I went on an eating spree in the first two days I was in LA. My body must have been really happy, but somehow I had this guilt that I didn’t have anything healthy. I started to panic and needed to get back to my routine; drinking pressed juices, that is. I did my research and knew that LA doesn’t have JuicePress. I sent out a tweet crying for help. Luckily, Alysia Reiner (from OITNB) came to the rescue. She tweeted me her favorite places in LA where I could get my juice! Maria took me to Beverly Hills and just my luck; I could not find a place! However, we stumbled into Paley center!

I forgot about my juice once we learn that they had some props from our favorite TV show, “Friends,”

and that we were allowed to sit on the couch at Central perk!

Not only that, there were other props from other shows like Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, ER, Seinfeld and more!

Once we left Paley Center, we were both hungry. I went back to the mentality of not having a big lunch and definitely not having a burger. Maria decided to have Chipotle and I checked out the ice cream place next door. The place called, “Ice Cream LAB
,” I love the decor; you can see gigantic kitchen aids which what they use to make ice cream fresh right in front of you.

 

The trick is nitrogen which they use to freeze up dairy and the toppings you use and voila! There’s your ice cream.

The only tiny problem is that you have to wait because it takes a little longer for them to make it fresh for you.

Once I finally got my ice cream, I walked around Beverly Hills, where we spotted Kathryn Hahn strolling around with her family. We were still on the quest of finding a juice bar. I felt like we were Harold and Kumar Going to White Castle! Except I wanted healthy drinks badly! As we were heading out of Beverly Hills, I spotted two juice bars five blocks away from where I got my ice cream, as Maria was driving away I screamed, “NOOOOO!”

My luck finally came a few minutes later when we were in West Hollywood. I spotted a juice bar called “Nekter Juice Bar,” and Maria had to make a turn for me.

I checked out their menu and was in awe by the prices because everything is much cheaper than what I usually have in NYC!

I didn’t get the cold pressed juice they had on display. I ordered, “The Buzz,” which is carrot, orange, lemon and ginger. It claimed that you would feel an instant buzz energy and brightness around you.

I kid you not, my eyes opened wild and immediate energy kicked in! On top of that, I also asked for an ounce of wheatgrass shot. Only $1.50! I paid $2-3 in NYC!

Then Maria drove us to Griffith Park, I saw many more juice bars on our way there! Thank you, West Hollywood, you will always be remembered!

We stopped pretty far from Griffith park and had to walk up. I was glad I had that drink. I kept walking and I certainly forgot about how tired I was once I saw the Hollywood sign from afar!

The Scenery was so beautiful at the Griffith observatory building, and it was pretty cool that they had a sculpture of James Dean.

We left Griffith Park and headed back to Maria’s place to pick up her husband and all went out to dinner.

We walked around the Manhattan Beach pier first and I found another juice place called Pressed Juicery which I bought 2 bottles of juices; greens 6 Honeydew, Kiwi, Spinach, Lemongrass and Cilantro. The other bottle is Citrus 4, which had Cucumber, pineapple, lemon, coconut water and aloe Vera. Luckily, it was kind of chill that night so I could keep it out for an hour while having dinner. We stopped at F Grill and I had shrimp tacos for the first time. It was beyond amazing! I couldn’t stop raving about my food!

Our next day destination is Santa Monica beach. We had our lunch at Umami in Santa Monica since Maria’s husband hasn’t tried it yet.

The wait was much longer and it was quite loud compared to the one in Hermosa Beach. I ordered the very same thing, the Manly burger. But, I tried sweet fries this time. I had to say that I liked the one in Hermosa Beach way more.

We then went to check out Santa Monica beach. I admired the modern designs around it but was too overwhelmed with the crowd. I guess that reminded me of Times Square. The beach was absolutely packed. It was St. Patrick’s Day after all. On our way back to where we parked the car, I spotted these huge fancy buildings, which were actually connected. They are Bloomindales and Nordstrom.

I also loved the big blue bus, very different than our metro busses in NYC. The different is that you can hang your bike in the front of the Big Blue Bus!

We ended our day with our favorite ice cream place ” Paciugo” again and I wasn’t disappointed.

Time went by so fast. It was Monday already and it was time to go home. I told Maria I wanted to check out Cafe Gratitude in Venice Beach before my flight at night. I was glad Maria was on board. In my opinion, I felt as if we were in Williamsburg NYC. You could absolutely feel the vibe. Cafe Gratitude is a place you can order Vegan, gluten-free, organic raw food.

Since we had IN-N-Out burger before coming here, we only needed something light. I ordered a glass of DIVINE: Apple, beet, lemon and ginger ($5.5)

 

while Maria had her latte and once she asked for some sugar. They handed her a small jar of coconut sugar. I don’t know about Maria but I was in love with Cafe Gratitude instantly.

While we were having our drinks and looking around, Maria spotted Sookie Stackhouse! Anna Paquin was in the restaurant! This is absolutely the best way to end my LA trip.

We had our dinner at P. F. CHANG’S close to Maria’s place

 

and we then checked out ARCLIGHT CINEMAS which located nearby.

 

I absolutely LOVE Los Angeles! Everything minus the earthquake I had experienced for the first time in the morning of my last day. If you are visiting Los Angeles, you should definitely check out these places I mentioned!