Los Angeles City Guide – A guide to Lalaland Part II

Los Angeles Guide, Santa Monica & Venice by Hopeful Outsiders

Planning a trip has to be one of my favorite things ever. I do research, read blogs, look for places on Instagram, make boards on Pinterest so I can have an idea of what to expect when visiting a city. That’s why I wanted to create the ultimate city guide for Los Angeles. Here you can see Part II of the guide and make the most of your stay in the City of Angels.

Click here for Part I with all of the details for Downtown LA / Melrose /

Venice and Santa Monica guide by Hopeful Outsiders

Venice Beach & Santa Monica

WHAT TO VISIT, EAT & DO

Los Angeles is filled with amazing places to visit and activities to fill your itinerary, so start your day by heading down to Abbot Kinney Boulevard. Abbot Kinney is one of the most beautiful and colorful boulevards in LA. From cafés & bistros, art galleries and independent design stores; Abbot Kinney will steal your heart.

Abbot Kiney, Los Angeles by Hopeful Outsiders

Places to visit & eat in Abbot Kinney
– Salt & Straw @saltandstraw
– Show me your Mumu @showmeyourmumu
– Intelligentsia Coffee @intelligentsiacoffee
– The Piece Collective @thepiececollective
– The Butcher’s Daughter @thebutchersdaughter_official

Butcher's Daughter by Hopeful Outsiders
Salt & Straw, Los Angeles by Hopeful Outsiders
Venice Canals by Hopeful Outsiders

TO VISIT

Venice Canals

After a quick ice cream stop in Abbot Kinney follow the trail and go to the iconic Venice Canals. Enjoy the amazing view and head to Venice Boardwalk and have some tacos while you’re there!

Venice Boardwalk, LA Blogger by Hopeful Outsiders

TO VISIT

Venice Boardwalk

When you finally see the hanging letters you know you just arrived to the Boardwalk. It’s too pretty not to be seen, cross the street and visit Great White Venice for brunch or a snack or coffee to go.

Santa Monica Pier, Los Angeles by Hopeful Outsiders

TO VISIT

Santa Monica Pier

Without a doubt the Santa Monica Pier is one of the most turistic places in Los Angeles. You can arrive easily by metro and avoid the hectic traffic and simply enjoy the view. Here you can find the most amazing food, visit Bobba Gump Restaurant and take a picture in Forrest’s bench, have some funnel cake, hop inside the Pacific Wheel to get the best view of the pier at golden hour.

Santa Monica Pier, Los Angeles by Hopeful Outsiders
Funnel Cake at Santa Monica Pier by Hopeful Outsiders
Alfred Coffee, Korea Town by Hopeful Outsiders

Koreatown, Lacma & The Grove

TO EAT

Alfred Koreatown

If you are a coffee lover you need to visit Alfred Coffee located in the heart of Koreatown inside the Line Hotel. Grab some goodies and your favorite coffee and visit Poketo while you’re there.

Alfred Coffee, Korea Town by Hopeful Outsiders
Alfred Coffee, Korea Town by Hopeful Outsiders
Open Air brunch at the Line, Los Angeles by Hopeful Outsiders

TO EAT

Open Aire at The Line

I LOVE brunch with a view so I knew that Open Aire was a MUST on my list. This greenhouse restaurant is what dreams are made of, head to the rooftop and enjoy a brunch like no other. Order a mimosa, have brunch and enjoy this beautiful brunch heaven.

Open Aire brunch, Los Angeles by Hopeful Outsiders
Open Aire at The Line by Hopeful Outsiders
Lacma Lights by Hopeful Outsiders

TO VISIT

LACMA

A visit to LA wouldn’t be complete without visiting the Lacma lights. If you fancy contemporary art head inside to see all the exhibits. This time around we only went to the lights and enjoyed the nice weather outside!

The Grove, Los Angeles by Hopeful Outsiders

TO VISIT

The Grove

The Grove has to be one of the prettiest open mall / outlets ever. If you’re in the mood for some shopping, amazing food and a great ambiance this place is for you. You can find stores like J. Crew, Anthropologie, Barnes & Nobles, Sephora, etc. It’s really easy to get there, you can either walk from the LACMA o grab a bus and it will leave you in front of the entrance.

