Many years ago, a fellow travel friend told me you need to die to get out of the industry. She was not wrong. Once you spend the bulk of life assessing what makes people happy and trying to plan activities for them that balance fun, education, pacing, & pricing, it never leaves you. In a lot of ways, approaching everything with that M.O. tends to put needed structure around complicated life moments.

Anywhoooozle…

The main reasons why I love LA are the overall aesthetic (style, architecture, approach) and the endless opportunities to do pretty much anything. I have insatiable intellectual curiosity, which makes me want to know about ALL OF THE THINGS. You’ll never see everything in LA and that’s the side of the city that I love sharing.

If you come to visit me, this is basically what you’ll get:

• Movie, Museum, Art Installation, or Something Cultural
• A ride in an autonomous vehicle to a super cool lunch place (because you need to do it once)
• Massage
• Apero at a cool wine bar
• Nap
• Fancy Dinner
• Post dinner festivities at some kind of evening event or place that doesn’t open up until late

All of the above will be in a neighborhood the tour buses don’t go to. It may necessitate a subway ride but – trust me – the public transit experience here is a lot more seamless than my experience on the East Coast.

Here’s a smattering of activities

Low Key Picnics & Hosting

LA is an incredible food city – not only for the artistry and variety of cuisines but also for the freshness. I’ve stopped getting upset stomachs since I moved, which has been a game changer.

McCall’s – I get a delivery 1x per month of seafood, meat, veggies & fruit, plus snacks and wine. It’s basically the Formaggio Kitchen of LA but much more casual.

Trader Joes – This is the official caterer of every Hollywood Bowl and Hollywood Forever show.

Santa Monica Seafood – The BEST retail seafood experience with Whole Foods coming in a close #2. It’s hard being a former New Englander who could just get fresh fried clams at any pizza place.

Vinovore – BEST.WINE.SHOP. end of story

Movies

Since this is an industry town, most visitors want some kind of film experience. While the Walk of Fame is literally my neighborhood, I like to show something a little less obvious:

Hollywood Forever Cemetery – Grab a picnic basket and watch a movie under the stars.

Vista Theater – Just so you can tell people you got a snack at Pam’s Coffy

Brain Dead Studios – Super eclectic films, cool music, decent concessions

Massage

Honestly, most places are great & you can just walk in but I like these 2:

Sawadee Thai Spa – Right off the subway in Los Feliz

Blossom Spa – great fruit plate post service

Lunch/Snacks

Alcove – Perfect california lunches with huge cake slices

Miss Melbourne – Australian…say no more <3

I know this list will grow as more things pop up. Stay tuned!