At the start of the semester, my roommate Georgi and I did what most college freshman are subject to do, we made a freshman year bucket list. However, this bucket list differed from most as it included a variety of activities we hoped to accomplish by the end of the year. This weekend we were lucky to have the chance to check a great deal of these activities off our bucket list as we spent 72 hours exploring downtown LA, exploring the sights, sounds and everything in between.
FRIDAY
We left LMU Thursday night since we had fall break this weekend! We took the metro from Santa Monica to downtown LA, where we ate a quick bite, then went to bed early. The next morning we got up ready to go. We stayed at the Millennium Biltmore downtown, 10/10, would highly recommend!! We had breakfast each day there which was great. Friday morning after breakfast we went right away to get our haircuts at The Industry. We had read great reviews and all the haircuts were up to par! After, we headed to the Fashion District. With market being this week, a lot of designers had their collections on display. We had the chance to go in and look at the new collections through our jobs…however, Fig on 7th is a great shopping area in downtown LA if you are looking to shop! We then walked to the Broad and saw a few exhibitions including Koon’s, Warhol, Lichtenstein and Kruger, to name a few. Needless to say, it was incredible! There was only one floor, but we managed to spend around an hour and a half looking at all the incredible art (I’ve pictured a few of my favorite pieces below). The best part about the Broad is its price…FREE!!! After, we grabbed a bite at Otium, next door to the Broad. It was such a good find- it had such a good aesthetic and amazing bites, I got the coconut shrimp and Jasmine tea.
(Breakfast at the Millennium Biltmore)
(Looking around at the Fashion Houses)
A few of my favorite exhibitions at the Broad
Delicious Coconut Shrimp from Otium!!
SATURDAY
Saturday we woke up fairly early, got breakfast at the hotel and headed to the LACMA. The LACMA ended up being in between downtown LA and West Hollywood. The LACMA was far bigger than the Broad and a $25 entrance fee, however, we spent around 3 hours here, there were so many exhibitions we didn’t even make it to half! A few of my favorites were the Matisse and another Andy Warhol piece, along with their contemporary art section and the featured exhibition: Chigual. I attached pictures of my favorite exhibitions below! After, we headed to the Farmers Market where we walked around and got a bite, there were so many vendors it was hard to decide which one to go to! Following that, we went to The Grove which is right next door and did some shopping☺. Later that night, we went to Botega Louie for dinner, A MUST GO. The concept was incredible, Italian food with French dessert, who could’ve picked a better combination?! After dinner we went to the opening of Nubucco the Opera… needless to say, it was incredible. Being in college it is often easy to forget about shows happening around LA, whether it be the ballet, opera or a play. It is nice to remember we have access to the city and should take advantage of what it has to offer!
SUNDAY
We slept in late Sunday, tired from the week and busy weekend and ate breakfast at the hotel before heading back on the metro and back to school. At the end of this weekend, I can successfully say I crossed off about five things on our bucket list…yay!!!