This is not really a top ten (or top 12) list. You could say it is twelve ideas of things to do, or to avoid, on a vacation in the Los Angeles area or a staycation.
The L.A. metropolitan area is the home of world-famous attractions like Hollywood, the original Disneyland, the original Universal Studios and, of course, In & Out Burgers. But, as your favorite travel blogger, you can count on me to find some other lesser-known fun things to do.
I went there recently on a quick 5 day trip with my parents. This was a museum and restaurant trip, and here is a diary of some of the things we did.
Day 1
Ice cream
Like everyone, if you arrive too early, the hotel often misses – failing to have your room ready for your arrival. Instead of sitting around bored in the hotel lobby, we decided to explore a bit, and one thing led to another and we wound up getting some frozen yogurt. Where’d we go? Yozen Frogurt in Westlake Village. This was a fun place because you could serve yourself, making any combination desired from around two dozen flavors. It was especially fun because they also had seasonal flavors, like pumpkin spice. We then went to the room to relax for a bit and then get dinner
Yözen Frogurt
2900 Townsgate Rd, Westlake Village, CA 91361
(805) 230-3800
The Stand
For dinner we went to The Stand. That’s a counter-order, table-delivery medium-fast food restaurant. It served some interesting twists on American classics. I got a short rib, grilled cheese and a blueberry lemonade and liked it a lot. The blueberry lemonade was not super sweet, but it was very fresh. The short rib grilled cheese was very filling.
The staff was really great too. My college’s football team was playing in its bowl game at the time (the “Guaranteed Rate Bowl” in Phoenix). My Dad requested the switch channels on one of the video screens so we could watch the game. After a few minutes, they did! But too bad my team lost. Oh well!
The Stand
966 S Westlake Blvd #3, Thousand Oaks, CA 91361
(805) 277-2772
Day 2
Harvest at the Hyatt Westlake Village
For breakfast we decided to get try out Harvest, the hotel restaurant, because we had a food credit with our room. I got the chicken tinga, which is a Mexican dish with tortillas, refried beans, chicken, eggs, and sauce. It also came with a side of hash browns.
The chicken tinga was super good. Unfortunately, the hash browns were …. how do I put it gently … absolutely terrible, awful, the worst ever. They were a little bit crispy on the outside (good) but oddly mushy on the inside. They came with everyone’s meal and no one liked them. Maybe they were frozen and reheated a few times to get that mushy interior. Who knows? All I can say is if you go to Harvest, avoid the hash browns!
Also, I ordered a smoothie, and was surprised when the wait-person just brought over a bottled smoothie, not something kitchen-prepared. This was a disappointing surprise.
Harvest
880 S Westlake Blvd, Westlake Village, CA 91361
(805) 557-4710
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum
The Reagan Presidential Library & Museum was really interesting. I got to learn a lot about President Ronald Reagan. Historically speaking, he was very popular, and it was interesting to explore all the exhibits. They also had the real Air Force One jet, which was Reagan’s airplane during his presidency. That was really cool.
There also was a special exhibit on the Auschwitz concentration camp while we were there. There was a separate ticket to get in because it was a traveling exhibit. It really did not fit in very well with the theme of the museum, which after all was about President Reagan. But I thought the exhibit was was really interesting, although a bit too long. It was also way too crowded. I wish we had spent less time there and more time at the library/museum.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum
40 Presidential Dr, Simi Valley, CA 93065
(805) 522-2977
Nonna Italian
We went to an amazing restaurant for dinner – Nonna, in Westlake Village. Everything at this place was amazing. The highlights were the cacio e pepe and the butter cake for dessert.
Nonna
951 S Westlake Blvd #102, Westlake Village, CA 91361
(805) 497-8482
Day 3
Museum of Tolerance
We tried out one of the newer, and lesser known museums in the Los Angeles area – The Museum of Tolerance at the Simon Wiesenthal Center. This museum is all about struggles that people face and how you yourself can live a happier and more fulfilled life being tolerant of all people. They had a special section on the holocaust. It was a well-produced multimedia journey, and was very informative, but sad. The only thing is that I wish we had had time to see the special Ann Frank exhibit, which we missed because the museum was closing by the time we went upstairs to see it. I want to go back someday to see it.
Museum of Tolerance
9786 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035
(310) 772-2505
Ox Bone Ramen
For dinner we tried something casual – a ramen place. I had never had ramen. I tried beef ramen. I like it a lot. It was filling and comforting. There was also a really good avocado and truffle crispy rice for an appetizer. The crispy rice was my favorite.
Ox Bone Ramen
30869 E Thousand Oaks Blvd, Westlake Village, CA 91362
(818) 532-7396
Day 4
Cici’s Cafe
This is a brunch place I wanted to try. Christy and I went for brunch on our last full day. I wanted to try the soufflé pancakes at Cici’s Cafe. It took 30 minutes to make. I got the lemon twist ones. It had whipped cream and strawberries on top. I like them a lot. Way softer than normal pancakes. I also had an after taste of lavender which tasted like soap a little bit. That was the only downside to the pancakes.
Cici’s Cafe
30990 Russell Ranch Rd Unit B, Westlake Village, CA 91362
(818) 874-3391
Getty Villa
Of all the museums we went to, I have to say this one was my favorite. It had a lot of ancient Roman and Greek art. I was pleasantly surprised. My favorite part was the beautiful and elaborate Roman garden.
Getty Villa
17985 Pacific Coast Hwy, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
(310) 440-7300
Pepperdine University
Since we were in Malibu we decided to go to Pepperdine. Their campus is spread out on the hills above Malibu. It was really pretty there overlooking the ocean. So, Pepperdine students: how do you focus on exams with that view!
Pepperdine
24255 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90263
(310) 506-4000
Brent’s Delicatessen & Restaurant
For dinner we decided to try the restaurant next to the hotel – Brent’s Delicatessen & Restaurant. This was a New York / Jewish style deli. With it’s huge Dad-sized portions, this place surprisingly turned out to be one of Dad’s favorite restaurants on the trip. The portions were so huge huge and we had take-out leftovers for the car trip home the next day.
I also got to try chocolate egg cream. It was chocolate and milk with sparkling water and was really good. I want to try to make a version of it in my dorm.
Brent’s Delicatessen & Restaurant
2799 Townsgate Rd, Westlake Village, CA 91361
(805) 557-1882
Day 5
We had to leave this morning but we got bagels for the trip home from.
East Coast Bagels Co.
The bagels from here were fresh, huge and fluffy. We also brought some home to have in our house. My favorite was the salted pretzel bagel.
East Coast Bagels Co.
1014 S Westlake Blvd #2, Westlake Village, CA 91361
(805) 494-9099
So, here were a dozen fun things to try in the L.A. / Hollywood area. Amazing food, interesting museums, and fun relaxing time together. I want to go back and explore more of LA.
