Abbot Kinney: I LOVE it here. With its short distance to the beach, this area is perfect for those of us who want to shop, eat, and then head to the beach for some more R&R. One of my favorite ice cream shops has a location here... Hi Salt and Straw! This spot carries the most unique and delightful ice cream flavors, like honey lavender, toasted oat milk and cookies (still need to try this), strawberry and white chocolate (fave) and a TON more. They also routinely change up their flavors.

4. Runyon Canyon: If you love a stunning scenic view of LA + hiking, head to Runyon. I loved hiking here during my visit and got a real feel of how fun hiking can be, especially living in a state with mostly flat land all my life! Once we got near the top, the view was insanely gorgeous. You could see all the way to DTLA and beyond. Needless to say, I was stunned. The drive up to RC might be a bit of hike in itself, but it surely is worth it.

While I wanted to keep this post short but thorough, I am sure I will need to revisit this topic again! LA offers so many things to do, eat, and see that I'll need to continue keeping up with on my future trips! What is your favorite thing to do when traveling? Are there any spots in LA that are absolute musts for you? Drop a comment and me know what you think!

Thank you guys for reading and following along! Please feel free to let me know if you have any requests for future posts.

The Britt Edit