Cuppa Connections Ep. 20: Day 6 - Adventures in Los Angeles, CA; We Felt Like We Were Anthony Bourdain In 24 Hour Layover

This episode is about the LA vibe for us on day 6. It was a whirlwind of a day in sunny California. 

Cate and I stayed in the perfect Airbnb in West Hollywood, two blocks from one of the best coffee shops in LA, Kings Road Cafe.

Join in on our fun and adventures as we navigate through LA traffic to drop off our luggage in West Hollywood. Then, drive to downtown LA to pick up one of our crew so we could drive to the Griffith Observatory. After that, we stopped by the coolest neighborhood, known as Los Feliz, and then hustled back through rush hour to make our dinner reservations at La Piazza in The Grove. All in few hours. Did I mention rush hour. 

I felt like I was Anthony Bourdain from 24 hour layover.  It was a wild and crazy day, but we had a blast.

We hope you enjoy the ride.

Transcript

Portia: 0:00

Hey guys. Welcome to Cup of Connections. I'm Porsche and we're here coming to you from our virtual cafe, better with a cup of coffee. We are savoring relationships with coffee lovers around the world and sharing their experiences that have been better with a cup of coffee. Hey guys, what's going on? It is day six to our road trip and we left the Grand Canyon.

Cate: 0:25

Which was hard because the Grand Canyon was just breathtaking, even though it whipped my butt.

Portia: 0:33

Yeah.

Cate: 0:34

But I would do it again. Because next time I wanna, we take a trip specifically for the Grand Canyon. We do a little camping. We hike all the way down to the bottom and just explore the bottom. That's what I want to do.

Portia: 0:52

Yeah, that's what she wants to do. I wanna do it as well. When we move to Arizona, we'll have access to that.

Cate: 0:59

Yes.

Portia: 0:59

And on all of those surrounding states. So California, Los Angeles is about seven and a half hours. No.

Cate: 1:07

It was seven.

Portia: 1:08

It was about seven.

Cate: 1:09

Yeah. About seven hours. It was seven hours.

Portia: 1:10

It was of course breathtaking, as I said, for her to just keep her eye on the topography. Because it changed.

Cate: 1:18

Yes, it did.

Portia: 1:19

You drove all the way. So you tell'em what happened.

Cate: 1:22

No, it was just, Just another drive.

Portia: 1:24

Oh, please. You know it wasn't just another drive. Driving to dog on cross country or LA before. She was nervous as heck. I'm gonna tell ya that right now.

Cate: 1:32

Oh, I was, you know, California traffic is crazy.

Portia: 1:36

That's what I told her.

Cate: 1:36

You know, here I'm from the triangle of North Carolina, Cary, Raleigh, Durham, and that traffic has gotten worse over time.

Portia: 1:46

Not like LA though.

Cate: 1:47

But. True. It's not like LA. So I was a little nervous, I drove the whole way from the Grand Canyon to California. Mm-hmm.

Portia: 1:57

And so proud of her. She didn't even want me to drive.

Cate: 2:00

No. I was like, I got this. I was like, look at you. I can do this. So you know it was desert.

Portia: 2:07

It was.

Cate: 2:08

It was flat.

Portia: 2:09

It was hotter.

Cate: 2:10

On the way. It was warmer.

Portia: 2:11

Mm-hmm.

Cate: 2:12

Yeah. Not a lot of greenery. I'm used to greenery.

Portia: 2:15

It's true, but I still like, I love the desert. You know.

Cate: 2:19

The desert is cool.

Portia: 2:20

I forgot to tell you about the gas prices.

Cate: 2:23

Oh my gosh.

Portia: 2:24

There was one time.

Cate: 2:25

I thought they were joking. I really did.

Portia: 2:28

We, I think the worst was when we arrived in Los Angeles. And of course when you were in Los Angeles, everything is more expensive.

Cate: 2:36

Yeah.

Portia: 2:37

So it was.

Cate: 2:38

Of course.

Portia: 2:38

That was when I believe we hit about a hundred dollars, a little bit over a hundred dollars for, um, a tank of gas.

Cate: 2:46

A tank. And we stopped at this gas station and I saw a car with North Carolina plates. It was an older couple. But I get out and I talk to him. Where are you guys from? They're like, oh, where are you from? And told'em, and I think they might have been from Charlotte.

Portia: 3:03

I think I remember that vaguely. Didn't they have the little pooch, the little dog?

Cate: 3:07

I think they had a little dog.

