Los Angeles - August 2013

My husband and I took a quick trip down to LA this past week. We left early Thursday morning, and came back late Friday night. It was our first time leaving Elijah overnight, and we were a little nervous about it, but we had a great time. It was so nice to be able to be able to relax and shop without chasing a 2 1/2 year old around all the time.

We landed at LAX around 10:30, waiting in line for a LONG time to get our rental car, and headed out to Azusa to see my best friend, her husband and their new baby, Elladie. We had lunch there and then headed out to Pasadena to do a little shopping. We found Chucks for all three of us.

 Then we headed into Hollywood, to our hotel, The Dixie, and to meet up with my friend Gaelle, her brother, Guillaume and her fiancé, Adrien. They had been road tripping around the U.S., and LA was their last stop. We decided to head up to the Griffith Observatory, which I have been trying to go to for almost 10 years, but every time I have been in LA, it has been closed. I'm happy to say, I finally made it.

Then we drove past all the Hollywood sights and on to a Korean restaurant, where we spent WAY too much for dinner at an all you can eat buffet that really wasn't all that good. The next morning, we got all packed up, and headed back to the Walk of Fame and the Chinese Theater. We did a little sightseeing, some shopping, and got some so-so crepes for lunch. After lunch, we drove down to Rodeo Drive, and got stuck in traffic on Sunset Blvd on the way home, so we took a detour up a mountain, past ridiculously huge, expensive houses and cars, and back to our hotel.











Once at the hotel, my French friends got messages saying that their flight home had been delayed until the next day. We headed to the local Jamba Juice for smoothies and some Wi-Fi, thanks to James' phone.

They decided that they needed to head to the airport right away to get everything figured out (they ended up getting on a different flight, and ended up getting home earlier than originally planned), so our visit was cut short. James and I headed out to Manhattan Beach, which we really enjoyed. We picked it because it was close to LAX, so we wouldn't have to be terribly worried about getting stuck in traffic before our flight. We got some awesome ice cream at the Manhattan Beach Creamery, and enjoyed our last few child-free hours.

All in all, it was a good trip, and I'm looking forward to Gaelle and Adrien's wedding in October, when I can see my friends again, this time in France.