I'm so excited to be visiting the west coast for the first time! I have always lived on the east coast and the only western cities I've visited are Denver and Las Vegas. I spent my first day in California in Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades. My takeaways from day one: The weather is amazing, the people are way more laid back, the traffic is real.
What I Did:
My first stop was the Palisades Village in Pacific Palisades for lunch and some shopping. I had brown rice sushi and yerba mate from Vintage Grocers. The sushi was very fresh and delicious. Palisades Village is so nice, I highly recommend a visit. I wanted to visit The Little Market and the Anine Bing store. They were both gorgeous and perfectly curated.
Next I drove a few miles down the coast to Santa Monica. It is much more touristy than Pacific Palisades, but I loved in nonetheless. The beach goes on for miles and there is a very nice boardwalk for running or walking along the beach. There is an outdoor shopping mall on 3rd St that goes on for many blocks. There is also a small amusement park on the pier. There is definitely enough going on to keep you busy all day!
What I Packed: Weather is in the low 70's with no humidity (basically room temperature) so you could be comfortable in shorts and sweater, or jeans and a tank top, a jumpsuit, bathing suit, whatever. I wore a striped henley, denim shorts, white sneakers with high ankle socks, and my chain & bar earrings (I linked outfit details below).
Getting Around: Once you get to Pacific Palisades or the Santa Monica pier area, you can get around by walking. In order to get there from LAX you will have to drive or uber. There were a lot of people on rented bicycles and electric scooters riding around town and on the boardwalk at the beach.
