Los Angeles, strict rules from the Stahl House, lunch at Villa Blanca, and window shopping on Rodeo Drive
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Los Angeles

This time we visited the Stahl House in the Hollywood Hills. The Stahl house was designed by architect Pierre Koenig. His client was Buck Stahl, that’s why it is called the Stahl House. Buck was a former professional footballer who worked as a graphic designer and sign painter. Although there has been some discussion about Buck’s influence on the design, some experts who have seen Buck’s original model agree that his concept gave the direction of the Stahl House. Today, Stahl House is still owned by the Stahl family. Though it remains a magnet for film crews and photographers from all over the world. You have to sign a release before you enter the property. The release contains the following information: "Photography is allowed with a signed release. Only cell phone cameras are permitted. All other cameras or motion cameras are NOT permitted. The Release form is available upon arrival. All photographs are for personal use only. Photographs may not be published in print or electronic form, without the written permission of Stahl House, Inc. No video permitted. No tripods, camera mounts, plugins, clipons or selfie sticks permitted. No photographs may be taken of any photos or copyrighted works on the property”. That’s why we can’t show any images in our compi and vlog. If you want to see some photo’s of our visit you can have a look on our instagram and facebook. That’s for personal use only so that’s where you can have a glimpse of it legally. It was absolutely a breathtaking visit and worth it. You have to buy tickets in advance via the website of Stahl House. We booked the afternoon tour and the light was fabulous for photograpy and the view over LA was amazing!

 
Before we visited the Stahl House we had lunch at Villa Blanca at Brighton Way. The owner of Villa Blanca is Lisa van der Pump, known from the realtity soap ‘the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’. Lisa Vanderpump has created a sexy, stylish and romantic restaurant with a St. Tropez-like vibe with its large patio and its wonderous decor. It is around the corner of Rodeo Drive so you can imagine who is visiting this place to have lunch or dinner or just to have a glass of champagne! We saw a lot of interesting people walking by while having our lunch in this great place. Chanel meets Furla meets Cartier meets Prada…meets plastic fantastic boobs meets botox faces meets high end lips ;-)! The cosmetic surgery was walking by in live versions, very interesting and typical LA-style. If you want to spend more money afterwards you can visit the Kyle shop by Alene Too near Villa Blanca at Brighton Way and Bedford Drive. Kyle Richards is one of the other wives from "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”. 
 
In the evening we ended up on Rodeo Drive. All those beautiful stores with high fashion…we wished we could buy just one piece of Chanel…but window shopping was the only thing for us we could afford. Having happy hour on 208 Rodeo was fun. After a wonderful day in LA we drove back to Torrance and we got the best present ever: We were sent ‘deadheading’ back to Amsterdam the next day. Instead of working we were traveling non-working towards Amsterdam in business class. And after all we got our piece of high fashion: a comfort bag designed by Jan Taminiau for KLM in a special edition. How lucky we were!
Watch our vlog of Los Angeles, strict rules from the Stahl House, lunch at Villa Blanca, and window shopping on Rodeo Drive!

Los Angeles, Abbot Kinney, Dr. Phil & Silver Lake
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Again we discovered new inspiring places when we were in Los Angeles. The day of arrival we went to Abbot Kinney in Venice. A street full of hip and funny shops, nice coffee spots such as Intelligentsia Coffee to have coffee and for lunch The Butchers Daughter is a nice suggestion. We had dinner at The Tasting Kitchen. A small platter of anti pasti and two glasses of red wine for almost hundred dollar was a little bit overrated but the ambiance was worth it.

The next day we went to Hollywood to the Paramount Studio's as we joined a show of Dr. Phil! It was hilarious. We were in the front row. Before Dr. Phil came in the audience was warmed up with music and dancing and we screamed loud to get a Dr. Phil mug. So we got one! The show was about a woman who accused her husband of injecting her with poison every night and abusing their three daughters. In the end it was clear she had a mental problem and it was her own figment. It was great that we experienced a Dr. Phil show. Afterwards we got a slice of pizza and left the set before a second show would be recorded. One show was enough for us ;-)!

We discovered a very nice new upcoming district: Silver Lake. The neighborhood was named after Water Board Commissioner Herman Silver, who was instrumental in the creation of the Silver Lake Reservoir, located within the neighborhood. The Silver Lake Reservoir is fantastic. It is situated near Silver Lake Boulevard and it's a stone's throw from Chinatown, a short bike ride from downtown L.A. and Los Feliz. The Silver Lake Reservoir is about to end its career as a reservoir and begin its new, full-time career as a chill place to hang or whatever. The Silver Lake Blvd is worth a visit. Lots of trendy places surrounded by the Hollywood hills. The audience is hip and young and it is a relaxed place to wander around. Take a break at LAMILL coffee. W. Sunset Blvd is also worth a visit. Don't forget to visit Bar Keeper. It is a cozy shop specialized in high-quality spirits & bitters, vintage glasses & other bar supplies.

We ended our fantastic day on our beloved Manhattan Beach and watched the sunset. Again it was a great trip to our second hometown!

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Malibu & More
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Back in LA after a long flight from Amsterdam. We were walking on Manhattan Boulevard that evening when we met Bob, a ninety year old local, with whom we had a drink at a local bar. That’s the nice thing about travelling: meeting people, having interesting conversations, seeing things from another prospective. Later that night we had dinner, Bob not included, in MB Post were we had a playful, artisan menu of small shared plates. All this being seated at a communal table which was a nice change from the also available booths and standard tables.

