Until I visited USC last March, I had never been to Los Angeles. When I arrived in LA for my campus visit, I knew very little about the city beyond its idyllic depiction in La La Land, a movie which left me excited to have those quintessentially LA experiences seen in the film.
After my visit, I realized why all of my family had told me that I’d have plenty of things to do in LA. Though I’d known it was a big city, I’d had no idea how massive it was– how many different neighborhoods there were to explore, restaurants to try, museums to enjoy, and beaches to tan on. I can honestly say I was a bit overwhelmed. How would I make time to enjoy this incredible city while also keeping up with my school work and getting involved on campus?
Going to new places in and around LA has become one of my favorite ways to spend my freetime. Looking back on my year, I’m really satisfied with the number of places I’ve been able to go, but for every place I’ve been I’ve found five new places to check out. In the rest of this post, I’m going to talk about some of my favorite spots, from Malibu to Griffith Park.
Beaches
As my friends know, I’m a bit obsessed with going to the beach. And by obsessed I mean I get cranky and complain when I haven’t seen the ocean in two weeks. Because of this, I’ve spent many weekends on various beaches in the area. Santa Monica and Venice are great because of their accessibility– you can take the Metro line that goes right past campus straight to Santa Monica. However, I’ve also journeyed further away to Malibu (north of LA) and Laguna (south of LA). Both beaches were gorgeous, much quieter than Santa Monica, and perfect places to destress for a few hours. Definitely would recommend!
[/cs_text][x_columnize]
Celebrating the end of our first semester of college at Laguna Beach!
My friend Lindsay and I surfed a point break called Surfrider Beach in Malibu!
Hikes
One of my favorite places to hike in LA has been Runyon Canyon. It’s a loop that’s only a couple miles and looks out over Hollywood. Pro-tip: try to go earlier in the morning on a weekend, it’s not too far from campus and is a great way to motivate and start your day! Plus, if you’re a dog person there are plenty of dogs out and about at all times. Another hiking spot that’s close to Runyon is Griffith Park. There are many trails in the park, though I always find ones that lead up to Griffith Observatory, a beautiful building made famous in La La Land. Take any trail up, but I’d recommend going closer to sunset and watching the sunset from the observatory. Bring a flashlight so you can find your way back down or take one of the many buses back to the parking lots.
[/cs_text][x_columnize]
That moment when you realize you’ve finished the uphill part of the Runyon Canyon hike!
My friends and I hiked to Griffith at sunset and I managed to capture this sick picture on the way up!
Restaurants
It’s undeniable that LA is a foodie’s paradise. I’ll share two of my favorite spots to eat with you. The first one is Apple Pan, a little diner serving delicious burgers and fresh pies. It’s a cash-only, counter seating establishment. Get a hickory burger, fries, and a slice of banana cream pie!
If you know me, then you know that I’m a huge fan of ice cream. I firmly believe that Salt & Straw serves some of the best ice cream in the country– and there’s one only twenty minutes from campus. Try flavors before making a decision, and get a waffle cone (you won’t regret it)!
Museums
My parents are both artists, and because of this I’ve been to many different museums in my lifetime. LA has many world-class museums which I’d encourage you to check out! My favorite is the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which features tons of modern art including works by Picasso (my favorite artist!). Another awesome museum is the J. Paul Getty Museum, which is situated on a hilltop looking out over all of LA. Enjoy the views and be sure to check out the sculpture garden!
Finally, I’ve also checked out the Getty Villa on a field trip with my Engineering Freshman Academy class, where we enjoyed the ancient Greek and Roman art and architecture and learned about the museum’s unique construction to protect the art from earthquakes.
This is the Getty Villa! My Engineering Freshman Academy class went here with our professor to check out the art, architecture, and engineering feats of the buildings.
Though I’ve been to many places there are still so many more to explore! Stay tuned to see where my next adventures take me!
[/cs_text][/cs_column][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/5″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_custom_headline level=”h5″ looks_like=”h5″ accent=”false” class=”cs-ta-center” style=”color: hsl(0, 95%, 18%);”]About the Author[/x_custom_headline][x_image type=”circle” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Miles-Kay-ISE-2021.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/miles/” title=”” target=”blank” info=”popover” info_place=”bottom” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=”Miles Industrial and Systems Engineering ’21”][cs_text class=”cs-ta-center”]Miles is a sophomore studying Industrial and Systems Engineering. Click above to find out more![/cs_text][cs_icon_list][cs_icon_list_item title=”@milesvkay” type=”instagram” link_enabled=”true” link_url=”https://www.instagram.com/milesvkay/” link_title=”@milesvkay” link_new_tab=”true” style=”font-size:18px;”]@milesvkay[/cs_icon_list_item][/cs_icon_list][x_gap size=”50px”][x_custom_headline level=”h5″ looks_like=”h5″ accent=”true” class=”cs-ta-center” style=”color: hsl(0, 95%, 18%);”]Check it Out[/x_custom_headline][x_image type=”thumbnail” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/engineering_mechanical_3042380_cropped.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/study/industrial-and-systems-engineering/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][x_button size=”mini” block=”true” circle=”false” icon_only=”false” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/study/industrial-and-systems-engineering/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””]Industrial and Systems Engineering[/x_button][x_gap size=”30px”][x_image type=”thumbnail” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/los-angeles_1.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/free-time/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][x_button size=”mini” block=”true” circle=”false” icon_only=”false” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/free-time/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””]LA Life[/x_button][x_gap size=”30px”][x_image type=”thumbnail” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/USC-campus-Hahn-plaza.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/orgs/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][x_button size=”mini” block=”true” circle=”false” icon_only=”false” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/orgs/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””]USC Campus Faves[/x_button][/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”] [/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row inner_container=”false” marginless_columns=”false” class=”cs-ta-left” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column bg_color=”hsla(0, 27%, 74%, 0.03)” fade=”true” fade_animation=”in-from-bottom” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_custom_headline level=”h2″ looks_like=”h3″ accent=”true” class=”cs-ta-center” style=”color: hsl(0, 96%, 23%);”]More From Viterbi Students[/x_custom_headline][/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_recent_posts type=”post” count=”2″ offset=”” category=”” orientation=”horizontal” no_sticky=”true” no_image=”false” fade=”true”][x_recent_posts type=”post” count=”2″ offset=”2″ category=”” orientation=”horizontal” no_sticky=”true” no_image=”false” fade=”true”][x_recent_posts type=”post” count=”2″ offset=”4″ category=”” orientation=”horizontal” no_sticky=”true” no_image=”false” fade=”true”][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]
