Finally! The last part of our American adventures- LA, San Diego and Palm Springs! Sun, sand, palms, pink walls, cactuses, oceans – ALL the good stuff! After an epic road-trip down the Pacific Coast Highway (check out that post here if you missed it!) we arrived in la la land- Los Angeles. This was my second time in LA (check out the first here) and I loved it! The beachy vibes are awesome and there is a lot to explore in the city of angels. We stayed at a hostel in Venice beach, a great option if you are on a budget as LA can be expensive for accommodation. My 2 sisters and I were in a room with 4 beds so we only had another girl in there part of the time and then a few nights it was just us + our own private bathroom which is always a win! As well as being a bit more affordable, the Venice beach hostel is right on the beach so the perfect spot if you are planning on exploring Santa Monica and the surrounding neighbourhoods + beaches. I much preferred this location to where I stayed last time in Hollywood. LA is a very spread out city with crazy traffic and average public transport (kinda like Auckland on crack) so it can take a long time to get to where you want to go and Hollywood + Downtown LA is actually quite far from the coast.

Stopped for a swim in Malibu on the way-

Melrose Ave, Paul Smith Pink Wall-

Venice Beach Exploring-

Abbott Kinney Boulevard- So many instagrammable walls in LA!

The Griffith Observatory-

Hollywood-

Santa Monica-

A couple of recommendations if you are visiting LA:
-Check out the famous Santa Monica Pier.
-Go for a wander or bike down to Venice beach for all of the weird and all of the wonderful + check out the skaters in that famous bowl.
-Hollywood walk of fame (not amazing in my opinion- done it once, done it forever) but one of those cliche LA things ya just gotta tick off.
-Explore Abott Kinney Boulevard – love this area, it has the best shops and cafes and is super close to Venice/Santa Monica.
-Hunt down some of LA’s most photographable walls!
-Hollywood Farmers Markets (or any farmers markets!)
-Breky at The Beverley Hills Hotel.
-Melrose Ave, Rodeo Drive + The Grove – explore the glam and the shops.
-Eats: The Butchers Daughter Cafe, Hortel Erwin (Rooftop Bar), Cafe Gratitude + Urth Cafe. It is much easier to eat healthy in LA than a lot of places in America as it is a “fitspiration” kind of city where everyone seems to be on the health buzz so you will find a juice bar or organic cafe at every corner. Make sure you have a cheat meal and binge at In N Out Burger though at least once while you’re there, SO good! Don’t forget the secret menu, animal style fries are the bomb.
-Good views: The Griffith Observatory + Runyon Canyon.

So much more I could add to this list and a few things that were left unchecked on my own list too, I’ll be back LA!

Next stop- San Diego!

My sister Esther flew back to NZ after the LA part of our trip so it was just down to my younger sis Soph and I for the last part of our journey! We caught a bus from LA to San Diego and had a bit of drama when we arrived to find our hotel cancelled our booking literally the hour we got to the city then tried to charge us more to rebook. After a disappointing phone-call we ditched them and luckily found some last minute accommodation on booking.com. It was a great location and all worked out for the best! I loved the Mexican vibes of San Diego, being quite close to the border of Mexico. We also went to an NBA game (Golden State Warriors vs LA Lakers) while we were there which was a massive highlight. I couldn’t take my camera in but as you can imagine, the atmosphere was awesome and Steph Curry is amazingly ridiculous in real life- makes shooting hoops look like a walk in the park.

San Diego Harbour-

Balboa Park-

All the cacti glory!

Went booked a kayak trip at La Jolla beach to explore the caves and coastline but unfortunately the conditions weren’t right on the day and so we just paddled around unable to go near the caves. I actually weirdly felt super seasick on the kayak, we were just floating in the same place listening to the guide for a lot of the time and the rocking motion was not my friend, I just wanted to get out and felt so much better jumping in the water rather than sitting on top of it.

Old Town San Diego-

Pre game hot nuts + waiting on the streets for Uber rides.

We loved San Diego, definitely worth the trip! Next up…we hired a car (my turn to drive on the other side of the road eek!) and headed to a little paradise in the desert – Palm Springs! We just had one night here and we explored all the mid-century architecture, cactus houses and pools we could. We spent a beautiful afternoon poolside at the iconic Ace Hotel, will definitely have to go back and stay there one day, it is an insta-dream.

Morteen Botanical Gardens-

That famous pink door!

We headed back to LA for our flight home and soaked up the last minutes in USA at Manhattan beach before dropping our car and heading to the airport. It was a dreamy LA evening perfect for wandering down the pier and people/surfer watching.

The end! What an amazing trip. If you missed any of it you can check out my other posts from this USA trip here (Salt Lake City), here (Utah + Arizona), here (Vegas + San Fran) annnnd here (Pacific Coast Highway). I absolutely loved exploring America and will definitely be back for more one day! Now that I’m living in London I am that little bit closer to their East Coast so watch the space!

Images- Canon 5D Mark III + iPhone 6

I’ll end with a not-so-secret secret…travel blog Bali edition coming soon, yay!