Cali Day 2 - Los Angeles
Knowing that this was the last no-plans day of our trip for a while, we resolved to have a leisurely day of strolling around the city doing nothing in particular.
Still craving Mexican food, we went to a food truck called Tacos De Birria De Res for breakfast. It turned out to be a food truck with a lively atmosphere, with many people eating nearby on picnic tables with fun music blasting from speakers. The spider and queso tacos were tasty, but very far from a light and healthy breakfast so we were glad that we were only splitting two of them.
We then headed out to LA's art district, a neighborhood known for murals, graffiti, and art galleries housed in old warehouses. We enjoyed people watching, including seeing long lines of people waiting for food at an organic coffee shop and a mysteriously super long line outside of an unmarked warehouse. To our surprise, we found out that the long line of 70+ people, some of whom traveled long distances, were all waiting for a chance to visit a pop up clothing)/shoe boutique (Fear of God) for an interactive shopping experience and for a chance to buy very expensive street clothes.
We then found ourselves at Little Tokyo, where we passed the time doing some of our favorite vacation activites of grocery shop browsing and shopping at Daiso located in the Japanese Village Plaza. We tried a yummy honey korean pancake from a food truck for breakfast part 2.
For lunch, we went to the popular Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen restaurant. Although the build-your-own ramen shop was more pricey than what we were used to, we really enjoyed dining in an atmosphere that resembled the typical ramen shops in Japan. Then for dessert, we headed off to Uji, a taiyaki dessert place in the mall that we had been eyeing all morning. It was worth the wait - so satisfying with its deep matcha flavors, perfectly complimented by a taiyaki full of nutella. Wish we had room to eat more of them!
We then made a quick stop at Five Below, Walmart, and La Fonda (again) before returning the car and heading out to the airport. Time for a long day of flying and the start of our long awaited New Zealand trip. See you on the other side of the world!
