Christmas in Los Angeles 🌴☀️
A summary of my experiences in LA. Christmas 2021.
During my last year of university, I caught a major case of senioritis, grabbed a couple of friends, and booked plane tickets to LA along with (very expensive) seats to the Lakers game on Christmas Day. It had been almost 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic and the world was just starting to get back to normal. This is a quick summary of all the highlights of our trip!
Wheels
We were a group of 22-year-olds, so we weren’t able to rent a car from the big rental companies as you had to be 25+. While waiting at the gate for our flight to LA, we managed to book a Tesla off Turo, which offers car rentals to anyone over 21 years of age. The math worked out when considering all the Ubers and Lyfts we’d have to take.
Lakers Christmas Day game
The main purpose behind the trip was to watch the Lakers vs. Nets on Christmas Day, at the newly named Crypto.com Arena (it’ll always be Staples to me). All fans at the game got an “Opening Night NFT” as a reward. I admittedly spent too much money at the merch store but I was there to see one man, my guy Lebron. The game was incredible, with a 20-point comeback and a 40-point performance by The Chosen One himself.
Fairfax
An iconic street in LA. Tons of popular streetwear stores with expensive price tags. As I was on a tight budget, I channelled my inner professional window shopper.
Malibu
From expensive houses to the Kardashians, and sunsets along the Pacific Coast Highway… Malibu was a treat. Before heading to eat at Nobu, watching the sunset at Point Dume felt like I was standing at the edge of the world.
Venice Beach
The iconic Venice Beach boardwalk and Santa Monica pier. It felt apocalyptic, to be honest, with not many crowds due to COVID. Pair this with a couple of gloomy days with rain, it was very unlike what you expect from LA.
Griffith Observatory
An iconic spot in LA, with amazing views of the city and the Hollywood sign.
Rodeo Drive
No description is needed for this one. A world-renown street filled with boujee stores and sugar daddies. I went into many stores I had no business being in, but walked in like I owned the place and tried out every pair of sunglasses over $1000 with a smile on my face.
Nobu
Nobu. You see the Kardashians or Kanye eating here at least once a month. I booked the reservation a month in advance and managed to snag a table. The drive from LA to Malibu is a dream, especially during sunset. You’re sitting in a small restaurant, right on the Pacific Coast Highway, with a deck extending out right onto Malibu beach. The fish was local and fresh. The service was fantastic. Although after eating here once, my wallet probably won’t let me eat here ever again.
When we sat down at our table, the menu was pretty overwhelming. No descriptions, no pictures. So naturally, we let our waiter take the wheel and curate an “experience” for us. He prepared a 10-course meal for us, which came out to about $130 USD per person. It was a great change of pace from my daily nutrition-packed meals of In-N-Out and Dave’s Hot Chicken. Here are some of my favourite dishes:
Takeaways
It felt good getting out after nearly 2 full years in lockdown. This trip felt like a victory lap. However, if I were to do this trip all over again, I would definitely do things a bit differently now that I know my way around LA:
Do not drive anywhere between 3-8 pm, it’ll be bumper to bumper for miles
Plan out supercharging in advance instead of winging it, chargers were full, and 50% off supercharging if you charge up during off-peak hours
LA is expensive. Take your initial budget and multiply it by 1.5x.
Even though it was only a few short days, it was a super memorable trip that I won’t forget anytime soon.