The City of Angels

For the majority of August, I’ve been away travelling; letting myself get lost in adventures and exploring the most beautiful surroundings this world has to offer. Up until now my travel posts mostly revolved around Europe or Australia, but now I’m so lucky to add another continent to that list. I made it all the way to America, and boy did I have fun!

After 14 hours on a direct flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles, there was nothing more beautiful than seeing palm trees and the coastline just as we started to land. I knew from the moment we disembarked that we had left the winter weather behind us, as a warm breeze and the sun’s rays welcomed us to summer at last. I’d never been to the US before and it was also my very first time travelling with my DSLR, which I was super impressed with.

Los Angeles was absolutely gorgeous! I was so excited to photograph perfect looking streets lined with palm trees, the most amazing mountains and intertwining freeways in the distance. The City of Angels had it all; the excitement of Hollywood Boulevard with its Walk of Fame, glimpses of old Hollywood glamour through the windows of historic restaurants on Santa Monica Boulevard, and the sight of the Hollywood sign when you least expected it. Just a short distance away were its stunning beaches where you felt like you just walked onto the set of Baywatch. 

For me, there were two highlights from my time in California. One was taking a tour out to San Diego and visiting the amazing zoo they have. Catching a view of pandas and flamingoes was extraordinary and made the long bus ride totally worthwhile. Ever since I drew my first Mishka Collection greeting card, I knew that it’d be great to see a real panda someday. The two sleepy pandas that day mostly sat with their backs to the people the whole time, but thankfully one of them moved and I managed to get a brilliant snap of it!

The second highlight was going to all the various film related sights in and around Burbank. I am such a movie-fan and find it so interesting to visit sets, movie premieres and film studios. Warner Bros. Studios and Universal Studios were both incredible! With each of them they take you on a narrated tour around the working studios and show you where certain movies from the past and present were filmed. At Warner Bros. I got to hold a real Oscar, sit on the actual couch from the hit series Friends and see the current set from 2 Broke Girls. There was also an exhibition about Batman and Harry Potter, which were awesome. Universal Studios was my favourite place in L.A and apart from seeing Wisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives, walking through a real-life Springfield and exploring a mini version of Paris, London and NYC, I also got to be in the background of Extra! and see Mario Lopez filming!

All in all, California and its people were so warm and beautiful and their lifestyle makes me want to pack up my bags and return for a second visit! Admittedly, getting around the city without a car is extremely difficult, but thankfully their Metro system was quick and efficient albeit not as widespread as it needs to be. People recommended riding on the Uber network, but fortunately for us we had our lovely relatives there to show us around. Los Angeles, with its glitzy Rodeo Drive and ultra-cool destinations for culture such as The Getty Museum and the Walt Disney Concert Hall, will always hold a special place in my heart.