Oh LA, I have always loved you and I always will. Cut to Whitney Houston song. Ours was a long distance love affair that started in college, but we’ve always made it work, haven’t we? Being a native Californian, it was the affordable vacation spot for those who were unable to pony up for the stereotypical Spring Break to any Mexican getaway. Besides, having gone to college at Berkeley, 75% of the friends I made in college were originally from Southern California, making couch surfing just a phone call away.
Now that I’m an adult, I still love LA. It’s like having the perfect long term romantic relationship, where you both care for each other but every day you can still still surprise each other with something new and exciting, that keeps the passion alive. Every time I think of visiting I still get that giddy first date feeling melded with the comfort of familiarity, and am filled anticipation of what else we’re going to discover next. It’s what all true loves should be.
The funny thing is when I sing praises of love to my dear sweet LA, others don’t seem to understand, but they don’t see him like I do. He’s cultured, fun, chill, outdoorsy, fashionable, has great taste in food, and is one classy bloke.
Here’s just a snapshot of how we spend our time together when we have the time:
Some days we’ll go to a museum and pretend to be art aficionados. This is when we play the “I like it or hate it game”. LACMA, Getty, the Getty Villa, or the Huntington Library are good for these type of days.
Then other days we just want to pretend we’re kids again with not a care in the world. Playing Astro Blasters at Disneyland, getting the Dole Whip, being lost in a sea of Baymax balloons, and eating Mickey shaped waffles or Pokemon shaped macarons from Honey & Butter. Maybe slipping in an alcoholic beverage at California Adventure’s Cozy Cone. Then we’d go to the California Science Center or the Griffith Observatory and wind back the time to reminisce about when we all wanted to be astronauts and astronomers.
For casual days we might stroll around downtown and take in the views and eats. The Walt Disney Concert Hall is beautiful to wander around, and they have a free audio tour. Japan town has a bunch of good eats and a great view of the city. Then you can scale the City Hall building and catch the sunset or pretend to be the mayor at the podium at the top floor that has an active mic. The Abbot Kinney area is the new it spot for boutique shopping, then catch a bite at delicious and beautiful restaurants like Gjelina.
And after we’ve gorged on too much food from both Korea town and downtown delights we can go for an epically beautiful Wisdom Tree hike in the Hollywood hills and look down at the city. My my LA, you are looking mighty sexy from this view.
This is why I love LA so much, and I haven’t even gotten to the beaches or shopping. LA is urban, complicated, smart, affectionate and he always leaves me wanting more, so much so that I didn’t really leave my heart in LA, I willing gave my heart to Los Angeles.
Where have you given your heart to? If you haven’t figured out a place yet, you might want to check out GetYourGuide.com for some ideas or see other places people have left their heart in with the #ileftmyheartin campaign here.
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