Have you ever considered traveling to the sunny state of California? If so, here are a few places that are definitely worth visiting!

I ventured all the way to California specifically to craft the perfect tour guide. Even though I had been there before, my latest trip consisted of newer sites and places of interest. Ranging from places to eat and beaches to hang out in, here were my discoveries:

While in California, I tried two of the latest Tik Tok trends, Erewhon Market and Din Tai Fung. Erewhon Market is an upscale grocery store that caters to celebrities. They are well-known for their outrageous prices, and more recently; the smoothies. There is a famous smoothie called the strawberry glaze smoothie, which has been trademarked by model, Hailey Bieber. The price of the smoothie is $18.00, and it isn’t particularly large in size. To see what the hype was about, I tried it out myself. Although $18.00 is expensive for a smoothie, I personally understand why people have gone out of their way to purchase this. The taste was very good, and I found it to be quite filling. I can see this being a suitable occasional treat. 

Another popular trend recently has been a Dim sum restaurant known as Din Tai Fung. I ordered the most popular items on the menu, recommended by Tik Tok, as well as the waitress. These items consisted of cucumber salad, garlic string beans, xiao long bao, chicken dumplings, spicy wontons, spicy noodles, and sesame noodles. For dessert, we tried the chocolate xiao long bao and the chocolate bao buns. All of the food was enjoyable and fairly affordable considering the restaurants’ popularity and location. Personally, the highlights of the meal were the garlic string beans, spicy wontons, and the chocolate xiao long bao.

Lastly for recommended food places, during the trip I frequently visited Porto’s Bakery & Cafe, which has various locations throughout Los Angeles. Every location that I visited was full of customers. The bakery is very famous in the LA area, for its high-quality service, food, and drinks. They have an incredibly wide range and everything I tried was very good. Honorary mentions would be the passion colada smoothie, strawberry matcha latte, spicy pepper and cheese potato balls, and cheese rolls. 

My favorite attraction that I visited would have to be Venice beach. It had lively energy and the entire town was very nice. At the beach, there are various things to do such as skateboarding, rollerblading, playing basketball, and touring the boardwalk. There are several food options and shops available. Additionally, I visited a popular tourist attraction called the Grove. The Grove is essentially an outdoor mall that has several restaurants and shops to choose from. It is a nice area, and even has a vintage-looking AMC theater.

One thing about California is that there is something suitable for everyone. Although I enjoyed the lively atmosphere of Venice beach, many people may prefer a smaller quiet beach town. For this environment, I would recommend Laguna Beach and Redondo Beach. Redondo Beach has a small boardwalk and beautiful scenery. It is very serene and has less of a chaotic vibe. Laguna Beach is a small beach town with local restaurants and shops. It is a bit more of an upscale environment, as well, in comparison to Venice.

There is so much to do in California, and this is only the smallest portion. Visit for yourself, and see if you like it!