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1. hollywood 2. mulholland drive 3. santa monica pier at sunset 4. griffith observatory & trails
after planning this trip i'm pretty much an expert in california tourism.
some neat things to do in LA:
rent a car from enterprise (it's surprisingly cheap), eat at as many korean restaurants in k-town as possible, see a sit-com taping (the less funny the better), get all your friends who live in la to come out to a bar called happy endings (actually, pick a different bar if you can) and try not to get too drunk since your friend is exhausted and has to drive your butt home in the rental car and you'll feel bad in the morning, get up early the next day with superb mexican for breakfast (i don't remember where, sorry) which makes up for that hangover and go see the hollywood stars and beverly hills and drive all the way up mulholland until you feel as nervous as the first time you watched the movie, stop at the chateau marmont to try to have a drink (but the bar was unfortunately closed for a private party, we still poked around the ritzy pool, felt like imposters) on the way to drive way west to visit your aunt's friend you've never met and learn all the pro tips on la burger joints (in n out v. umami), taste test that in n out burger (turns out it's overhyped, shoulda gone with umami), sneak around the secret canals in venice, pop by santa monica pier and drive through some quaint shopping streets on the way back over to ucla and hang out with some bros (and their impressive cologne collection), get one of them to promise to take you to a flea market the next day over late night pizzas, then meet your host for even later night korean food and fall asleep at the table in front of all her friends, laugh about it, cry about it, whatever, just please let me sleep.. wake up and head to the wiltern theater (which has awesome views if you happen to be lucky enough to have a friend whose nonprofit office is up on the twelfth floor), then get picked up in a black mustang and hit the flea market on melrose (open every sunday) to buy some crystals and other rare artifacts, drink a few margaritas and head over to griffith park to do some observing and hiking in flats and a dress. when you get to the top you get to sign your name in the little geo-note book and take a business card with horses on it. it has a handwritten bible quote on the back and feels important, but it might just be the dehydration and vertigo. if all that hiking and photo taking wears you out, $10 all you can eat korean bbq will be the perfect finish to the day. then you can sleep in a little, just make sure to return the car before getting a ride out to malibu for a picnic on the beach which turns into a picnic in a park because the beach is cold and windy but hey we can still see it from over here and there's no sand in our eyes. fall asleep in the car on the way back, wake up feeling a tinge sunburnt, get thai for dinner with giant menus and giant singhas, talk about social justice and how hard it must be to live in la without a car (not too hard, she claims) and say your goodbyes before boarding an 11pm greyhound bound for san francisco.
