28.2.-1.3.2014 // Last two days of LA

Friday was our second last day in LA and we already felt like we had seen it all. Of course there would have been more places to visit, but nothing that we were too keen on. Also, the weather was not treating us well and there was a storm warning for the whole weekend. So we decided to sleep in, go for a late breakfast(pancakes!!) and enjoy the gorgeous neighborhood we were staying at. The Manhattan Beach area became my absolute favorite. It was laid-back but at the same time very elegant. I would not complain if I would living there someday!

 

At some point it started to rain more, so we drove to the nearby shopping center (probably the only one we hadn't yet checked out..). Even though I was not in the mood for shopping(neither had I any money left) we tried to find some souvenirs and random stuff such as nail polish, American sweets and so on. Basically we were just pointlessly going around. Because of the weather we didn't want to drive anywhere far or do anything super outdoorsy so we just had to entertain ourselves in the area. We didn't figure anything better to do in the rain so we went back to the hotel, I started packing and desperately tried to watch a few episodes of Big bang theory(in the end failing as the Wi-fi was not strong enough for streaming).

Finnish cosmetics in CA, whoaa!

Me packing - Mom packing

The final day of enjoying the fresh and warm air started off excellent with the oh-so-perfect Uncle Bill's pancakes, for the third time during one week!! That's how good they were. This time we tried something a little different and have to say it ended up being more like a brunch rather than a breakfast. The weather was still quite chilly, windy and a bit rainy but good enough for us to  go down to the pier to see the huge waves and just the whole atmosphere in there. As there was no plan for the day, we just walked around and randomly popped into a few local stores. Thinking, what could we actually do for a couple of hours I remembered that we still hadn't visited Venice beach. Our intention was to visit Venice and Santa Monica on the same day but somehow we kind of just forgot.

Pancaaaakes 

The whole pier was shaking every time a wave hit those poles 

Venice beach was such a hip place. The area did not look very appealing in the big picture but the closer you got, the cooler all looked. For example, when we first drove trough the Abbot Kinney Blvd, I was not interested at all. There were a few places that looked interesting but thats it. Somehow mom got me convinced and so we parked and started to explore the area a bit better. I mean, as if I would have had anything better ideas for activities.. 

After actually seeing the stores, cafes and local boutiques up close I realized how awesome places there were. For example this one stationary/craft store sold the most amazing postcard, I could have bought all of them. There was also a super cool looking barbershop and a super cute outdoor shop selling all kinds of stuff from plants to clothes and accessories. We stopped by at a restaurant I could have even eaten at, it looked super yummy but was not particularly hungry so we just bought lemonade and continued our way. 

There was a pole in the middle of the street - providing hand sanitiser

Around the Venice beach area there was a lot of young people and even all the old people were such hipsters. We didn't go to the actual beach, as there was weren't any good parking abilities but to be honest it didn't look that exciting. A lot of druggies and homeless people, no thanks. I prefer to leave with a positive image of the place on my mind.

During our stay I also wanted to try out the highly hyped(mainly by Kim Kardashian, lol..) In 'n out fast-food place. Well, turned out they only had three things on their menu and none of them was vegetarian-friendly so I just made mum eat the burger and I ate the fries. She said that it wasn't anything to great, but sadly I can not give my opinion. The drive-trough line was huge though! One of the employees was walking around and taking orders so that they could get the line moving. Never seen anything like that before. I mean, the cars went around the building and even on the big street.

At around five we were ready to return the car and head over to the airport. Before checking-in we had to do a bit of adjusting with our bags. When we left Finland, our bags were together about 27 kilos. At LAX, my bag was 25 kg  and mom's 23 kg I think. We even had to switch some of my stuff to hers and finally managed to make mine a bit more acceptable weight-wise. My check-in was tagged with a very HEAVY!-note, lol.

To me, the flight back was pretty exhausting. I tried to stay awake for most of the time so that I could more easily fall asleep at home, so I just watched some movies and tried to entertain myself. I sat next to a french guy who only went to the bathroom once during the whole 10h flight!! And the guy sitting next to him didn't move at all. Crazy people. Luckily I had the aisle seat so I walked around for a bit and stretch whenever I wanted.

The bestest dad had driven all the way to pick us up so that we wouldn't have to stay over in Helsinki or so, as we did have to go to work just the next day.

All in all, we had an awesome holiday. I really liked the LA area and people in there. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to combine beach holiday with some more action than just laying on your towel for 10 hours a day. There was definitely something to do for everyone, whether you like to do sports, just go sightseeing, enjoy the sun and the beaches or try out some amazing restaurants! There is no other option for me than to return there someday and who knows, maybe even live there!