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LA: What We Did + Silver Lake, Los Angeles Travel Guide

When Mr. Seasons and I planned our trip to Los Angeles, we were strategic about selecting an AirBnb in a location that would lend itself to some walking. Think: morning coffee, evening dinners, farmers’ market, etc. Yes, Los Angeles is a driving city, and we drove plenty (made easy with Turo!) but we also spent a lot of time on foot.

During a trip to LA in January, I stumbled onto the Silver Lake neighborhood, and quickly became a fan. Mr. Seasons and I targeted this neighborhood in hopes of walkability. And it didn’t disappoint! At the time, I didn’t plan on creating a travel guide (otherwise I would have taken more and better photos!) but on the plane ride home, I realized I had found something worth sharing. There are so many great spots packed in a small, walkable radius, that I thought this information would be helpful for those planning a future trip.

Before I get into that though, I want to share a few other things we did in and around the LA area.

Our AirBnB was super cute, but not as functional as I hoped. Namely there wasn’t a proper coffee pot and the outdoor furniture was very uncomfortable. My vacation fantasies always involve drinking my morning coffee outside while basking in the sun, so you could see why this was a bit disappointing for me. Overall though we still enjoyed it. The location was hard to beat.

one.

We flew into Burbank, and the first thing we did was pop over to our friend’s Paul and Jaana’s to say hi! (And in case you missed it, they just started a funny and honest new podcast that my husband and I are both hooked on.)

No pics of the boys, sorry guys!, but we had to sneak in a pic with our other best bud Paige.

After getting in all the chatting, hugs and jokes we could with Paul, Jaana and their son Stevie (he asked to hold my hand, this was a highlight of my trip!!!), we headed into LA to visit my cousin and her sweet boys. I didn’t take any photos because, generally, I don’t like to share the private lives of family and friends online. But rest assured they are an adorable family with three little boys living their best life in inner LA. It’s always a treat to connect with my spread out family when I can.

Later that night, we met up with one of Mr. Seasons closest and oldest friends and his fiancé for a fancy dinner because these guys just turned 40! Forty is the new thirty, right? Isn’t that what we’ve all been saying for the past decade?

The food, the wine and the company were all excellent. Afterward, we walked a few blocks to the aptly named Afters for dessert, a new-to-me-phenomena called a Milky Bun.

A delicious sticky bun with the ice cream flavor of your choice in the middle.

two.

The second day of our trip happened to be Easter, and we thought it would be fun to visit a local church. We asked a friend for a few recommendations and found ourselves at Zoe Church.

It was an interesting experience, visiting a large church with a ‘celebrity pastor.’ It was beautiful to be able to worship in a totally different setting with totally different people on Easter Sunday.

After church we had a quick, unremarkable brunch (all the good places had lines and we didn’t have the luxury of waiting) and then headed toward the beach, or as we like to say in Oregon, the ‘coast.’ We spent some time visiting with more extended family in Redondo Beach, and then headed up the coast to see what else we could see.

After a little exploring we headed home (through traffic, a few miles can take a loooong time in LA) and had a late ramen dinner at Silverlake Ramen.

three.

Mister Seasons is a big movie buff, and on the third day I indulged his passion with a studio tour at Warner Brothers in Burbank. It was pretty extensive, and covered many sets, studios and movie trivia. Highlights for me: seeing where much of Gilmore Girls was filmed, the outside of where Ellen is currently taped, and seeing a few props from A Star is Born. The Batmobiles were pretty cool too.

Sets used for a variety of movies and shows, note the modern building in the background and the tour trolleys in the foreground.
Stars Hollow! Pretending I’m a real-life Gilmore Girl.
Batmobile driven by Christian Bale during the Dark Knight Trilogy.
My favorite birthday boy.
The dress Lady Gaga wore when singing I’ll Never Love Again in A Star is Born.

The ‘crown jewel’ of the Warner Brothers tour is the Friend’s set, where you can line up and take a photo. I’m not a massive Friends fan, but it was fun to grab a pic!

After the tour, we’d worked up a good appetite and decided to grab lunch at sandwich hotspot Wax Paper. Unfortunately they were all out of bread for the day by the time we got there (2pm) so we opted for the salad versions. They were good, but we were hungry about thirty minutes later.

Wax Paper sandwiches are named after NPR personalities. Mr. Seasons is a big Marketplace fan.

After lunch we took a little stroll around Echo Park Lake and watched people paddle across on giant swans while the local water fowl looked on.

