City Sleek Chic - a blog by Tiffany Cruz: PHOTO DIARY

Currently writing this on a Friday night. Today's schedule was jam packed - had school, a photo shoot with some filming, then off to dinner. All that fun stuff so I am posting my last day in LA a little bit later than usual. My apologies! ;) Anyway.. This last minute three-day trip to the west coast was pretty interesting. In a good way. As I've mentioned (or as what the title hasn't directly stated), I did travel alone to this big city for the first time. It was.. eye-opening. Everyone around me had asked if I was scared. You know, being a girl and all without knowing anyone. I was actually not, despite being a very introvert person. It was a trip both for pleasure and blog-related (kind of?). The thought of meeting new people, who I've only talked to through social media, was the very exciting part. For me at least.

The night before my last day, I didn't get back to the apartment until 2:30 AM Pacific Time. I was literally up for 20 hours. Don't get me wrong, it was a fun-filled day but.. I was dead tired by the end of the night. That didn't stop me from waking up super early though. Again, I was already up at six in the morning so as per usual, I walked to the nearest breakfast place called Wanderlust Cafe. The decor was to die for! I was probably their first customer as I had this back patio all to myself. For about ten minutes. I ordered their Avocado on Toast (it was my first time trying it) and an iced coffee. Delicious!

After eating breakfast, I went back to the apartment to get ready and start my day. I was planning to check out the beaches because I thought there might be less people in the morning. Changed my mind last minute. My energy was still drained despite having coffee. I had thought of taking a nap though before meeting someone and head to the Getty Museum. Then I realized it might not have been the best idea because there was a really high chance that I'll sleep throughout the day. So I didn't.

Spending time with someone new at a different city stresses me out a little. Mostly because I get too shy to take my camera out and take pictures of everything. Especially when they've lived there for a while. I don't wanna feel like such a tourist, which I am, so I purposely took the train (they call it the "tram") up to the museum. That way, I had some time to myself and get comfortable having my camera out.

Everything about this place was breathtaking. The architecture. The art. Every detail of it.

AND THIS VIEW WAS AMAZING! On day two, I had the opportunity to see a panoramic view of the city during sunset and after. Now I got to see it during the day. We've probably walked outside at least three times then it finally hit me. THIS IS LOS ANGELES. I'M HERE. STANDING ON ITS SOIL. THIS IS REAL. That's when I felt like I didn't want to leave yet. Like I haven't seen any of it. That I definitely have to go back.

After hours of walking around, we decided to grab lunch at Sonoritas Prime Tacos. They say since you're in LA you have to try their tacos. Apparently it's one of the best. Then again, LA food have lived up to my expectations since I've arrived. I surprisingly didn't go to any mainstream places. Except that one time at Starbucks. That was my first stop while I was walking up to Hollywood Blvd on my first day.

Once the food had settled in my stomach, I was contemplating whether to go to the beach or not. After a good ten minutes of talking about it, I decided to check it out. I told myself I'd probably regret it more if I didn't go than if I went. I also thought that if I didn't, everyone in Toronto will tell me, "You went to California and didn't even go to the beaches?!" I stayed there for about an hour, taking pictures, being a tourist, by myself. It was kind of lonely. But whatever.

While on my way down to Santa Monica Pier, my Uber driver told me to visit 3rd Street Promenade. So I did after my quick stroll on the pier. Checked out a few places but nothing caught my eye really. Plus the US exchange rate is pretty bad so I didn't even bother. Cool place to shop though. There were street performers and some were in costumes. It was the night of Halloween anyway.