Going to LA has been a huge dream of mine for so many years. I have always dreamt of visiting the City of Angels, strolling through the sunny streets surrounded by palm trees, exploring hidden Malibu beaches, hiking in the Hollywood Hills, & watching those sparkling city lights at night from the top of a mountain...

In April, I made the decision that I would finally go to LA this year; I made a commitment with myself to go to where my heart so desperately wanted to go. And I knew this trip would be special.

Something inside of me knew that I would meet extraordinary souls and learn so many valuable life lessons along the way.

I had no idea when or how it would happen, but I knew for sure that I had to go to this city. So I wrote it down into my daily journal and promised myself that this would somehow work out.

The law of attraction makes no mistakes. What you send out, your eventually attract into your life; by your vibrations, your feelings, your thoughts, your belief system and your deepest emotions connected to those beliefs, by your mindset and your expectations. It brings you whatever you ask for, whether consciously or unconsciously. 

Fast forward 6 months later and I was walking through the streets that I had envisioned myself visiting so many times in my head before... I went to Santa Monica Pier, sat in the soft sand and watched the waves playing whilst listening to the calming sound of the ocean.

The dream became my reality. 

Using the law of attraction to make it happen

I get asked a lot on my Instagram about how I use the Law of Attraction to create the life of my dreams. How I am able to travel so much and turn all my visions into reality.

The answer is quite simple: I Ask. Believe. Take action. And Receive.

That is all there is to it.

And that's exactly what I did. Coming from a place of expecting & feeling abundance flowing into my life, I sent out the wish into the universe to visit this special place in 2017.  I knew with certainty I would somehow make it happen. I had no idea at what time or how exactly it would work out - but I thanked the universe for turning my vision into reality and forgot about it. One day, I stumbled across this sustainable eco travel agency called Mañana Travel on Instagram, checked our their website and contacted them immediately. A few days later, whilst sitting at university, I received an answer.

They asked me to pick one of their destinations and invited me to stay at one of their hotels to learn more about their green eco standards.

 I decided to go to LA.

We picked a time (for me, the only option was September since this is the only month that I actually had time off from uni) and I booked the flights a few weeks later.

Where I stayed

I stayed at my friend's house for the first 2 nights before checking into the Ambrose Hotel in Santa Monica, CA.

What I loved most about this hotel was probably its location; you still got the feeling of those LA city vibes whilst at the same time being close to the ocean. With the hotel's own electric car (which is 100% eco-friendly!), it was only a 10-minute-drive to Santa Monica Pier where I spent most of my afternoons soaking in sunshine and vitamin sea, meeting locals, listening to their stories and shooting for Ark Swimwear with my talented friend Dave.

After 3 nights at at the Ambrose Hotel, I moved back into my friend's guest house in Brentwood where I stayed for the last 7 nights before heading back to Germany (where I am currently living). I feel beyond grateful that I got to connect with one of the kindest, most inspiring, radiant and genuine souls I have ever met in my life so far who let me stay at her place which quickly felt like my second home.

I am forever grateful for you, Sara. I learned so much from you by listening to your words, & simply by being around you.

My Los Angeles experience

During those 11 days, I mostly stayed in the areas of Santa Monica and Brentwood, but of course I also went on a few trips to see more of this beautiful city. For one day, my friend Roald (a local) and I went for a drive & hike along the west coast of Los Angeles.

The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. Standing one step away from the edge of the coast, looking down on this endless, shimmery blue of the sea whilst the afternoon sun slowly starts setting, turning everything into a warm orange, life stopped for a moment. Time didn't exist in that very second. There was just me, and the infinity of the ocean.

Another day, we went to Malibu and spent our time laying at an almost empty beach, talking about karma and rebirth, listening to transcendental sounds and watching the sun kissing the surface of infinity... eventually becoming one with it.

  If you plan to go to LA, you should definitely put:

⇢ a hike in the Hollywood Hills

⇢ strolling around the Hollywood Boulevard (gives you this very special LA vibe)

⇢ visiting Malibu and spending a whole entire day there

⇢ Venice beach and the area around the skater park

⇢ walking up Runyon Canyon and watching the sunset from the top

⇢ going to all the vegan restaurants you can possibly squeeze in during your stay

⇢ Santa Monica Pier 

on your list.

I know there are many more landmarks worth visiting but these are the ones I have been to that I can definitely recommend going to. I can't wait to see even more parts of this city in the future.

