In the early morning on Friday, my sisters and I said goodbye to our cousin and then rented a car to drive to Malibu. To celebrate Natalie’s birthday, we brunched at Duke’s, a restaurant with incredible views of the Pacific Ocean.
Between the fish tacos and the soy-laden sandwiches, I was allergic to 99% of the menu. I had a Caesar salad—aka two shreds of lettuce with a shaving of Parmesan cheese—while Jen and Natalie ordered cream cheese crab wontons.
The restaurant surprised Natalie with a massive piece of ice cream fudge pie, big enough to share amongst the three of us.
Having eaten enough chocolate to warrant a trip to the dentist, we left Duke’s and drove to Pepperdine University a few miles away. The highest point of campus overlooked miles of water and the mountains in the distance.
From Malibu, we drove to Santa Monica to drop off our suitcases at our friend Emily’s apartment. We planned to go bowling at Lucky Strike in Hollywood, but the rush-hour traffic had us arriving later than hoped, and the venue has a strict underage policy after a certain hour.
After pulling off the 405, we came across a small comedy club just as the doors were opening for the 8pm show. As we sat in the front row and scanned the crowd, it was obvious that we were the only white people in the audience, making for a hilarious evening (the comedians frequently stopped to explain jokes to us). A Los Angeles Clippers player was there, too!
Emily had school all day on Saturday, so Jen, Natalie, and I went out for a late breakfast at Jinky’s Café in Santa Monica. We ordered everything from red velvet pancakes to coconut-crusted French toast—it was delicious!
Afterwards, we drove to Venice Beach to walk along the boardwalk for a bit then went to Melrose Avenue. Initially, we thought we would watch the game at The Parlor, a Ravens bar, but it was packed by the time we were in the area.
We shopped in Westwood at the original Brandy Melville store and ate ice cream sandwiches at Diddy Riese.
We watched the sunset from the Santa Monica pier, then picked up Emily before going to a Persian restaurant, Javan, for dinner.
It was another fun day!
Every view is absolutely beautiful!! I need to go there … and get that ice cream sandwich! YUM!
A friend suggested Diddy Riese and the ice cream sandwiches were incredible (and cheap!).
Soooo jealous I can’t take it! What’s the weather like there right now??
It’s actually pretty chilly–high 50s! It’s warm with the sun, but this is supposedly one of the coldest winters that California has ever experienced. It’s supposed to be in the mid-70s by the end of the week (of course after I leave!).
Oh my GOD I love Duke’s! And Hula Pie :) And DIDDY RIESE! I lived in Westwood for a summer during college when I was interning in LA and I would go there EVERY week. I loved it! Hope you’re having the best trip! (It’s in the 40′s up here in SF too!)
Diddy Riese was SO good! I’m sure if I lived close by I would go on a daily basis!