Wednesday 15 May 2013

Travel Blog: Los Angeles

Hello Travel Junkies:
Today I am back with a blog about my past travels to Los Angeles, California. It is a beautiful quiet city. Everyone seems laid back and one thing I learn is that a high percentage of the residents are Latino. Oh gosh, asking for directions was hard as I don't speak Spanish. But they were still friendly and helpful. "Gracias."

LACMA, absolutely a fanstastic art gallery located in the heart of downtown. And of course, there is the famous installation of multiple lamp posts that you may have seen in many movies.


If you ever travel to LA, definitely try the Korean food in Korea Town. I tried the Bossam for the first time at Kobawoo, and it was delicious. Many of you may not know what that is. So, here's a little bit about it. It is chilled thinly sliced pork that is served with an assortment of pickles and cabbage leaves. The method of eating this dish, you eat it with your hands. Basically it's the Korean version of the 'lettuce wrap.' Grab a leaf of cabbage place a slice of pork in the middle, place some pickles on top, fold the cabbage leaf over and indulge. It was so yummy and exciting to try something new. 

From downtown LA, I had also traveled to Long Beach. Yet another quiet and beautiful place. The beach was very nice and is literally a 'long' beach. :-) I got a great tan and indulged in many chapters of a great novel (The Continuity Girl). I tried visiting the art gallery also, but unfortunately it was closed early for a private function. I also wandered over to the aquarium and walked around the marina. There's a nice assortment of restaurants in this area. Across the way is a mall and mini amusement park. 



By far my favorite area is Santa Monica. I enjoyed all the unique restaurants, vintage stores, yoga studios and beautiful pier. For the shopaholics there is Santa Monica Place and Third Street Promenade. In the summer weekends there's a nice farmers market, great place to visit if you like fresh produce. If you enjoy vintage shopping a great place to go is Wasteland. They have funky finds there. I proudly support recycling and reducing my carbon footprint. :) 
In Santa Monica, I love dining at Real Food Daily organic vegan cuisine. Everything is delicious at this restaurant and they have a lot of gluten free choices as well. Located on Santa Monica Blvd, between 5th & 6th.
As a dinner takeout I've ordered '' Stir It Up'' which is a gingery stir fry of julienned veggies with your choice of brown rice, soba noodles or daily greens. Yummy!
One of the vegan gluten free cheesecakes, light, creamy and fluffy. This was a great dessert after a long day. Served with a fresh raspberry topping.
Another favorite in the Santa Monica area is Mon Roll Sushi on 4th Street at Colorado. They serve innovative works of art. Some of my favorites are Maui Maui Roll, Pink Lady and Dragon Roll. 
Maui Maui is a salmon, avocado, grilled pineapple roll served with a special homemade plum sauce. If you enjoy sweet and sour, this is the way to go.
Pink Lady is a tobiko & salmon sushi that is served with thinly sliced lemon. This sushi is very refreshing and great to start your meal with this roll.
Dragon is a deep fried shrimp tempura, crab, unagi, avocado and tobiko roll. Served with a house blend sauce. This is a meal in itself. Very delicious and great mix of textures and flavors.
 
Another attraction is the Santa Monica Pier, a travel attraction all in one. There are street vendors, souvenir shops, restaurants, an amusement park, an aquarium, and a large beach with a great view. I love going to the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co for the seafood, chimmichurri sauce is delicious, and for the fact that I love the movie Forrest Gump.


Hope you enjoyed my little journey in Los Angeles. I look forward to write more blogs about travel in the future.
Happy Travels :)