hollywooooooood

HOLLYWOOD SIGN (N Beachwood Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90068)

Hollywooooood! Yup, that's how the recorded announcer says it on the Hollywood bus, which is kind of a nice reminder of where I live these days! A MUST do on your to-do list of LA, is to visit the sign. Back in the day it read HOLLYWOODLAND, advertising a new housing development. Over time, the 'land' fell down and, well, the rest is history... Firstly, you can't get right up close and personal to the sign, but you can hike up to the ledge right below it, or hike up just above it. I've done the latter trail, and my friends and I decided to take a shortcut and scaled a cliff to get there. I probably wouldn't recommend doing that though...

FYI: drive up Beachwood all the way until you can't go any further, you'll come to a point where Sunset Hollywood Ranch is on your left, park somewhere around there. If you head towards the right, you'll find a little spot where most people take photos from, or follow the trail right around on the left and keep on going to get a closer look. Seriously peeps, there's no point coming to Hollywood if you haven't seen the sign!

flat whites

COFFEE COMMISSARY (801 N Fairfax Avenue #106, Los Angeles, CA 90046)

If, like me, you know what real coffee tastes like (Melbourne knows it's shit!), no doubt you will be desperate for a decent coffee when you land in LA. You'll easily find a monopoly of Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf around town - but don't bother! You could try Intelligentsia (recommended to me before my arrival), but in my not so expert opinion, Coffee Commissary is the place to be. No doubt you'll hear at least one Aussie accent, as we all hang out there! If you are a Flat White fan, be warned - no matter where you go, ask for a latte with no froth - and even then you'll likely just get a latte. Americans just don't know a real flat white!