One Day in LA

Last week Bryan and I ventured out to Little Tokyo and its surrounding areas. That day was the beginning of a series of scorching days but we were able to make due. The city is so much different from my familiar suburban setting but going out of town is always a breath of fresh air.

Our first meal of the day was at a little hole-in-the-wall store called Bento Man where we ordered a beef bowl which consisted of rice, beef, and onions. Afterwards we made our way into the Little Tokyo mall and found Cafe Dulce. The cafe's green tea donut was something that I was looking forward to trying on this trip. It was priced a little high for my liking but I enjoyed it a lot. We headed into a small supermarket next where Bryan stocked up on snacks like green tea Oreos and I had him try the green melon popsicle.

We intended on stopping by at the James Irvine Japanese Garden after taking a break in the car to hide from the intense heat. Bryan wasn't feeling his best that day as his legs were in pretty bad pain as a result of working out beforehand. He suggested driving around the city and to see what we could find instead.

Our next stop was the Los Angeles Fashion District which I had heard good things about. We coincidentally parked next to Michael Levine, a fabric store that I was very excited to see in person. The store was a little overwhelming like a lot of its type are due to its large inventory but the fabrics were sectioned off. I did not intend to purchase anything but it would be really nice to have a fabric store with such a large selection like Michael Levine does back at home.

Sadly, the fashion district itself didn't appeal much to us and the heat really deterred me from wanting to walk around it for too long. The district's little cluttered shops made me desire good old-fashioned retail stores in malls and so I suggested stopping by at The Grove next. Sadly, the route there was quite horrible as roads were blocked off in addition to the city streets already being so congested.

Instead, we made the relatively lengthy trip down to Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade. The day was already getting pretty late by then so we didn't have much time to spend there (luckily parking was free because we were there for under an hour). I fell asleep for the majority of the ride home which took about 2 hours because of the evening rush hour.

Overall, the day didn't go as I imagined and I felt really depleted of energy thanks to the heat but it was enjoyable nonetheless. There are just so many things I haven't seen and experienced yet that are all actually very close to me. My surrounding areas do become a bit mundane after so long so I loved going to somewhere new-ish.