At the end of July, my family took a vacation to Southern California. Here’s a little overview of what we did, wore, and (most importantly) ate.
Zinqué • Malibu Farm • Lama Dog • Los Agaves • Scopa Italian Roots
I could go on about the food, but I will say that everything we had was fresh and delicious. I miss having avocado on everything!
Continue reading to see my adventures in Malibu, Santa Barbara, Venice, L.A., and Santa Monica!
Malibu
After landing at LAX and renting a car, we began our drive to Santa Barbara. On the scenic route, we stopped at Malibu Farm, a fresh organic café set on a pier. After a filling meal, delicious drinks, and taking in the beachy sights, we continued our drive.
Santa Barbara
We arrived in Santa Barbara to stay with family friends. We were immediately struck by the pleasant weather and beautiful mountain views.
The morning after dinner in the Funk Zone, we took a hike in Montecito.
Check out those views! While in Santa Barbara we had amazing Mexican food, enjoyed kayaking at the beach, and shopping.
The next day, we were off again, but not before taking in the ocean and mountain air one last time.
On our way back toward Los Angeles, we stopped at the Getty Villa, a beautiful recreation of a Roman villa with an amazing collection of antiquities. As a History major, I loved this experience. It was like stepping back in time. It’s easy to see photos of ruins and read about how life was in ancient times, but to see this villa meant to accurately portray how it would have felt to be there thousands of years ago… That’s just so cool to me!
Venice
Next, we arrived in Venice. We did some shopping on the famous Abbot Kinney Blvd. and found lots of awesome walls.
Of course we stopped by Bill & Karen’s house from Californication!
We spent happy hour times 2 in West Hollywood with great friends, and stopped by the Walk of Fame just for fun.
The next day was bike riding day in Venice and Santa Monica!
Our last night in California was spent dressing up, drinking rosé, visiting the Venice canals, and having a fancy dinner at Scopa in Marina del Rey.
I got to wear the cute romper I bought earlier that day from Nasty Gal located at the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. (They have THE coolest dressing rooms, by the way. You have to see them.)
Our last night ended with a spontaneous Venice party. What a magical and fun ending to a wonderful trip! I can’t wait to return someday, hopefully with my husband. There’s still so much more to see!