Heading to LA, I knew every brand and indie designer I could possibly want to shop at would be there, but I set the goal to shop as little as possible. In the past, any time we traveled, I was all about the shopping. But since switching my mindset on shopping several years back from ‘frequent and cheap’ to ‘fewer, better,’ I’ve lost my desire to spend my precious vacation hours shopping. I had one place on my bucket list (Christy Dawn) and that didn’t work out, so I ended up poking my head into a few shops that were in Silver Lake.

It was really fun to see and touch some brands and pieces I’d only ever seen online before.

Tried on the gorgeous Duffy Jumper at Midland Shop. Really cute, but I didn’t get it.
Popped into Clare V to check out their gorgeous bags, including this one that I love (but didn’t get).

Between shopping and dinner we walked through the neighborhood a bit. One of my favorite things to do when traveling (and at home too) is walk through neighborhoods and look at the different house styles. An added California bonus: the desert climate and plant life is fascinating to me because it’s so different from the the lush Willamette Valley where I live.

For dinner we hit up another Silver Lake restaurant recommended by a few people: Night + Market Song.

Let me just say, it was quite the experience. The wait was insane (on a Monday night, no less), but the people watching almost made up for it. I saw various groups meeting for wine and dinner, some loud and some intimate. I spotted an actress from a show I used to watch, and a couple of women who seemed recognizable (someone had their picture taken with them) but I wasn’t sure who they were. The food was really good, comparable to one of my Portland favorites of a similar style (PokPok). By the time I left, I was definitely tired.

four.

The next day we checked out the local farmer’s market, just down the street from our AirBnB. I didn’t grab any photos, but there was lots of local produce goodness! My favorite were the oranges.

For lunch, we stayed close and ate at Forage, also in the Silver Lake neighborhood. If we had found this one sooner, we definitely would have eaten there twice!

After lunch, there was one more store I wanted to pop into – the Odells. Mostly because we had walked by it each day to get coffee and I was curious.

Loved these and bought them both! Top by Paloma Wool, jeans by Mother Denim (they run big).

Later that night we headed to another neighborhood spot for dinner, the Black Cat. It was a fun place to eat a lingering meal, share some drinks, and enjoy each other’s company. I had the ricotta gnocchi and the black kale salad (one of my favorite kale salads to date!).

Overall, we had such a great time in Silver Lake, and I would definitely stay there again. I wouldn’t call it kid-friendly, but there is a lot of fun stuff for grown ups in a small, walkable radius.

Where to Eat + Shop in Silver Lake, Los Angeles

SHOP:
The Odells – hip Brooklyn mom meets LA, featuring brands like Paloma Wool, Mother Denim
Yolk – unique home goods, kid and baby gifts
Midland Shop – earthy home goods and clothing, featuring brands like Esby, Ilana Kohn and Sugar Candy Mountain
Clare V – leather bag makers
Mohawk General Store – high end, featuring brands like Black Crane, St. Agni, LOQ
APC
PF Candle Flagship Store

EAT:
Forage – fresh eats, seasonal, Californian
The Black Cat – looks and acts like a cool bar, makes food like a pro restaurant
Night + Market Song – “Thai drinking food”
Pine and Crane – highly recommended Taiwanese-Chinese restaurant
Silverlake Ramen
El Condor – lively Mexican restaurant, traditional dishes, great happy hour
Silver Lake Farmers Market – every Tuesday and Saturday
Intelligentsia Coffee – Cannot recommend this coffee enough. Their daily brew is outstanding. I might go back just for the coffee.

If you live in or near Silver Lake, I’d love to hear your input on local places to check out! And just in case you missed it, you can find all the details on what I pack and wore in right here.

7 thoughts on “LA: What We Did + Silver Lake, Los Angeles Travel Guide

  1. What a great trip, thanks for posting! You are luring me ever closer to a Paloma top purchase. You keep finding whimsical and beautiful ones to share. A friend of mine moved to LA a few years back to work for Zoe church with his wife. Despite it having thousands (10s of thousands?) of members, he is literally standing in the back of this photo. Too funny.

    1. Oh my goodness, that’s too funny!! What are the odds! Happy to share my love for Paloma Wool with you, so many good pieces! Thanks for stopping by Shannon!!

  2. Your travel posts always leave me yearning for a west coast trip! My partner so rarely has time off, so for now we are confined to our 2-3 hour flight radius for the weekends…

    1. Oh that is tough! I would like to travel farther too, but it’s too expensive with a big family! So I feel ya.

  3. Looks like a fun trip! What size did you buy in the jeans? We typically wear the same size, so I’m curious. Thanks!

  4. Thank you for sharing! Nice to see a different side to LA and so much healthy looking delicious looking food!

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