Welcome, welcome to the final part of an epic solo adventure in California. In Part 1 we shared the madness of the Girl Boss Rally and foodie adventures , Part 2 saw us head out of the city in search of some spiritual peace.

So here we are, the final jampacked days of the trip – just a #TeamCoco writer, access to the internet for Uber, Yelp and recommendations powered by jet lag and caffeine!

FRIDAY

7am: Up and out (jet lag, my old friend!) means Yelp-ing the closest open coffee shop which just happens to be the fantastic Go Get Em Tiger (4630 Hollywood Blvd).

Caffeinated, we discover that it’s entirely possible to walk up to the iconic Griffith Observatory from where we are. So we did.

8am: Winding through the Hills, hearing snippets of agents’ conversations about how they can get their guy to be the ‘next Gosling’ and catching glimpses of wild back gardens of villas that smell like eucalyptus and thyme, we could be in a dream.

8:30am: We pass a pink villa and are on the dirt track to the observatory itself with Los Angeles a sprawling dusty but sparkling city below. Dog walkers (who we are sure have Golden Globes in their bathrooms at home) cheerily say hello.

9am: How on earth it is so hot at 9am in early March, we have no idea. After recouping in the shade we realise the Griffith Observatory doesn’t open for hours so we console ourselves wandering around the outside perimeter pretending we’re in La La Land and grab an Uber back down into town.

11:30am: We head to the incredible The Broad museum (for more on this click here) . In between Jeff Koon’s balloon dog, Andy Warhol’s Marilyn and Roy Lichenstein’s pop art we queue for Yayoi Kurama’s Infinity Mirror Room. Check out the WRDSMITH street art just outside (the cover image for this post)

1:00pm: We’re met at Grand Central Market for a quick tour, an Egg Slut sandwich and green juice. After nosing in the stunning Bradbury Building we’re off again to another iconic destination…

4pm: Arriving at Crumbs & Whiskers (7924 Melrose Ave) , LA’s first rescue cat cafe we know we’ve come to the right place to recharge our literal and figurative batteries.

Since opening last autumn 50 amazing kitties have been adopted from this location. Armed with a cat brush and toys we set about making friends and trying not to fall in love with them all. This was impossible.

6:30pm: Back to the Farmers Market LAand we grab a flight of local beers and some live music, getting up the energy to hit the famous shopping centre, The Grove (189 The Grove Dr) for last souvenirs from Sephora and independent magazines from Barnes & Noble.

8pm: We finish the night with dinner at The Grove outlet of gourmet burger heaven Umami Burger. We had the trio of sliders and some more of those delicious truffle fries.

SATURDAY

7am: The waking pattern continues and we are once again up with the larks, enjoying the $5 off voucher we got sent from Go Get Em Tiger from our breakfast the day before!

Fuelled up, we idly look at the local area and realise that we are a half hour walk away from one of the most iconic high schools in America; John Marshall High which you might recognise from the Buffy The Vampire Slayer film and 100s of other pop culture music videos, TV shows and films…

9am: Again, consulting the map we realise there’s a coffee shop just down the road so sauntering along we stumble across the incredible ‘Make Art Not War’ mural by Shepard Fairey (on the wall of Baller Art Ware, 3714 Tracy St Los Angeles) . Not something you see everyday!

10am: After coffee in Square One (2630 Hyperion Ave) we are in another cab back to Venice for brunch at hyped spot Gjelina (1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd) – the blueberry pancakes are worth the wait for the communal table and we have a great chat with the chap sat opposite about vintage shops!

1:30pm: Back to Los Feliz to check out of our low cost hostel PodShare as we’re going big for our last night in town.

But first gel glitter nails at new, impossibly cute Korean nail bar Pink Baby for You (1718 N Vermont Ave) and late lunch with chorizo, pork and beef tacos on the patio at Tacos Tu Madre (1824 N Vermont Ave)

6:30pm: We check in at hip French hotel chain Mama Shelter ( 6500 Selma Ave) and head up to our spacious room, complete with Star Wars lamps and another view of the Hollywood sign.

8pm: A relaxed pizza and cocktail evening night out in Culver City at Wildcraft (9725 Culver Blvd) is just what we needed as the clocks change tonight and we’re up early for the final piece of our adventure puzzle…

SUNDAY

7am: Teaming up with a friend we dare each other to wake up early early to get a cab out of the city to Pasadena to check out the huge once monthly vintage, furniture and bric a brac flea market at the famous Rose Bowl.

8am: At first we felt foolish getting their so early but the early bird catches the worm and the vendors appreciated that we were serious buyers, not people just looking for a day out.

After some amazing impulse buys (when else might you get to be the owner of a vintage, velvet and sequin mariachi hat?!) we indulged in an authentic breakfast burrito and watermelon lemonade.

2pm: After late check out from Mama Shelter, who graciously looked after all my purchases, I headed to much hyped Sweetgreens (6115 Sunset Blvd) for another accidental vegan lunch (in my defence there were too many options to customise my chicken salad and I took one option too far!)

A final coffee of the trip is needed so I popped next door to Rubies and Diamonds (6115 Sunset Blvd) for their famous sea salt cold brew which sounds like it shouldn’t work but it definitely does.

4pm: There’s just about time for a run around the fantastic Hollywood Urban Outfitters in quirky mixed use space Space 15Twenty (1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd)

Then a quick drink on the roof of Mama Shelter which boasts 360 views of this crazy city (including THAT sign!) that has looked after me for 10 days and hopefully inspired me for much longer than that!

Author

Living on the sunny Kent coast you'll find Anna tracking down the best new coffee shops and craft beer dens. With a penchant for vintage, she's more likely to be exploring thrift stores than Bond Street but she'll never say no to a little touch of creative luxury.

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