We arrived in Los Angeles early on a Friday morning after an overnight flight from Hawaii. First stop was coffee (you can see Kristina smiling in baggage claim), then a short pit stop at our friend Kurt’s house, a maple bacon donut (see a picture here of this unconventional breakfast treat), then a great hike up the Temescal trail. We were lucky it was so clear and got a beautiful view of the city and surroundings. We capped off a great day with a drink and sunset view at the Penthouse bar (top of the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica) and some delicious Spanish tapas at Manchego.
Arriving with Starbucks in hand
Temescal trail
View from top of the hill
Happy hour with a view
Our second day in L.A. was just as action packed and fun filled – a drive-by of the “pop-up” (our vote for word of the year 2015) Seinfeld apartment, a quick stop at Angel City Brewery (see here), a tour of hip spots and rooftop bars in Downtown, an awesome sushi dinner and finally, if the day wasn’t already awesome enough, the Muse concert at Staples center.
Riding in the back of Kurt’s Mustang
So L.A.
Hulu sponsored this complete copy of the Seinfeld living room. There was an insanely long line wrapping around the building to get in
Shepard Fairey street art
Rooftop bar in L.A.
View from the bar
Funny keyboard at the Standard
Funny sign on the way up the stairs to Biergarten. Hold on to your drinks
Heading in to Muse
Opening band Phantogram
On Sunday we decided to get out of the city and took a drive up to Santa Barbara, stopping quickly at Figueroa Mountain Brewery, then hitting a number of great wineries on a beautiful day. Thanks to Stacey for planning the itinerary and picking a great Mexican restaurant for dinner. And yes, we did also stop off in Solvang (the Danish town in Santa Ynez).
Sunstone Winery
Stacey and Kurt at Kalyra
Alex and Kristina at Kalyra
A colorful vineyard