If you are following me on Instagram (and if not, you really should!) you know I recently went on a business trip to Los Angeles.

It’s been a busy one, however, I did manage to spend some free time in great places, which I’ll tell you all about in a few seconds!

You can choose to do some or all of them – depending on the amount of free time you have.
As always, feel free to contact me for any questions 🙂

STAY AT H HOTEL

I picked a hotel close to the airport as I had an early morning flight to SFO the next day, and I must say it completely exceeded my expectations.

The H Hotel opened just recently, so the facilities and rooms are brand new and in great condition – you can find a short video of my room below 🙂

Check if they have available rooms on your travel dates here

 

The hotel restaurant has some tasty dishes and is open from 6AM to 10PM, so if you need some early breakfast or late dinner and not in the mood to drive somewhere, this is a good choice.

Check if they have available rooms on your travel dates here

HAVE BREAKFAST AT LPQ MANHATTAN BEACH

Confession: I am a Le Pain Quotidien addict!

So when I realized there is one just 15 minutes drive from the hotel, I decided to have breakfast there and at the same time visit Manhattan beach (the Uber was around $11).

The menu has lots of organic options – I had the Baker’s Breakfast that includes half an avocado toast with a soft-boiled egg and smoked salmon, marinated kale and a bowl of fresh fruit, along with fresh coffee – well deserved after a 15-hour flight!

The atmosphere is very relaxed and welcoming, and there is an outside seating area if you want to eat in the fresh air – totally worth a visit 🙂

LPQ Manhattan Beach

HAVE A STROLL ON THE MANHATTAN BEACH PIER

From LPQ, I took a 5-minute walk to the boardwalk – as you can see it was a lovely sunny day!
I went all the way to the Roundhouse Aquarium – the panorama below shows the view of the entire pier from that point, so it’s worth the walk just for this nice shot 🙂

If you have extra time, there are benches scattered around – bring a book or just stare at the beautiful view.

LUNCH AT THE BEVERLY HILTON POOL

My colleague recommended this restaurant, as aside from fresh and tasty food it was also an opportunity to see the Beverly Hilton, which is a historic luxury hotel, also known as the venue of the annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony.

The restaurant is called Circa 55 and has a very cozy outside seating area, where you can eat and have a cocktail by the pool. I had the Chopped Cobb Salad along with this lovely Margarita. It’s a great way to spend the afternoon if you’re in the Beverly Hills area.

Circa 55

SHOP AT FIGat7th AT THE CITY CENTER

Whenever I’m visiting the US, I make time to catch up on shopping.
I especially love going to outlets or department stores, where you can get branded products with large discounts.

In LA I found Nordstrom Rack at the FIGat7th mall, located in the city center. They had beautiful Cole Haan sneakers in ~$70 – these are usually sold for $120!
The store is also full of clothing, accessories, and what not – the best part? everything is organized by sizes, so you can go directly the relevant size without picking around too much 🙂

At the same place, there is also a nice Mac store, where I went to stock up on makeup (I use mostly Mac, and in the US it’s significantly cheaper).

Here you will also find a food court with lots of food options if you need some fuel while shopping – we all know it can be very tiring 🙂

FIGat7th mall