Los Angeles and Las Vegas

flamif
14 mag 2017
Tempo di lettura: 3 min

Going to California had always been my dream but I had never had enough time to take such a long trip. I knew ideally it would take at least 3 weeks for a road trip up the California coast. We decided to focus on what interested me more and come back another time to see other things. So at the end we decided to go to Los Angeles and Las Vegas!

This became the plan :-)

30th December

Arrived late at night at Sofitel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills.

31st December

We rented a car and went to The Grove which is an outdoor shopping center. We headed Downtown for a quick tour of the city since we had to get ready for the New Year’s Party at Sofitel. Los Angeles is a very large city and there is so much traffic, it took us about 1hour to go from Beverly Hills to Downtown. Before heading back to the hotel we stopped at the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art).

1st January

We went to Restoration Hardware which is a luxury home store that sales furniture, lighting, textiles, decor, and outdoor furniture but the best thing is that there is a rooftop park with a beautiful view of the Hollywood Hills. Then we had lunch at The Ivy in Beverly Hills, this place is very nice, colourful and full of flowers! During the afternoon we walked around Rodeo Drive and we went to the historic Beverly Wilshire Hotel which was where the movie Pretty Woman was filmed (this is the reason why I wanted to see it, LOL). During the afternoon we went to Hollywood and we took a walk down the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Honestly, I didn’t like Hollywood because it was messy! We ate at Cecconi’s, an elegant Italian restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

2nd January

Before leaving to Las Vegas we went and drove around Bel Air but we didn't see much, except big gates and large hedges and every so often rarely we saw a large mansion. Anyway Bel Air is worth a look as it is a gorgeous neighbourhood. Unfortunately, I later discovered that there is a driving tour :-(

It took almost 5 hours to get to Las Vegas but it is a very particular landscape since the colours of the desert are very beautiful. We stayed at the Caesars Palace for 3 nights and we loved it! Unfortunately, it was not very hot (15C) so we couldn’t use the swimming pool. We had a good hamburger at Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill at the Caesars Palace.

3rd January

We spent our second day in Las Vegas seeing all the hotels along the Strip, I loved the spectacular show of the Bellagio Fountains. We dined at Olives one of the restaurants alongside the Bellagio Lake. After dinner we went to Omnia, the nightclub inside the Caesars Palace…WOW! (we were allowed to skip the line because we were staying at the hotel).

4th January

We did some gambling but we didn’t win anything :-) We had an aperitivo at Mr Chow (inside the Caesars Palace) and then we had dinner on the 106th floor of the Stratosphere Hotel. We enjoyed the breathtaking view of Las Vegas as the restaurant goes around 360 degrees. Don’t go up there if you are scared of heights!!!

5th January

We went back to Los Angeles and we stayed at Ocean View Hotel in Santa Monica overlooking the Pacific Ocean and situated a few steps away from the world-famous Santa Monica Pier. The sunset here is wonderful. For dinner we ate at True Food Kitchen, an eco-chic restaurant serving healthy food, including vegan options. After dinner we had a drink at The Bungalow (at The Fairmont Miramar Hotel). It is really worth going there if you are in Santa Monica (even for an aperitivo)!

6th January

We went to Venice Beach for a walk on the beach. Venice is not so glamorous but very particular. And is known for its canals and the Ocean Front Walk that features performers, artists and vendors. Then we went to Malibu, it was too cold to be on the beach but we walked along the Pier which is a nice place to see. Our last night in Santa Monica we chose the iconic Bubba Gump at Santa Monica Pier. It is a sea food restaurant that reminds the Forrest Gump Movie. Shrimp is the specialty.