Day 8: Los Angeles

After our magical day at Disneyland we headed to the room we booked on Airbnb in Los Feliz, showered and headed to bed. We were beat and wanted to catch up on all the sleep we missed in Santa Monica. The next morning we woke up excited to start the 2nd half of our trip in southern California. Naomi and I both have tons of friends in LA and we were making plans left and right to hang out.

After grabbing coffee and pastries at The Coffee Bean (very LA of us, though I prefer Starbucks' bakery items!) we relaxed for a bit and then headed to NoHo to meet my friend Alex. At his recommendation, we headed to EAT for a late brunch. LA was still experiencing an extreme heatwave and the restaurant was somehow even hotter inside than it was outside, so we grabbed a table under the misting fans and each ordered a variety of dishes. I stuck with my usual eggs benedict, but took a chance on the Ned's Benedict (with avocado, my fav) and it did not disappoint. After a wonderful time eating and catching up, Naomi and I headed back to our house and settled in for a nap and catching up on our various Netflix shows (I told you we were party animals).

You can't tell, but we were dying in the heat

We didn't have any definite plans for the evening, so we headed back to NoHo to check out City Walk at Universal Studios. We had intended to spend a day at Universal but after our exhausting day at Disney we thought it would be best to not tire ourselves out too much. That combined with the still horrifyingly high temps and the cost of another park admission kept us just inside City Walk. Naomi wanted Panda Express so we loaded up on their famous orange chicken and checked out the shops and sights around.

Not a bad view from the Universal parking garage

Later that evening we received an invite to a party in Silverlake so we packed up our minion souvenirs and headed to the address we were given. We rolled up, found free parking (also, high five for not once receiving a parking ticket the entire trip!) and met up with Anthony, Sam and Halsey. The host of the party turned out to be an actor on a Nickelodeon show, and his house was incredible with a beautiful outdoor deck and breathtaking views of downtown LA. He was also incredibly nice and welcoming, which was quite refreshing and unexpected. We made plenty of friends that night, learned that not all child actors are stuck up, that others awkwardly grind on each other while no one else dances, and that LA is a very small world. Who knew? We headed back to our house a little after midnight to get ready for our hike up to the Griffith observatory. Yet, as soon as we got home I received about 3 invitations to hang out despite it being 1am. I guess the real parties in LA don't start till way past my bedtime.

Next: Los Angeles, day 2

XO,

Casey

Activities and lodging mentioned in this post:
Room on AirBnb in Los Feliz; $120 for two nights, free reserved parking
City Walk at Universal Studios; $10 parking after 3pm, free entry to City Walk
EAT; on Magnolia Blvd in NoHo, hourly street parking (free for up to 2 hours)

Wearing:
Forever 21 dress (similar), American Eagle hat