Ever wondered what you could do in LA? I composed this list of things to do with people not from LA in mind, but you can still read this even if you're from LA! Feel free to add your own suggestions.
I started typing this out to share with some fellow interns, but it's become so long that I've decided to make a whole blog post about it.
- The sun is out til 8pm on most days in summer, so take
advantage of the sunlight after work hours.
- The valley is typically 10-15 degrees warmer than the
coastal areas (Venice, Santa Monica) so always have a jacket on hand if you
plan on taking an evening trip to those places.
- Take advantage of the AMC silver/gold passes you can buy
with your employee discount. movie dates galore! the silver pass I think is
$6.50? I watched Oz in Imax 3D (a few weeks after it came out) and only had to
pay $4 extra with the silver pass - normally the AMC at Century City is $20 for
Imax 3D
- So we're all trying to save money here and there, but DO
take advantage of trying lots of places to eat! Why eat pasta every day when
you can find some restaurant that was featured on Guy Fieri's "Diners,
Drive-ins, and Dives"?
- If you're not from California, try In-N-Out and see if you enjoy it as much as we Californians do!
- We LA people are not kidding when we talk about traffic.
Use Google maps to determine how long it'll take you to get somewhere, or
SigAlert. Side streets don't always help either.
- Great malls to visit: Glendale’s Americana (super close to
the Glendale and Burbank offices!); Third Street Promenade (drive around for
one of the Santa Monica parking lots.. street parking is almost impossible to
find); Westfield Century City (high-end mall but really pretty in the evening);
Beverly Center (in Beverly Hills – huge mall!).
- Hike the Hollywood hills. I personally have not done that
yet, but I’m looking to do that this summer J
I have also been told that the sign’s location on Google Maps is wrong…
- The Getty has to be one of the best museums in America.
The only thing you have to pay for is parking, which is $15 (not bad if you
grab a bunch of other interns). If you go on a clear and sunny day, you can see
all the way to downtown LA!
- LACMA and MoMA are great museums too. LACMA has the famous
“Urban Light” exhibit. It makes for great pictures! LACMA also has the giant
rock…look it up if you don’t believe me.
- Check out a Dodgers game if you’re a baseball fan! I think
Disney offers some nice packages for some games. Dodger stadium is great and
also got a nice scoreboard upgrade this season… You can also buy tickets on
LivingSocial or StubHub for pretty cheap. You can score lower level seats in
the outfield area for under $30!
- Wanna visit other college campuses? Check out some of the
major colleges in the area: UCLA, USC, LMU, Pepperdine.
- Going to the beach is great, but you’ll need to figure out
what kinds of beaches you like. Santa Monica and Venice beaches are very
tourist-y areas and always really crowded. I prefer to make the drive to Malibu
(by Pepperdine) or Hermosa Beach. Malibu is a great beach town and you can
drive up the famous PCH! If you’re feeling really adventurous, drive up the PCH
all the way to Santa Barbara!
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| Hermosa Pier |
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| The view on PCH near Malibu |
- If taking a trip to Santa Monica, visit all the shops on
Third Street and visit the Pier! Can’t miss out on the famed pier!
- Do not go into Hollywood with enormously grand
expectations! It’s awesome, but it’s not as glamorous as the movies make you
think!
- Wanna see the famed Bel-Air neighborhood? I don’t recommend
driving through it since you might get pulled over by their security (…I
unfortunately almost had a run-in with their security), but you can drive down
Sunset Blvd right above UCLA
- Cupcakes, anyone? The famous 24-hour cupcake ATM is at
Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills. Crumbs has giant cupcakes, and is a few
blocks away. Sprinkles also has homemade ice cream, such as Red Velvet ice
cream! They also make Cupcake Ice Cream Sandwiches...
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| "Cupcake Sandwich" - two cupcake tops with ice cream in between |
- If you ever hear a UCLA student talk about where to go eat, he or she will most likely recommend that you try Diddy Riese: ice cream sandwich for only $1.75!
- The LA Zoo is not my favorite zoo, but for the price, it is well worth it. It's only $17 and you can spend a solid afternoon there. If you want to splurge and take a little drive, I'd recommend the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Safari Park.
- The House John Wooden Built: UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. It was recently renovated and is stunning.
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| The main entrance to Pauley |
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| Awesome statue of John Wooden |