LA Food Guide

When visiting LA as a vegan, it's hard to decide where to go for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are plenty of vegan or at least vegan friendly restaurants and the options are pretty much limitless. I forgot taking pictures of most of my meals whilst there because I always enjoyed the moment with the people I was with so  that I didn't really feel like bringing my camera or taking pictures of every single meal. However, I still want to tell you which restaurants I can highly recommend.

➢ Café Gratitude - Beverly Hills, Hollywood → I know, I know. It's so cliché. The hype around this restaurant is huge. So I had to go there to convince myself. Now I know why everyone is talking about this café. It's heaven, not only for herbivores. The interior is very minimalistic which I absolutely love, everything looks clean and bright and you immediately feel relaxed when entering this place. I heard that the location in Venice is supposed to be even nicer, so I need to go there another time. If you ever get to go there, do yourself a favor and order extra Tempeh on the side. It will change your life.

➢  Gracias Madre - West Hollywood → this fully vegan restaurant offers a variety of delicious Mexican style meals. I can highly recommend their homemade tortillas with guacamole as a starter (so good!) and basically all of the bowls they offer. But you can't go wrong with anything on the menu, really.

➢  Real Food Daily - West Hollywood → Ahh! This place makes the best vegan buddha bowls you could possibly ask for. You can choose from different sorts of grains (like white rice, brown rice, quinoa, rice noodles etc.), legumes (chickpeas, all sorts of beans), steamed veggies and a protein source like baked/ sautéed tofu, tempeh etc. As you can probably imagine, I went for tempeh (because tempeh is pretty much my life).

➢  Veggie Grill - Santa Monica → This vegan chain restaurant was super close to where I stayed, so I had to got there at least once. Their vegan burgers, salads and bowls are insane. Do yourself a favor and go there. It's a must.

➢  Eat by Chloe - Silver Lake → What is better than a Whole Foods Market? Exactly. A fully plant-based restaurant next to a Whole Foods Market. Yep, stepping from a little food haul right into a fancy restaurant and ordering hands down the best burgers, salads and juices is every person's dream. Oh, and the Greek salad with chickpeas, olives and herbed tofu feta? Omg.

➢  The Hive - Santa Monica → this place is not fully vegan, but it veganizes any dish on demand. I had the kale salad with cherry tomatoes, quinoa and extra kidney beans + corn on the side, served with lots of avocado, crushed almonds and hemp seeds on top - seriously, I have no idea what the dressing was but I think it was a creamy cashew one. I need to make this salad at home by myself asap. As a dessert, they have chocolate chia pudding with berries and they also make the hands down best açaí bowls I have ever had in my life so far. (This picture is also featuring their turmeric shots. Super healthy, but not a recommendation when it comes to taste, not gonna lie).

So these are my main restaurant recommendations. Maybe more food pictures will follow soon (I guess that's a hint ;))

LA, it was a blast.

This trip for sure has been one of the most valuable experiences of my life so far and I feel beyond grateful for the universe working it's magic and connecting me to the kindest souls in this city on the other side of the planet. 

After coming back, I quickly realized that this saying is oh so true...

Home is not a place, but a feeling.

LA, I miss you.

I miss walking to hidden beaches,  I miss watching your beautiful sunsets in the best company, I miss the friendly and open-minded people, the vibe, the sunshine. 

 I miss feeling so very connected, present, safe, grounded. I miss the version of myself I turn into, the person I become when I am over there. I have a feeling that this city will be my home one day...

I still can't believe how everything somehow worked out perfectly, how everything just fell into place. The people that I met, the places that I went to, the things I learned about myself... Looking back, everything makes perfect sense.

I can't thank Mañana Travel enough for inviting me, for making all of this possible.

Before you go...

Thank you for following my journey.

For reading my words, and hopefully, taking something from them. Always remember that only you are in charge of your own life. You are the creator of your own destiny. You can make big things happen for yourself. Nothing is certain; and thus, everything you wish for is within your reach. It lies in your own hands. You just have to keep dreaming. Keep believing. Keep working. Luck is preparation meeting opportunity. You do the preparation. The universe delivers the opportunities. That's all that there is to it.

Always keep this in mind...

You are sitting on a giant rock spinning around itself, floating through space, orbiting around a giant ball of fire.

Everything is possible. 

Limitations do not exist.

Love & Light,

Laura

♥

Thank you to Mañana Travel for inviting me to LA.  As always, all opinions expressed are unbiased and my own.