In October 2022, I was interviewed on the podcast Life Hacks LA. If you are unfamiliar, the host Stefan–a fellow Los Angeles lover–shares tips for hacking the best of Los Angeles. He is knowledgeable about this city and has enlisted fellow L.A. fans to talk about the place they call home. I am proud to be one of those L.A. fans. In the 30-ish minutes that I was interviewed, I…
Santa Monica
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Urban Hike: Santa Monica to Venice
Once upon a time, I helped friends train for the Camino de Santiago—a pilgrimage walk in Spain–covering 500 miles/804 km. To prepare, they would plan out local Urban Hikes of at least 10 miles. In Los Angeles, this involves a lot of planning. Many of…
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Starline Tour: Malibu Celebrity Homes Tour
I love doing research for this blog. Writing This Ugly Beautiful City has given me an excuse to explore Los Angeles and do some things I didn’t do as a tourist. Activities like buying a star map or taking a hop-on, hop-off tour of the…
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Where to eat in the Bergamot Station area of Santa Monica
East of downtown Santa Monica is more residential. Hiding between the homes, office parks, and apartment buildings is an unassuming foodie destination. This has a lot to do with all of the offices in this neighborhood. This is the area of a lot of tech companies,…
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Where to eat on Main Street Santa Monica
It is only logical that I head over to the Main Street/Ocean Park area of Santa Monica after my exhaustive post of downtown. This section of Main Street is a sort of limbo area between downtown Santa Monica and Venice. Its stretch of mom-and-pop shops…
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Where to eat in Downtown Santa Monica
Although the tourist area in Santa Monica is going through some growing pains, there are still a lot of places to grab a great bite to eat. Whether you are coming to the pier and promenande as a tourist, or going to your office job…
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Santa Monica Time Travel: Annenberg Community Beach House Tips
One does not have to travel too far from Route 66 or the Santa Monica Pier to travel back to Santa Monica’s past. Just off the Third Street Promenade are the Fairmont Hotel and Bungalows, where contracted players from MGM stayed, including Greta Garbo. In…
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Santa Monica 101: The Santa Monica Pier
This is where the iconic Route 66 ends. The song, (Get Your Kicks) On Route 66, popularized by Chuck Berry, talks about this super-connected interstate that winds its way across this country, ending at the tip of the Santa Monica Pier. In this post, I…
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Los Angeles, take-out guide part two
Continuing on with my Los Angeles, Safer at Home take-out guide I start a little in reverse. I begin my recommendations where the meal ends, with dessert. I continue with drinks and then get into tasting menus. Again, don’t read when hungry. NOTE: Many of…