Los Angeles Hidden Hot Spots

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Hidden hot spots in La Jolla

I wanted to visit somewhere fabulous for my special day.

Driving down south was right choice and I reached this beautiful place called "La Jolla" in San Diego County.

La Jolla is a fancy seaside resort community.

The most dramatic spot is La Jolla Cove.

"La Jolla Cove"

1100 Coast Blvd

La Jolla CA 92037

http://www.a-zsandiegobeaches.com/lajollacove.htm

This place is popular for weddings, picnics and romantic dates, but it's also just right for walking around and enjoying the day.

Right in front of the La Jolla Cove, there is one of the hottest spots, the "Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego at La Jolla".

I had been here before and I remembered how much I loved it so I had to come back.

Their exhibitions are totally unique and fun to see. I recommend to come here on the very first day if you visit La Jolla, because their admission works for 7 days.

"Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

at La Jolla"

700 Prospect Street

La Jolla, CA 92037

(858)454-3541

http://www.mcasd.org

After exploring, I realized it was still pretty early in the day so I had time to relax and grab a beer at this place "The Livingroom Cafe".

This is a comfortable coffee shop with a full bar and yummy looking food.

Where I was seated I could see ocean and feel the breeze.

"The Livingroom Cafe"

1010 Prospect street

La Jolla, CA92037

http://www.livingroomcafe.com/la-jolla.php

For my fabulous trip, I chose to stay in the "Hotel Parisi".

This hotel is right in the middle of everything! However the rooms were very quiet and their service was excellent.

The complimentary European breakfast reminded me of France and was delicious! It is provided by one of La Jolla's most popular restaurants "Whisknlandle" which is all organic and fresh!

"Hotel Parisi"

1111 Prospect Street

La Jolla, CA 92037

(858)454-1511

http://www.hotelparisi.com

I was walking around looking for some souvenirs and found this store "Urban Wave Company". It was next to a cute Italian restaurant "La Dolce Vista".

"Urban Wave Company"

1237 Prospect St

La Jolla, CA 92037

(858)459-1780

http://urbanwavecompany.com

The sky was so colorful during sunset and dusk.

Purple to pink, yellow to orange.

It was a warm tropical night.

For dinner I had to try a Japanese restaurant "Tadashi Sushi" which is a branch of my favorite restaurant in Carlsbad "Sushi Taisho".

Their food was much more than I expected! I was satisfied with this beautiful sushi.

"Tadashi Sushi"

1277 Prospect Street

La Jolla, CA 92037

(858)456-7118

http://www.tadashisushi.signonsandiego.com

In the morning, I went walking to see this view.

La Jolla Cove is a paradise for birds and seals.

It's also a paradise for swimmers!

La Jolla Cove is home of the annual "La Jolla Cove Rough Water swim" which is one of the oldest ocean swims in the world.

My most favorite animal in La Jolla was definitely these guys...

La Jolla was amazingly gorgeous and unrealistic!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Hidden hot spots in Downtown Los Angeles

There is so much to do in Downtown Los Angeles.

I would like to tell you about the cheapest shopping area in Los Angeles!
The Fashion District is the where you can shop for the wholesale price.

All these accessories are only $1, and if you buy 6 it will be $5.

"New Alley Shopping mall"

Maple Ave & Olympic Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90015

http://www.fashiondistrict.org

One of the stores I like is "Style in Fashion". They import all the clothing from India.

I love their long skirts.

All the Belly Dance fashion is here too. The price is about $5 up.

"Style in Fashion"

321 East Olympic Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90015

(213)624-9278

http://www.styleinfashion.com

The main street of the Fashion District is "Santee Alley".

"Santee Alley"

Santee St, between 9th st and 12th st

Los Angeles, CA 90015

http://www.thesanteealley.com

Over 150 stores are on the Santee Alley and open every day with big bargain prices.

My favorite store in the Santee Alley is "One Trading".

This is a wholesale accessory store but you can buy per item with rock bottom prices. If you want to have a dozen of same accessory it is only $8. Perfect for goody bags!

"One Trading"

1152 Santee Alley

Los Angeles, CA 90015

(213)742-8840

http://www.facebook.com/pages/One-Trading/148484195218208

For a break during shopping, you may want to try their famous "Bacon Dog".

Lakers to Dogers, you can find all the Los Angeles gear here.

China dresses can be a sexy party style. You can find kids sizes too.

There are over hundreds of fabric wholesalers here. However, I adore this one particular store "Journal Fabric, Inc".

There are all kinds of fabrics from all the world. They have great customer service and an organized clean store.

"Journal Fabrics, Inc"

419 E 9th St

Los Angeles CA 90015

(213)624-0524

They have big sales every day. All the outside fabrics are only 99c per yard!

After the shopping, this is a nice spot to relax.

Grand Hope Park is in the middle of downtown.

Around this park there are many nice restaurants such as "Original Pantry Cafe".

"Grand Hope Park"

W 9th St and S Hope St

http://tclf.org/landscapes/grand-hope-park

FIDM, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising share this park, so it is fun to check out the future of our fashion industry.

In the FIDM, there is an interesting store.

It is worth it to spend some time here.

"FIDM Scholarship Store"

919 Grand Ave

Los Angeles CA 90015

(213)624-1200

http://fidm.edu/en/about/Shopping+at+FIDM/

Friday, September 2, 2011

Hidden hot spots in Ventura

I was looking for somewhere to go camping and found out about "Lake Casitas Campground". This place is gorgeous and very convenient to Los Angeles.

Just go up the 101 north for about 1 hour and take the 33 straight to the lake. It will be about a 2 hour drive from LAX.

I got there Friday afternoon. My camp site was "J".

It was a lovely shady spot.

This site has a facility with clean flush toilets and coin showers!

Casitas Lake is actually used as drinking water so it's not for swimming. You can do fishing and boating.

Little yellow fish and bunnys were everywhere.

"Lake Casitas Campground"

11311 Santa Ana Rd, Ventura CA

(805)649-2233

http://www.casitaswater.org/department.php?url=lake-casitas-recreation-area

One of my favorites was this store. They sell everything you need such as wood, beer and souvenirs! I bought ice, a frisbee, candy, ice cream and of course, coffee.

"Park Store"

(805)649-1202

http://www.casitaswater.org/lower.php?url=park-store

Th second day was even more hot and beautiful. The sky was clear and lake was peaceful.