And it was an absolute dream. I visited California about nine years ago for a backpacking trip through the Sierra Nevada mountains — which, by the way, you must do if you ever have the chance. The best Milky Way stargazing and mountaintop views of my life!
BUT, this time, I really wanted to see a bit more of the tourist-y side of California. You know, like visit Griffith Observatory and blast the “La La Land” soundtrack, hit up some of the famous beaches and cruise down Highway 1/Pacific Coast Highway (while listening to “California Girls,” obviously). So Emily and I put together an itinerary and set off on the ultimate end-of-summer road trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco.
LOS ANGELES
Los Angeles was honestly everything I had hoped it would be…and more! It is such a fun city with so many cute coffee shops & restaurants, colored walls, sparkling rooftop views and Instagram potential around every corner.
Carrera Café
This little café on Melrose Avenue was one of our favorite discoveries in Los Angeles — we stopped by every morning for the Belgium waffle bars with mangoes & whipped cream, fresh croissants and custom-printed foam lattes (using the Coffee Ripples app). Oh, and bonus tip: Their H2Rose waters are insanely good and perfect to bring along on a road trip…the peach flavor was my favorite!
Micheltorena Stairs
These rainbow steps make for such a colorful addition to the feed. Beware, they aren’t in the best part of town — but they’re great for a quick stop during the day!
Beverly Hills
Designer shopping, palm trees galore and of course the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel. This was one of the prettiest areas of LA in my opinion — super upscale and a beautiful place to wander around & window shop (because not all of us can afford a $6,000+ Louis Vuitton handbag, am I right)?! This hot pink and orange LV on Rodeo Drive immediately caught my eye, and the inside is actually an immersive exhibit!
OUE Skyspace LA
If you take one thing away from this blog post, it’s this: go here for the sunset. We look for rooftop views pretty much every city we visit (Paris, London, etc) and this was one of my favorites of all time. The rooftop environment is so much fun, there’s plenty of photo ops and even a glass slide at the top. As the sun set over the city, we hung out in the grassy veranda in lounge chairs for at least two hours listening to music and taking in the glittering views. Pure magic!
Gratitude Kitchen & Bar
There’s nothing that says Los Angeles more than a super aesthetic restaurant with amazing vegan food. From the nature-inspired decor, to the incredible service and extensive plant-based menu, this was the perfect place to recharge after a morning of exploring.
Not only does the restaurant offer a huge selection of fresh-pressed juices and healthified cocktails, but also the BEST buffalo cauliflower, kelp pesto pasta (this is my top recommendation!) and mushroom burgers. We finished our lunch with the most delicious strawberry shortcake that had me wondering why I don’t eat like this all the time…?!
Hollywood Sign
I know it’s cliché, but you can’t visit Los Angeles without seeing the Hollywood Sign! I’m not going to lie, it was BLAZING hot so it was definitely one of our shorter stops, but still super cool to see the sign in person (which is actually a lot smaller than you would imagine).
We took the short hike up from Lake Hollywood Park, which turned out to be a great place to get photos — the entire pathway is super wide & open, so there were lots of great vantage points the whole way up!
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Neither Emily or I are super big into art museums so we didn’t really budget extra time to explore this one, but it’s super popular and actually did look really cool inside. We grabbed a quick shot at the outdoor light poles (this section is free) around 10am or so, and it was hopping — so I’d definitely recommend heading there early if you want a photo without a bunch of tourists. Next time, I want a night shot!
Griffith Observatory
*Cue “Another Day of Sun” (haha)*
This is probably one of the most iconic Los Angeles tourist spots, and it was absolutely gorgeous. There are so many levels to the observatory and beautiful overlooks with telescopes, elegant architecture and sweeping views of Hollywood. Again, next time I visit (with more time budgeted) I definitely want to enjoy a sunset here!
SANTA MONICA
Pacific Park & Pier
This scene right here is the epitome of summer vibes — you just can’t go wrong with the ocean, roller-coasters and fun music. The pier and beach were a bit trashy, so I don’t think we would have enjoyed it during the day. However, it was super fun to walk around at night when everything was lit up and definitely does make for some fun pictures!
SANTA BARBARA
Stearn’s Wharf
It’s honestly kind of funny, because when we were booking our trip this was just a random add-on…and it ended up being one of our FAVORITE discoveries. Santa Barbara is the most picturesque little beach town with such a peaceful atmosphere, amazing outdoor restaurants and incredible sunsets.
