Malibu, California

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll see it’s no secret that California is pretty much my favourite American state. I’ve always loved the West Coast (west coast, best coast amirite?). Luckily enough, my job means regular visits to San Francisco and beyond. With a trip to San Francisco pending, I decided to tack on a long weekend in Los Angeles, having never visited the city before and always wanting to. And for as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to visit Malibu.

Leaving on the earliest flight out to LA usually means the most beautiful sunrises en route.

The eagle eyed among you may even be able to spot the iconic Hollywood sign.

Malibu, California

Our first port of call was somewhere I’d been dying to go for a while: Malibu. If, like me, you’re inspired by the delicious looking images of beautiful beaches and people in the area, as well as videos of A-list celebrities’ houses on Cribs, you might want to book a trip too.

Malibu is truly gorgeous and didn’t disappoint one jot. As soon as we got out of the Uber, I well and truly fell in love with the idyllic area. I can see why everyone wants to live here! We took a walk along the pier.

Malibu Farm

Malibu Pier is home to the popular cafe and restaurant of Malibu Farm.

Of course, we’d worked up quite the appetite by now so headed into Malibu Cafe for a bite to eat and a drink. It was delicious – so healthy and fresh, and not a fry to be seen! I picked the chicken, ricotta, and bacon burger and it was so, so good. Liz went for a grilled salmon burger and the fillet of salmon was huge!

It was all guzzled down with a decanter of sangria which was equally delicious. Even better for the beautiful views around us, people watching and barefoot, salty haired surfers who came in for a bite.

Once we’d eaten, we headed down to the beautiful beach to bask in the sun for a while.

We both had a very much needed nap after our early start that morning, before wandering along the beach to do some more people watching and see what was further along the gorgeous and iconic sands.

We saw beautiful houses, and lots of even more beautiful people – surfers with elegant stripes of suncream across their faces, toned and bronzed lifeguards relaxing, photoshoots, and others enjoying the wonderful October sun.

As the sun began to cool a little, we tried to get an Uber and head back into Los Angeles for the evening ahead. With the recent headlines of the terrifying Malibu fire that’s already taken lives and multiple houses, I’m thinking of all those in danger right now and sending my best wishes for this beautiful area.

Santa Monica

Heading back into LA, a sudden fog seemed to envelope the area. We made a quick pitstop at Santa Monica Pier to see the iconic ferris wheel and explore, despite the chill.

We went for a wonder to find some wine, and stumbled across the famous Muscle Beach. It was so bizarre walking along such an iconic area I’d seen on so many TV shows and movies and finally seeing it in the flesh. Some of the moves were very impressive!

Even though there weren’t the blue skies you’d expect from Santa Monica Beach, it was still amazing to see. See the difference in whether when we returned to Santa Monica a couple of days later.

With plenty of wine in tow, we returned to our apartment in Marina del Rey to get ready. We went to the awesome bar at The Bungalow in the Fairmont Miramar. It’s a fun and tropical outdoor bar that was fully decked out for Halloween.

The rest of the night was a wonderful blur.

Have you been to Malibu? Where did you visit?