Los Angeles

Paul and I decided to stay in LA for a couple of nights en route to Canada in December last year. It was my first time being in the US other than stopping over - it will definitely not be the last!

I know it sounds strange but we flew from Sydney to Vancouver (14 hours) then to LA on Air Canada. The US is so very beautiful to look at from the sky!

See?

A zoomed in and cropped image of the Hollywood sign seen from our plane

I just loved how glitzy Los Angeles was! The weather was comparable to a Sydney winter although public buildings were better heated/insulated than they are here.

The first thing I noticed was the amount of tipping you have to do in LA - the bus driver, the hotel bellboys, valet guys (most parking in LA is valet) and of course, waiters. I also found it annoying that prices (on tags and menus) were not the final figure, they were the before tax amounts. Annoying if you're very strapped for cash and you think you have enough! Everything is much cheaper there than here in Sydney though.

Los Angeles is also very dog-friendly compared to Sydney. I saw doggies everywhere I went, even in airport departure lounges (the dogs were waiting to get on the planes with their owners) and dogs are permitted in shopping centres as long as they take lifts and not escalators. If only I could have brought Teddy!

Food is a big reason I would return to LA. The quality was excellent for a much more reasonable price than you would pay for an equivalent meal in Australia. However, unless you go to a higher end restaurant, you're going to end up drinking terrible coffee! (I think Coffee is much better in Australia but maybe North Americans would think our coffee was terrible too!)



Hatfield's Restaurant: 6703 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles

I was only using a small Canon point and shoot I got like 6 years ago so these aren't the best photos

My entree was a delicious buckwheat crepe

My main - 36-hour slow cooked rib

Dessert - Hot chocolate peanut butter truffle cake
with salted caramel ice cream

Bottega Louie Restaurant: 700 South Grand Ave, Los Angeles
I absolutely loved this place and if I lived in LA I would probably be here ALL the time. It is a gourmet food market, a French-style patisserie (macarons guys, macarons!), chocolaterie, cafe, cocktail bar AND restaurant all in one!

This soft-boiled egg with toastie soldiers was $3.
You heard me.
THREE BUCKS.
Probably would have been $18 here in Sydney.

Paul ordered the "Farmer's Brunch"

I ordered for dessert (yes, I had dessert at breakfast) the Belgian waffles with Chantilly cream, seasonal berries
and Vermont maple syrup. Best breakfast I've had in a long time.

In general, I just loved how friendly, polite and helpful LA locals were compared to here in Sydney. People in LA seem to take customer service a lot more seriously than they do here. I loved how generous food serving sizes are and the variety of condiments you can get to accompany your food (I'm talking tabasco sauce!). Alas I did not spot any celebrities... better luck next visit I suppose!