On our second day in LA, we didn’t have any wedding events to attend. That meant we had the entire day to explore. Wohoo! We planned to spend the day driving along the pacific coast hwy and checking out some beaches in the Malibu area. However, there was something we needed to do first. The previous day we were at Venice Beach, but we didn’t have time to visit the Venice Canals. Luckily it was on our way, so that was our first destination! 

I had never heard of the Venice Canals before researching the LA area, and even then I wasn’t so sure it was worthy of stop. Nisheet convinced me though, and he was right! It was such a cute unique neighborhood. A perfect representation of LA. Different, cool, and trendy. 

As the name implies, the area is made up of canals. It was originally built in the early 1900’s trying to recreate the atmosphere of Venice, Italy. And then it was renovated in the 1990’s. We went to Venice, Italy on our honeymoon a couple years ago, so I can tell you first hand that they are nothing alike. The only thing similar is that there are houses on canals. Venice, Italy is compact and fully of history. The Venice Canals are completely the opposite with huge modern houses. Nonetheless, it was an awesome place to explore and take Instagram worthy photos. Definitely give yourself more than hour to wander around. 

All along the canals were beautiful multi-million dollar houses. Each house had a different look and color to it that added to the ambiance of the canals.

Along our stroll, we can across the most Instagrammed house in the world. This house stands out from the rest for its yellow canary color. The former president of Telemundo owns this house, and I can’t even imagine how it must look inside.

Continuing our walking tour of the Venice canals, it was really neat to keep coming across all the little boats, kayaks, and canoes that people had. We even came across this black swan boat that stood out from the rest.

We spent too much time exploring the canals, and we eventually had to tear ourselves away and head off to the Pacific Coast Hwy and Malibu area. But first, coffee. I googled “coffee” and up popped a coffee shop called Urth Caffé. Turns out it was in a super trendy area of Santa Monica on a palm tree line avenue full of hippie clothing stores and vegan restaurants. Ahhh. Why didn’t we plan more time for coffee? We tried their most popular blended drink called Spanish Latté Granita. The Granita was sweet, creamy, and a perfect accompaniment to a beautiful sunny California day. I wish we had had more time to soak up the atmosphere and maybe pop into a shop or two. But we were already behind schedule. On to Malibu! 

Any regret for leaving our coffee break so quickly soon vanished as we hit the road and saw the stunning views of the rocky coast. Along the way, we saw surfers trying to catch a perfect wave, grand rock formations on perfectly crystallized beach, and a sea of RVs and campers right next to the water.

A short 20 minute drive later, and we were in the world famous Malibu. From the Pacific Coast Highway, you are greeted with less than impressive views of the multimillion dollar beach mansions and could easily drive by without even noticing the beach accesses. We didn’t let this deter us though and found street parking right on the Pacific Coast Highway directly across from the beach access which was essentially a tiny narrow alley. If I hadn’t googled it beforehand, I would have definitely thought we were trespassing on private property. I suppose that is the point though. These millionaire celebrities don’t want a lot of tourists on their beautiful beaches. 

But boy the beach was gorgeous! And we had the entire beach all to ourselves! We of course took a stroll down the beach and admired all of the houses. They might not have looked impressive from the road, but from the beach they were simply amazing. 

After spending some time at the beach, we were ready for some lunch. And Nisheet had already picked out the perfect spot. Malibu Seafood. When I think of Malibu, I think of rich stars and swanky shops, so I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived at a shack right off the highway and overlooking the ocean. We placed couple of  orders of fresh fried fish and then went looking for a table. We enjoyed our fried delicacies under a covered outdoor dining area on the hill behind the restaurant with sweeping views of the oceans.

With our bellies full, we again hit the road heading north. We kept coming across stunning views of waves crashing onto huge cliffs and jutting rocks. The rocky coastline of Southern California felt very inspiring and freeing from all the glitz and glam of Los Angeles. You could literally pull over on the side of the PCH, turn your radio on to your favorite music, and just soak up the dramatic views.

You may have noticed haziness in lot of our shots of the Malibu area. This was because of the huge amount of wildfires that were present in California during our visit. The smoke really stood out in some of the sunset photos we took. Even though it was a perfectly cloud-free day, we could barely see the sun behind the smoke from the fires. 

While we pulled over a lot of places to take photos and soak in the views, our favorite was the El Matador State Beach. We parked our car on the PCH to avoid the parking fee and started walking down the stairs to the beach. From the stairs you could see just how tall the cliffs were from the base of the beach to the top of the parking area. After stepping foot on the beach, we were mesmerized by the huge rocks that were all over the beach. We then sat down and watched the beautiful sunset set over behind the cliffs and the waters of the Pacific Ocean. On our way back to the car, we came across a video shoot of Harley Davidson bikers doing some CrossFit workouts. We also saw so many you tubers and models. Doesn’t get more Hollywood then that!!