This wharf area in particular was super fun, and we even brought a picnic dinner to the beach one evening and watched the sun set behind the palm trees. Talk about west coast magic!
One of the days, we stopped at Finney’s Crafthouse for a late lunch — we sat outside, and the warm ocean breeze was divine. TIP: Get the prosciutto and arugula flatbread, a crispy crust drizzled with olive oil, four cheese blend, onions, garlic, parmesan and spicy honey. So, so good.
Mission Santa Barbara
Talk about gorgeous, right?! Such cool, historic architecture with a really beautiful surrounding area — cactus, the brightest pink flowers and a super peaceful vibe. Inside the mission, there’s a museum as well, in case you want to take your time and explore a bit more.
Paseo Nuevo Spanish Tile Steps
Yet another picturesque area for shopping, enjoying an afternoon ice cream cone and catching a movie…orrrrr posing for a picture.
BIG SUR
Next to the Northern Lights and maybe 1 or 2 other things, Big Sur has been at the top of my immediate must-see list for a while. Prior to the trip, I set my computer background to a photo of Big Sur and was expecting to be a bit disappointed when I actually saw it in real life. NOPE, the water is truly that blue and the winding highway views are as breathtaking as everyone says. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone wanting to branch out from Los Angeles and see a different side of California…from waterfalls, to misty mountains and the brightest blue ocean, Big Sur is a dream.
McWay Falls, Bixby Bridge, Pfieffer Beach & Pigeon Point Lighthouse
McWay Falls 
This lighthouse was another random find along our drive, and turned out to be a beautiful vantage point. One of my favorite things about Big Sur is how easy it was to pull over along any (& every) beach, cliff side view, etc…the PCH is incredibly scenic, so I’m glad we had the car to keep all our batteries charged up haha!
SANTA CRUZ
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
This boardwalk instantly called to me, because…COLOR! How fun, right?! Roller coasters, sky buckets, cotton candy, a beach and more is all accessible from the free amusement park.
SAN FRANCISCO
Ahh, the Golden Gate Bridge, chilly weather and the prettiest Victorian-style houses — just a few of the many things San Fran has to offer! I’m really happy we finished our trip here, because it had a much more relaxed feel than Los Angeles and was a great place to soak in the remainder of our adventure.
Mr. Holmes Bakehouse
A cute display case with pretty desserts is about all it takes to grab my attention — and this little bakery had that and more! Even though it’s sandwiched in between two storefronts on either side, the shop is no secret to locals, or tourists for that matter…at 9am, there was already a line of people outside waiting to grab a coffee & one of Mr. Holmes’ famous brioche doughnuts or “cruffins” (seen below).
They also bake delicious croissants, vegan cookies and sweet & savory danishes. What more could you ask for? I was in heaven! AND IN CASE YOU DIDN’T KNOW: There’s a location in Los Angeles, so you could totally visit twice (wink) if you decide to do a West Coast road trip like we did.
Twin Peaks
We visited this viewpoint right at sunset (we definitely have a thing for sunset city views)! It was absolutely breathtaking watching the sky turn pastel tones and all of the city lights begin to sparkle…from the skyscrapers on one end to the Golden Gate Bridge on the other. It got super chilly as the sun began to set, so I’d highly recommend dressing warmly, even in the summer!
A few other highlights of San Francisco included:
- Lombard Street/”The Crookedest Street in the World” – This one was super fun to drive down (do a timelapse!) and see all the cute houses and flowers. This blue home was my favorite!
- Fisherman’s Wharf – A classic wharf in my opinion, but still fun if you like seafood or want a view of the ferries going to Alcatraz.
- The Painted Ladies – I’ve never seen “Full House,” but these were still super fun to check out! There’s a big grassy field in front, and lots of people were enjoying the view and taking a little rest from their sightseeing. As far as a cute photo goes, this one would be a little tricky…but I’ve definitely seen people do it!
Golden Gate Bridge
This one is about as iconic as you can get! We were lucky with a super overcast, misty day which made everything 10x more magical. There’s tons of great photo spots depending on the distance you’re looking for, but we found that Fort Point was super accessible (and didn’t require crazy parking or walking).
Thanks for the memories, California!