Portia: 3:08

Oh yeah, how adorable.

Cate: 3:10

And of course animals. I love animals.

Portia: 3:12

See this is what you get when you are driving and when you're taking road trips.

Cate: 3:17

You get to meet people.

Portia: 3:18

So many different cultures within our own country. You don't even have to step set foot on a plane to go outside of our country to meet so many different personalities, cultures, and it is so diverse. And that's how we, we felt when we entered into Los Angeles. I've lived in Los Angeles for 12 years and then Huntington Beach for the last year of my existence in Southern California. You know, Southern California, there's no other place. First of all, there's no other place like California because it's extremely diverse. Uh, from the north, uh, central, the desert to southern California, the beaches, warmer climates and things like that. In Los Angeles, you have Chinatown. You have. You have Filipino town. You have Armenians, you've got Russians, you have, uh, you have so many cultures there. You're in a different world. You know, we were in California for four nights. Mm-hmm. two nights in Los Angeles, and then two nights in the desert. I wanted to do something different. Mm-hmm. But one thing I did know, was that I wanted to get an Airbnb in in like West Hollywood, because there's this coffee shop that, that's one of the reasons why I've grown to love coffee so much. And, it's the Kings Road Cafe.

Cate: 4:40

Really?

Portia: 4:40

It's on Kings Road and Beverly.

Cate: 4:43

And, they have the best coffee.

Portia: 4:45

The best coffee.

Cate: 4:46

The best.

Portia: 4:47

But lemme tell you, you, it's just, it's so complex and he, and this the owner, he takes pride in making his beans. So I rent, I rented this Airbnb for two nights and it was in West Hollywood. It was probably no more than a couple of blocks away from my favorite coffee place because, and when I worked at the Hollywood Roosevelt, you know, I was just going through some, some trying times and I'll never forget, there were two places that saved me, and that was the Kings Road Cafe and the Grove, the farmer's market there. Uh, those two places because it, it was just so comforting. So that's one of the reasons why I wanted to stay in Los Angeles, right near the coffee shop, uh, when we were there. And then also I wanted to show my wife the farmer's market and The Grove, because it's one of the, still one of the hottest places to go if you want to, you know, just walk around, people watch, I mean a lot of celebrities go there cuz it's just one of these cool places. It is right beside the CBS studios. It's on Third and Fairfax. From the word go, I had booked every single minute. And it was a trying time cuz we were exhausted by the time

Cate: 6:07

Yes we were.

Portia: 6:07

we left Los Angeles.

Cate: 6:09

So we get to our little Airbnb and the guy was gracious enough to allow us to drop our stuff off because, we had to pick some people up. So we get there and of course that cart that Portia has talked about.

Portia: 6:24

Yeah.

Cate: 6:25

Oh my God, came in handy.

Portia: 6:28

Lifesaver. You guys gotta get one if you go on a road trip.

Cate: 6:31

Yes. But we get there. We only, we only have time to like drop off our stuff and then we had to turn around and go.

Portia: 6:38

We had to pick up Lynne. We had to, yes. Elise met us at the coffee shop, Uhhuh and we were off, yes. And running. Yes. I tried to show Cate as much as I could on the, from Beverly Drive going to towards Los Feliz and the Griffith Park area, the observatory area, and then back down around to, uhm, to the Grove. Mm-hmm. Cause we were gonna have dinner at La Piazza. I invited a, a handful of friends.

Cate: 7:07

And Amazing.

Portia: 7:08

It was amazing. So,

Cate: 7:09

but it was overwhelming. But I was, I did not drive. I'm okay with not driving all the time, and just looking around. I mean, it's so vibrant. Yes. And found out Los Angeles never sleeps. All that hustle and bustle.

Portia: 7:26

I left in 2015 and it's gotten even busier. I mean, there are coffee shops. I, I remember there weren't any coffee shops competing with King's Road Cafe, but, uh, up the street probably the, the next block there is the, the Blue Cafe or something like that. Um, so mm-hmm. we were on the go. We grabbed the girls. See these girls? I moved to California, Southern California in, 2000, and it took me seven years to meet real true friends, and that's because, I'll be honest with you back then, I don't know how it is now, if you're in the industry, the entertainment industry, or music industry, you are hustling. You know, who do you know? That's the question a lot of times that, you know, a lot of people, um, were presented with, or, or asked. So I couldn't really decipher like true, true friends. It takes a little time to get used to, you know, all of the hustle and bustle that goes along with the industry. But slowly, but surely I met some great friends, my hairstylist Lynne, and she turned out to be one of my closest friends.

