All About L.A. - Things I Want to Try and Things I Love

 

After seeing list of things to do in L.A. by Caroline On Crack, I was inspired to make a personal list of "things I want to try in Los Angeles". Since I plan to stay in Los Angeles for a very long time, I am going to keep this as a "living list" (i.e. as I find more interesting things,  I'll add to this list).

 

And since making list is one of my hobbies, I had a lot of fun writing down "things I love about L.A." Many on this list are things that I re-visit whenever I get a chance. Beware! If you do things in this list, you may fall in love with L.A. too. 

 

Items are listed in no particular order.

 

Things I Want to Try in L.A. (Want to do any  of these with me?)

1. Try the restaurants listed in my ever-growing Yelp bookmarks 
2. Downtown Art Walk
3. Go watch an Angel City Derby Girls or a L.A. Derby Dolls Tournament
4. Bike on the Strand, from Playa Del Rey to Redondo Beach
5. Watch a movie in the Grauman's Chinese theater @ Hollywood & Highland
6. Go to a concert at The Disney Concert Hall
7. Go visit the Bradbury Building
8. Go sit on that bench in the "500 Days of Summer" (in Bunker Hills, on the corner of 4th and Olive.)
9. Do more pretty, easy hikes (Sandstone Peak sounds pretty)
10. Mulholland Drive from 405 to 101
11. Go to a Lakers game in the Staples Center
12. Santa Fe Dam and Recreation Area (because I drive by it so many times but still haven't visit this place)
13. Wayfare's Chapel in Palos Verdes
14. Go see wild buffalos in Catalina 

 

Things I Love About L.A.

1. Endless food variety and numerous great restaurants to try (though I often make repeat visits to places that I rated 4+ stars). L.A. has some of the best Chinese food, Fusion food, Japanese food….
2. L.A. offers so much diversity that one can never get bored. Regardless of who you are and what you are into, you will find things you are interested in L.A. The list of "things to try at least once in L.A." is never-ending.
3. Yummy variety of food available at wee hours (1am - 6am).  Delicious Chinese/Korean food at 3am taste so much better (to me) than Denny's
4. Watching firework synchronized to great music at the Hollywood Bowl. Always bring a picnic basket.
5. The Getty Center garden, its special exhibits, and its events
6. Unbelievable amount of free summer activities; here's a 100 examples.
7. Point Dume, hiking along the beach and look for sea creatures in the tide pool
8. View of the entire Los Angeles county from Mount Wilson Observatory parking lot. On a clear day, you can even see the ocean.
9. Old Town Pasadena
10. Kayaking in Alamitos Bay and the Naples channels. If you go at the right time, in addition to the mansions, you will also find star fishes and jellyfishes.
11. Awesome Salsa scene, every night of the week
12. Walking around Larchmont Village, especially on Sunday (Farmers Market)
13. Walking around Main St. @ Santa Monica, especially on Sunday (Farmers Market)
14. Walking around Venice canals
15. First Friday at Abbot Kinney 
16. L.A. beaches. I love watching waves crashing onto the beach; while sipping a cup of hot coffee/tea.
17. Pacific Theaters Vineland Drive-In
18. Driving on PCH from Santa Monica up to Malibu
19. The Huntington Library
20. $15 (full body) massage in San Gabriel Valley
21. Walking in a sea of brilliant yellow mustard flowers at the Palos Verdes View hiking trail in April
22. Outdoor movies during the summer (available in almost every cities; or you can befriended Vero & Whitney so they'd invite you to their next private screening)
23. Visit The Griffith Observatory just before sunset (I think I'd love watching sunrise at Griffith too but I don't wake up that early).