Kate and I hit the ground running when we landed at LAX! There is so much to do in Los Angeles, and we packed it in for the 3 nights we were there! The first stop was the Twice Baked Baking Company in Long Beach! Ohhhhh myyyyy goodness! What an extraordinary bakery. Los Angeles is packed with gluten-free deliciousness and what a way to begin our adventure that at this bakery. It was so good!
Check out these baked goods! Mother and Daughter team Judy and Dahlia have quite the bakery. Everything is Gluten Free!! Biscotti was their first product, hence the name Twice Baked! Their Bear Claws have homemade almond paste prepared by Judy! Just to name a few, they have gluten-free: magic bars, banana bread, biscuits, snickerdoodles, brownies, and raspberry thumbprints which are made with orange blossom water!
Find baked goods here that are dairy-free, vegan, soy-free, egg-free, nut-free, and sugar-free. ALL are peanut-free! They have real butter and cream cheese in the rugalach that is an old family recipe. It’s been in the family for five generations beginning in Russia. Judy’s mom taught her these recipes and now Judy has passed them on to her daughter. What a blessing that these recipes are kept alive and the love and passion are still being passed on to those of us purchasing these baked goods. Such a special treat to meet these two lovely ladies today. And my tummy is so happy as well! If you pop into the Twice Baked Baking Company, please tell them Rose sent you! I can’t wait to go back!
Next was to head up the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)! Trying to talk cool like a native! ha! Just gorgeous views! Kate and I popped into Gladstones, Malibu’s historic beachside dining, for lunch. I had a gluten-free salad while we enjoyed the view of the Pacific Ocean. Lovely! And the lunch was delish!
Then we headed to our hotel in Burbank to get settled in. More incredible views as we consider what we will eat for breakfast in the morning. Well, we chose the BEST PLACE EVER ~ Hugo’s in Studio City ~ and could have eaten there for days and not eaten the same thing twice!
We needed to eat a hearty and nutritious breakfast to be fueled up for our hike up the mountain to the back of the HOLLYWOOD letters. What a hike! We used all four limbs and we actually climbed up rocks! But we were determined and made it! So very cool!
Carefully find the people climbing up on the bottom right of this image. THEN, look up to the top left and notice the tiny American Flag waving in the breeze! That was our initial goal and then another 30-minute walk over to the HOLLYWOOD letters!
Up and Up we went, climbing steep trails and boulders. The path was so narrow, you had to step aside to let people pass by coming down.
WE MADE IT!!! A vigorous hike, but we made it to the FLAG!! The breeze up so high felt so great! And to the backside of the HOLLYWOOD sign! What gorgeous views looking down. We felt so accomplished! Everyone on the hike, both going up and down, was so incredibly friendly. Lots of ‘hellos’ and ‘good mornings’ and a helping hand offered while climbing up and over boulders. It was so refreshing to see! Hats off to Los Angeles for being so friendly!
But then……..we had to get back down. I have to admit, it was a lot easier going down than up. What a workout! We were thankful we brought water to drink along the way in our backpacks. It was needed, that’s for sure!
This is the traditional, most iconic view of the HOLLYWOOD sign. A beautiful park is just below where you can play frisbee or have a picnic lunch. Lots of tourists getting photos.
Then it was lunchtime! We checked the Find Me Gluten Free App and discovered Rodini Park Greek Kitchen. What an Unexpected Discovery. I hadn’t eaten a Greek Wrap in 15 years. It was fabulous!
Again they were extremely gluten-free aware and even had a separate grill area for gluten-free pita bread for wraps. I had to ask twice to make sure it was in fact gluten-free. It was beyond delicious! I could eat at Rodini Park again and again. The servers were so hardworking and nice. Didn’t even need to ask them to change out their gloves or use a separate area to prepare my food. They were on it immediately! So awesome!! This image below will make your mouth water and remember it’s COMPLETELY GLUTEN-FREE! Gluten-Free Pita Bread!!! Heaven on a plate!
Below are some images of Venice Beach towards the end of the day. Kate and I rented bikes to tour around. They are not that expensive and are a fun way to get some exercise.
I hope you have enjoyed looking through our California adventure! Kate and I enjoyed every minute and are so looking forward to going back again! We would need a little more time next time to do all of these things over and then adding more to the agenda.
California Dreamin’,