Cate: 8:38

She is fabulous.

Portia: 8:40

She is so fab.

Cate: 8:41

I love me some Lynne. Mm-hmm.

Portia: 8:44

So we picked up those girls and, and

Cate: 8:46

Elise too.

Portia: 8:47

And Elise.

Cate: 8:47

I love me some Elise.

Portia: 8:49

That's my homie.

Cate: 8:50

Yes.

Portia: 8:51

We grabbed those girls and Lynne still had her ear to the ground because she, uh, has a, a salon in Beverly Hills. So she knows all the ins and outs. So we drove to, gosh, we started from downtown where Lynne lives. Then we drove to the observatory.

Cate: 9:09

Yes.

Portia: 9:09

We had to see Griffith Park and.

Cate: 9:11

Which is awesome.

Portia: 9:12

It was awesome.

Cate: 9:12

We couldn't stop because you have to pay for parking now.

Portia: 9:15

And it has changed guys, like when I, when I left in 2015, there are several entrances to the Griffith Park because it is, it is gynormous, but I remember there is an entrance where that big bear, is this a statue? I think it's Ferndale Road. And then there's also the Trail Cafe. Trails Cafe, which is a great cafe by the way. It's a hidden gym, great coffee, great atmosphere. You get your coffee and you get your food, and then you go on a nice little hike. So, Whenever I would go, if I wasn't at the cafe or if, I wasn't, hiking on one of the trails to the Griffith, to the observatory, I would run the street. And along the way we would see, especially in the weekends, we would see people parking a lot from the Griffith Observatory on down. They were just parking on the side and it was free. Now it's paid parking. And it's like, get in and get out.

Cate: 10:15

Yeah. You can't enjoy a beauty like that.

Portia: 10:18

No. I can't imagine what people think about that now, because.

Cate: 10:21

Oh, I'm sure they don't like it.

Portia: 10:23

I can't. Yeah. All I know is that it's just something that was missing. And I was talking to, uh, Lynne, who still lives there, and she, she was talking about that and how disappointing how disappointed people are about it. I'll never forget, you would see families going out there and they would park and they would, hike from the Griffith Observatory on up a little further and, you know, you just spend the day there. Mm-hmm. and you would, you would, um, have picnics and, you know, family gatherings and things like that. And it was one of the free things you could have in Los Angeles. Well, no more, but I mean, it was still fun. Don't get me wrong. It was great to show Cate, and it was great to reminisce. Mm-hmm. but I'm sure some of the people in Los Angeles, you know, having those, that free thing to do was, it's gone. It's, you know, kind of sad.

Cate: 11:14

It is.

Portia: 11:16

So what did you think about the Los Feliz? The little area that I, I was telling you about that I love.

Cate: 11:22

Oh, I was cute. It was a cute little area.

Portia: 11:25

Yeah. It's quaint.

Cate: 11:26

And what gets me is they don't have, I mean, In California, things are on top of each other. Okay. Everything. You're on top of your neighbor.

Portia: 11:36

Yeah. Yeah.

Cate: 11:37

I don't like that, but at our Airbnb, it just felt like we weren't on top because of the, the live fences that they used.

Portia: 11:49

Yes.

Cate: 11:50

Shrubs, bushes, trees, whatever.

Portia: 11:53

That's the beautiful thing about, um, living in southern California, there is hardly any land. True.

Cate: 11:58

Yeah.

Portia: 11:59

And in the neighborhoods, Uh, but the landscaping is how I learned, uh, landscaping and that creativity. You would see that when you would walk through the neighborhoods. And so the neighborhood that we stayed in, stayed in was in um, right up the street from Beverly Drive. Beverly Boulevard rather. And the one thing I mention is that once you're inside your, your house, your yard, you don't notice other people because they have shrubs that are well manicured and they grow up to like 15 feet or what have you. And so you're really boxed in. You have your own little privacy. You have your own little yard. Mm-hmm. And that's the beautiful thing about Los Angeles. So anyway, We drive through Los Feliz, one of the best little nooks Um, the, the cutest little, um, restaurants and eateries you could find. You have, as I mentioned, you could go to a restaurant 365 days out of the year and, and they're all different. The traffic is a problem of course, but you learn to deal with it because there's so many other amenities. Mm-hmm. the weather, of course, is unbeatable. But, picking up the girls, driving through town, seeing gasoline prices at nine plus dollars a gallon was crazy.

