My husband and I took a trip to California the last week in July for a week. I didn't realize it but the last time I was in California was in 2015. It was too long since our last vacation to California.
It is a tradition that we go to In-N-Out Burger every time we are in California. We stopped for our burger fix after a five-hour flight and arrived just in time for lunch. They have the best burgers and we shared the fries and a diet soda.
Our friend has a beautiful house in Los Angeles located in Venice Beach. We stayed and visited our friend for three days.
We planned on visiting the Griffith Observatory once we settled in at our friend's house. We rented a car for our stay in California. We drove through some nice neighborhoods with beautiful houses. The Griffith Observatory is only opened Friday through Sunday each week with free admission. The Griffith Observatory is the perfect place to learn about the sky and is a national leader in public astronomy.
You can see scenes from the movie La La Land starring Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, and John Legend in the Griffith Observatory. I saw the movie and loved it. Did you see La La Land?
We could see the famous Hollywood sign on the mountain.
We enjoyed dinner that evening at an Italian restaurant called Piccolo Restaurante in Venice Beach.
We had Peroni Italian beer and for the appetizer, we shared grilled octopus. You can see the menu here.
Below on the left, my husband had Orecchiette pasta sauteed with Italian sausage, rapini, and ricotta cheese.
On the right, I had the Tagliatelle with Duck Ragu.
We both decided to share our food. To end the meal we both had decaf espresso drinks.
It was the perfect first day of our vacation. Stay tuned for more of our California vacation.
California Trip 2021 - Part 1
Julie, the first day of your trip sounds wonderful! Love the pictures, especially the delicious meal you shared. We’ve never been to the Griffith Observatory but it sounds very interesting. I can’t wait to read more about your CA vacation! Happy week! Zenda
ReplyDeleteThat sounds wonderful! I have never seen that movie but will definitely have to look it up and see if I can watch it.
ReplyDeleteIt was a wonderful vacation to CA. You will have to see that movie as I'm sure you'll like it. Have a nice day and thanks for the blog visit Joanne.
DeleteLooks like a really fun time, Julie! It must have felt so good to get away finally! Looking forward to reading more about your trip. I haven't been to California since I left my job in 2012, when I would go fairly frequently.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great trip. Glad you could get away and have a nice time visiting your friends and seeing some wonderful sites in California. Can't wait to see more. xoxo Kris
ReplyDeleteLooks like fun. We are heading to California this week. Our first day is devoted to Venice Beach.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a fun time visiting California this week.
DeleteYour first days in CA look amazing...can't wait to hear about the rest!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ann our first day was amazing. I loved our CA vacation and I miss it already!
DeleteIt's nice you got to travel and the food looks so good - especially the burgers! Yum! :)
ReplyDeleteHope your week is off to a good start :)
Thanks Mica. It was such a fun first day in CA. I hope you enjoy the week.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed your trip to my home state Julie. Venice Beach is a nice spot. Your friends have a lovely home in Venice Beach. In and Out is our favorite burger. We went there today to have lunch. Enjoy the rest of your week.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice vacation for you and your hubby, Julie! Your friend’s home is beautiful and all you food looked fabulous. You looked so trim snd pretty in your picture!
ReplyDeleteWow! That does sound like a wonderful vacation. I am so ready to plan a trip, even a day trip! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like such a fun trip so far Julie! I love California. I loved La La Land too! I hope you're having a good week!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome trip, Julie and a great house! I haven't seen La La Land, but I heard it's a great movie! It's on the list. Enjoy the week!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have a friend there. My grown boys have been to Cali., but I haven't been yet!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice that we have a friend to visit and the last time we saw him was in 2015 Rosey. We enjoyed the parts of CA that we visited this time.
DeleteIt's nice to read something positive about California these days. I lived near Venice Beach when I was in high school and college such a beautiful area. Did you see homeless everywhere? Such a shame the state seems to have so many out of control problems...
ReplyDeleteJenna
Julie, we need a vacation like nobody's business! :D Yours looks like such fun. I'm so glad you got to have another California vacation after 6 years. I'd love to visit some California wine regions once things settle down a bit; traveling (especially flying) seems like too much just now.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy and thankful we went on vacation to CA after such a long time Jean. I agree that visiting the wine regions would be nice. I hope you get to do some traveling once things settle down a bit.
DeleteWhat a fun day. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeletewww.rsrue.blogspot.com
Sounds like so much fun!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely home your friend have. The pool is so inviting! No wonder you miss the pool:) I love all the pictures and of the food you ate at the restaurant. The duck ragu looks amazing. I'm savoring your posts, Julie.
ReplyDeleteHug, Ping
Yes Ping, I love our friends house in CA. I am glad you are enjoying my post on our California trip. I can't wait to return again in the future.
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