California Travel Guide Part I: Venice Beach and The Kinney Hotel
It has been exactly one week today since we got back from California, and I'm honestly already planning a trip back! While quick vacations are nice, it's almost impossible to see and do everything in a matter of five days, especially when you split your time between multiple cities. I've decided to break the trip up into two blog posts, and today I'm doing everything backwards and focusing on the second half of the trip!
So we spent two nights in San Francisco, and then flew to LAX and spent two nights in Venice Beach. I had been to Venice Beach when I was much, much younger (like 8th grade younger), so I was SO excited to spend more time there! While it's not your typical California city, Venice beach has SO much personality, so I couldn't wait to spend more time there!
First things first, as soon as we got to The Kinney we spent some time exploring the hotel. Trust me when I say, this is THE most picturesque, Instagramable hotel that I've ever seen! I loved all of the bright, fun colors! Everywhere you look there's another picture perfect spot, including their three HUGE murals (one of which takes up the walls of two different floors). The first night, I actually had a friend from school come by and the very first thing she said upon walking in the door was how the entire hotel was an instagram waiting to happen! haha
After exploring the hotel for a bit, the obvious next step was to get food! We lucked out, and found the cutest spot less than 100 feet away from our room! The tacos at The Sunny Spot were to die for, and the Pina Colada's were impressively strong! We loved the food and the atmosphere so much that we actually went back the next morning for brunch! Having tried a couple of different things here, I've come to the conclusion that you really can't go wrong, and that their bottomless mimosas are simultaneously the best and worst decision we made during our trip. Also, if you're there after brunch time, their fish tacos are heavenly!
Our obvious next step was to head to Venice Beach! After walking down Abbott Kinney a bit, venice beach was still only a $6 uber, and about a half hour walk back! When we got there, we weren't quite sure what to do, so we explored until we found the cutest German style beer garden! I actually can't remember what it was called, but with the blue and white checked tables on their patio and giant beer glasses, you can't miss it! I literally felt like I was back in Germany!
As soon as we got home from the beach, it was time to get ready to go out! The Kinney is one of those places that looks completely different at night because of their fun neon lights, so I couldn't help but snap a couple of quick pictures before heading out! When we did finally make it out, we went to the rooftop bar at Hotel Erwin, and it was a blast! I'm an idiot and only packed warm weather clothes, and they even had heaters AND blankets! They were a bit pricey as far as drinks were concerned, but if you're looking for a good place to start your night out, I would say to start there!
While I didn't spend too much time in the room if I'm being honest (mostly because there is SO much to do within walking distance) I can't write a post about this trip and not mention how AMAZING these rooms were! For real, if I were to design the perfect hotel room, this might honestly be it. I don't think I have ever been so in love with a wall before. Also, I really didn't want to leave because the bed was SO comfortable. To be real, I can't remember the last time I slept that well! I still daydream about the fun, bright colors and the luscious, cozy robe!
Our last day in Venice Beach was spent exploring and trying to see every last thing that we may have missed! We spent some more time wandering around The Kinney and got a couple of shots with their super cool HUGE mural that takes up an entire side of their building, and then we headed to In N Out and picked up a couple of burgers (try the double double animal style with no tomato or pickles protein style if you're looking for a lighter, lower carb option) and brought them to the beach! While this was definitely one of the cheapest meals of our trip, it was also probably one of my favorites because it was so good while still being super casual and low key! I'm not going to lie, I'm still a little mad they haven't opened an In N Out here in Nashville yet!
I had an absolute blast in Venice Beach, so much so that I'm already trying to find an excuse to go back so let me know what your favorite spots are, I would love to add them to the list for next time! If you liked this post, stay tuned, because I will have the second half of my California trip, my San Francisco travel guide, up next Wednesday!
XOXO,
Olivia