Cate: 13:18

Ridiculous.

Portia: 13:19

But when you want something,

Cate: 13:22

You get it.

Portia: 13:23

You get it, you do it. That was one of the lessons for me. Hmm. I mean, we spent a lot of money on, on gas and I knew we did, you know, I calculated the gas. Um, there are plenty of apps out there for people to calculate your own gas, the gas mileage you plug in, uh, your vehicle the year, make, model all that good stuff and exact and, and put in where you're gonna go. And it gives you a pretty good idea of how much money you need to, to spend for gas. And I think it was somewhere around 12. 12, 14, 12 to$1,500, um, for the trip for gas. But you do what you wanna do.

Cate: 14:06

Yeah. Because you only lived once.

Portia: 14:08

Yeah. So we were driving, spending that money on that gas in a big gas guzzling jeep, but we were having a ball and we were experiencing something for the first time together that we have, we've never done. Mm. So then we, go to the, um, the whole foods across the street from the Grove. And it was so funny, my, my friend Lynne, she was like, girl, this is the place where people go to pick up people. You remember that?

Cate: 14:40

Yes.

Portia: 14:40

It's like the new gym.

Cate: 14:42

Oh boy.

Portia: 14:43

Yeah. It was the gym, you know, the gym vibe. She was like, yeah, just wait and see. And so just, we finish that and we go to the Grove.

Cate: 14:52

Oh, I like the grove. I love the atmosphere. It was just relax, do what you want, you know, within reason, of course.

Portia: 14:59

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Cate: 14:59

But, um, yeah. Yeah. The vibe was right, right company. Perfect company, I should say. Perfect company.

Portia: 15:08

Yes. I picked La Piazza in the Grove because it's in front of the, the fountain. And, you know, the fountain.

Cate: 15:19

The fountains were awesome.

Portia: 15:20

It's like, it's, it's like the, the fountain that, uh, goes off to music. Mm-hmm. that shoots off to music.

Cate: 15:26

It changes colors.

Portia: 15:27

It changes colors. And so going there around five o'clock after work hours. That is one of the best people watching spots in the Grove. You know, it's just a vibe.

Cate: 15:41

Mm-hmm.

Portia: 15:41

You know, there's valet parking, there's a parking deck there, so you park there and then you walk straight up. Straight between these two restaurants and you either in La Piazza, you have a upper deck or you have a lower deck. And I've seen so many celebrities just there. I've seen Jason Stanthom and all these other people, you know, if you like that sort of thing. La Piazza is an Italian restaurant and, you call it in advance to really get a good seat. We sat outside and, and just had a ball and, and, and it's one of these places, great customer service.

Cate: 16:17

Mm-hmm. They were the, our waitress was fabulous.

Portia: 16:20

Yes. And so it was a party of, I think it was about seven or eight and it was very accommodating. Mm-hmm. And that's the experience I've always had when, uh, I've gone to the Grove and, and my friends and I in the past have gone to the Grove. So if you ever are in Los Angeles, it is a must see, a must experience, the grove and then the Farmer's market. Farmer's market it is still one of the places that you have got to go if you ever want to experience a live event It is the best place in LA to go and see something like the World Cup. I was there with my girlfriends and they didn't know anything about soccer. I'm the athlete of the group and we, and there was a, there was a bar in the center of it, and now it's called, what's it called bar 3 26, or something like that? So anyway, you go there You know, you have people who are from Brazil and they'll have their, their Brazilian jerseys or the UK or United States or Argentina. And we're all around. There's no seat in the house, and you're just standing around sitting and you're cheering for everybody, but it's not like a hostile environment. It's so much fun because it's just that energy. Because Los Angeles has so many different cultures, and you're all in that one little area. It comes alive like you would never believe. So if you're ever in LA and you want some great coffee, great vibes, you have Kings Road, you've got The Grove and the Farmer's Market for sure. And that was it for our day one experience, which was technically day six in Los Angeles. And then we moved on to our second day in Los Angeles. Stay tuned. Thanks for watching. Thanks guys. I'm Portia White, and I hope you've enjoyed today's conversation. I'd like to give a special thanks to our sponsors betterwithacupofcoffee.com and peeztees.com. If you want to be our guest on our show, email me at cuppaconnections@gmail.com. And if you like what you heard, please rate and review our podcast. And, join us again soon on Cuppa Connections.