Laduree at the Grove by Hopeful Outsiders

TO EAT

Ladurée at The Grove

Every time I visit a city that has a Ladurée I put it on top my list. I love having tiny bits of Paris everywhere I go. The lovely outdoor setting of Ladurée at the Grove melt my heart. If you ever visit a salon order the French Toast with Raspberries and Rose Cream!

This time I ordered my favorite pastry the Saint Honoré with a Rose Latte for the cold!

Laduree at The Grove by Hopeful Outsiders
Laduree at The Grove by Hopeful Outsiders
Laduree at The Grove by Hopeful Outsiders

A day visit to Silver Lake

Silver Lake has to be one of my favorite neighborhoods in LA! It has such an amazing vibe to it, concept stores, restaurants and places to visit. I knew I wanted to take a day for myself and explore the city and thanks to Tica en LA I had the chance to explore it with her!

Roo Coffee, Silverlake by Hopeful Outsiders

TO EAT

Roo Coffee

This Aussie cafe was the best way to start out day exploring Silverlake. As soon as I saw the terrazo tables I knew I’ve arrived. Roo Coffee serves amazing breakfast options for you to indulge and enjoy your day.

Mich & I order some toast to begin our day with food made with heart and hands! The Avo Smash & the Butter me up toast, what a killer combo.

Roo Coffee, Silverlake by Hopeful Outsiders
Midland Shop, Silverlake by Hopeful Outsiders

TO VISIT

Midland

After our little brunch we head over to Midland. A beautiful concept stores just a few block away from Roo Coffee. As soon as you walk in you are greeted with the most amazing home decor and plant babies waiting for you to take them home.

Midland Shop, Silver lake by Hopeful Outsiders
Le Laboo, Silver Lake by Hopeful Outsiders

TO VISIT

Le Labo

If you’re a fragrance lover and want to splurge in amazing custom fragrances Le Labo has to be on your list. Make yourself at home and pick your favorite combo. They have candles, perfumes and personal care products that will blow your mind.

Bar Caló, Los Angeles by Hopeful Outsiders

TO DRINK

Bar Caló

If I could be a bar I would be Bar Caló! I spotted this gem a while back thanks to my darling girl Bri Emery from Designlovefest. We where on our way back to Melrose so we had to go and visit this amazing place. Isn’t it just the most aesthetic place ever?

Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, Los Angeles by Hopeful Outsiders

TO EAT

Mr. Holmes Bakehouse

The first time I looked for places in LA, Mr. Holmes was the places I wanted to visit the most. This has to be my favorite place in the entire trip, you can visit their 2 locations in LA. This time we visited the one in Highland (111 S Ave 59, Los Angeles ). It was a little far away but definitely worth the wait.

The churro croissants, the coffee and every single pastry was over the top and delicious. Splurge and order their iconic box and fill it with your favorite options and eat them later. You’ll thank me later!

Mr. Holmes, Churro Croissant, Los Angeles by Hopeful Outsiders
Mr.Holmes Bakehouse, Los Angeles by Hopeful Outsiders
Mr.Holmes Bakehouse, Los Angeles by Hopeful Outsiders

Lalaland City Guide

Finally after months and months I can say my Los Angeles City Guide is ready. We went from Downtown LA, to Melrose, Santa Monica, Venice, Koreatown, The Grove, Silverlake and finally Highland Park WITHOUT a car. So don’t be scare when they say you can’t visit LA without a car. You can, you just need to organize your trip and make the most of it.

Let me know if you know any more places to visit in LA so I can check them out the next time I visit. Hope you can use this guide to help you plan your next trip to LA. If so, tag me on Instagram so I can see your travel adventures.

All my best,
Ka

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10/09/2019

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Los Angeles City Guide – A guide to Lalaland Part II

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Hi! I'm Karina

I'm a content creator, designer and photographer based in Costa Rica & Miami. I'm an iced latte lover, Sagittarius soul, travel enthusiast that loves to create genuine and real lifestyle content for brands.

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