Day 30 – downtown LA in a day (July 12th)

The next morning Lauren and I got some exercise paddle boarding in the harbor (so much fun!) and afterwards headed north to LA to stay for a couple of nights with my good buddy Gerald at his loft downtown.

We stopped at the Irvine In and Out Burger for lunch (love me some In and Out) and were in LA by the early afternoon.

Much of the following 48-hours are a bit of a blur... Gerald is a fantastic host... and an exhausting one! If he set out to show us all of the hot-spots in LA in one weekend, he may have been successful. If pressed, I'd say the first day went something like this:

*Rooftop Gin and Tonic's at the Standard Hotel (first stop on the "Places Way Out of My Cool-Range" list)

Rooftop deck at The Standard (looks like trouble)

*The Ping pong room at The Standard (I didn't realized these types of places existed) to brush shoulders with one of the next top chef competitors.

*Perch Rooftop Bistro for more roof top drinks (and more panoramic views of downtown LA). Also, dinner #1.

I think I gained 20-lbs over the weekend...

*Parish for more drinks and dinner #2 (my duck was a little over cooked but Lauren's Roasted chicken was killer!)

*Silo Vodka bar for an in-freezer private vodka tasting

Thankfully, they provided parkas with the tasting

*Another bar (maybe?) for more drinks

*Botega Louis for dinner #3

-->SLEEP

A fantastic first night in LA--thanks Gerald!

-Dan