The next day we went to Malibu Wines in the Malibu mountains. Malibu Wines is open seven days a week year round and closes only for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Due to low season it was very quiet at the moment we were there. It is a nice setting for a picnic, as you are allowed to bring your own food and non-alcoholic beverages. After this visit we crossed the mountains and ended up in Malibu near the Pacific Coast and had lunch at Paradise Cove. It is a beautiful spot to spend your day on the beach accompanied by lots of sea gulls and the Ahi Tuna was delicious! At the end of the day we drove from Malibu to Santa Monica and visited The Bungalow. The Bungalow has five distinct spaces for people to mingle: The Study, a main bar, an outside deck, a State Room, East Garden for private dining and a game room.

Last day: Los Feliz, where we had never been before, so a new district to visit. It is situated near Hollywood and a part of the Santa Monica Mountains. It is known for its expensive historic homes and celebrity inhabitants. We had lunch at Fred 62. It has a fabulously funky retro-diner interior (you can also spot it in the movie ‘spread’). While having lunch at Fred 62 you can spot hipsters, businessmen, old people and movie stars walking by on Vermont Avenue. Never a dull moment! Los Feliz has very nice little shops, a lot of vintage stores and a small theater. Absolutely a place to hang around. We watched the sunset on the rooftop bar of Hotel Erwin in Venice Beach later that day, covered under a blanket with a nice glass of wine, accompanied by the sun, the moon and the stars. We had a splendid view over Venice Beach, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. At that moment we felt like being on top of the world!

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Los Angeles
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Los Angeles
We headed to the north with our red Camaro via Highway 101 to Ventura. In Ventura are a lot of vintage stores on Main street. We took a ceviche and a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc for lunch at Lure. A nice fish restaurant. Then we drove to Santa Barbara. The Spanish Court building is a must visit spot. The Pier of Santa Barbara was so beautiful in the evening light. We left the rooftop open and drove through the evening back to Los Angeles. We smelled the eucalyptus and sea salt on the road back. Just another day in paradise!

Los Angeles
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Los Angeles
Plopped into the sand of our beloved Manhattan Beach after a long working day. Intensely happy that we are back in our second home town, overlooking the Pacific. The sun, the surf boys who passed by, the cheeky seagull, the smell of the sea and swaying palm trees. Dancing in the sand and enjoying every minute. Los Angeles…we love you so much!

Los Angeles
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Los Angeles
Bloody hot in LA! We drove in our convertible towards the art district in down town LA and walked around despite the heat. Cool buildings, beautiful grafiti and refurbished factory buildings. Cooling down in the Urth caffe on the corner of 5th street. We went down town LA to West Hollywood where we obviously could not avoid a vintage store. With our car with the top down we drove to PUMP (Lisa van der Pump is one of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills). We even saw Lisa van der Pump in person. Then around the corner we party crashed in the famous The Abbey and we ended up in a Christmas celebration in September. Wicked LA! With the rooftop down we drove through the night to Manhattan Beach where we finished the day on the beach with wine, music and dancing in the warm sand!

Los Angeles
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Los Angeles
It was a super trip to Los Angeles again !!! After arriving we went to Manhattan Beach and enjoyed the sunset. The next morning we drove to Big Bear for skiing. A beautiful route through the mountains to Snow Summit. We went skiing for a couple of hours with a temperature of more than 12 degrees Celsius. We drove back through the mountains to Manhattan Beach and ended up in a very nice restaurant Little Sister. A special LA trip with a lot of contradictions: beach versus snow pistes, sand versus snow and flip flops versus ski boots all in one day. What a great new super cool experience we had this time: skiing in LA!

Los Angeles
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Los Angeles
Back in our second home town LA! We had another great trip. Breakfast on Manhattan Beach at Le Pain Quotidien, continued our day with some nice shopping and having lunch on the beach at Venice Beach. We went to the Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood for a great show in the evening. Big names and we met the manager himself. We got free drinks while waiting. Actually there were no more tickets available but he arranged some ticket for us. The girls from the Netherlands did it again! You only have to say that you are coming from far away and doors will be opened! Next week we go back to LA and then we hope to ski in the mountains of Big Bear. Snowstorms on the mountain stopped us last time. So next week hopefully instead of a bikini with sunglasses we will wear ski boots and a helmet. Stay tuned!

Los Angeles
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Los Angeles
In the morning before breakfast we decorated the Christmas tree in our hotel garden. For the first time we have adapted to Dutch time in the States, because our breakfast consisted hummous, vegetables and white wine. We spent some time on Hermosa Beach, watching beach volleybal. During the weekend there are so many activities going on on that beach. We went to the Getty Villa in Malibu afterwards. We were not allowed to go inside because we didn’t make reservations. But we nagged the person and suddenly we had two reservations in our hands. So beware: a reservation is necessary if you want to visit the Villa. The Getty Villa is worth a visit. The garden is so beautiful and we spotted some handsome gentlemen, especially Hercules in marble near the entrance.

Los Angeles
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Los Angeles
We survived crazy Black Friday. After a long flight and with a bundle of twigs between the aircraft’s wing flaps (no idea how they get there) we landed in our second home town. We rented a nice convertible and drove to Manhattan Village. We needed a strong coffee to keep us awake with nine hours time difference. An evening of shopping, a wheelchair and a shopping car later, we finally chilled with a glass of wine.

Los Angeles
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Los Angeles
Breakfast on Hermosa Beach followed by a photo shoot near the sea. We went to the Malibu Hills and visited Malibu café. An amazingly beautiful place. Vineyards on top of the mountains resulting in beautiful views during our trip. We drove back towards Torrance along the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway from Malibu to Santa Monica. We spent a few hours on the beach, enjoying that beautiful life we have.

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