As for the new classy California Lauren who is too much of a lady for Zombie Pub Crawl ANYWAY (shut up, I'm not bitter), I had a really wonderful relaxing afternoon/evening with Sam (awesome roommates in Minneapolis)'s older sister, Stephanie, who lives in Laguna Beach. When Sam mentioned to her that I was going to be studying here for a semester, Steph immediately told him she wanted to show me around at some point, which I'm so grateful for. I figured, being a little older than me, she could give me a different look at Californian life, and I was totally right!
We got bit of a late start, but our little trip began with a gorgeous drive through the Santa Monica Mountains as we made our way to Malibu Lagoon State Beach to achieve one of my Californian goals: seeing a tide pool!
Unfortunately we got there couple hours after the tide was at its lowest so there wasn't a whole lot to see, but I found two anemones!
There's only one in the picture, but that's because I wasn't sure if they were real so I touched one and it DISAPPEARED. Just, poof! I think it scared me just as much as I scared it, haha. I hope its okay though, I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to touch it... Anyway, I also saw my first surfers, which was awesome, and, again, I got that feeling that I could stay at the beach forever. Standing calf-deep in the water, feet dug into the sand, and letting the waves run up against my bare legs was so incredibly calming. I have mixed emotions about Los Angeles so far, which I will get into at a later date, but the ocean is just incredible. No Midwestern lake will ever top it. Honestly, I feel bad for all the people who live so close to it and don't understand or appreciate its majesty.
After spending some time in Laguna, we figured it was about time to eat, and Steph suggested sushi. Duh. Of course I want sushi. But this was a sushi experience like no other. I've always considered myself pretty knowledgeable when it comes to sushi. I've eaten it a lot and I've eaten a lot of different types. But high-end sushi dining is a whole different experience. Stephanie took me to Katsu-ya, which is apparently a very highly regarded sushi destination in Los Angeles (Steph tells me Justin Timberlake takes his dates there. Ooooo!). Now, I want to tell you upfront, I am not a huge fan of sashimi. I think it tastes delicious and I wish I could love it, but the texture just kills me. Don't laugh, I'm being vulnerable with you all right now! Being a self-proclaimed sushi-enthusiast who can't eat sashmi is embarrassing. I just felt like you all needed to know that in order to appreciate the fact that I ate a decent amount of sashimi for dinner, and, when I could ignore the, texture well enough, I really enjoyed it. Especially this one, which had truffles on it:
God, that is classy dining. I am so lucky to have been able to experience this. We finished the meal off with some mochi (<3), stopped at a grocery store, and now here I am, drinking a glass of white wine (bottle courtesy of Stephanie. She knows how to make a college girl happy) and blogging on a Saturday night. Boy do I feel like a classy adult. Except this is the only thing I had to drink out of:
That bottle is half all gone now.
I'll update soon! Until then! <3
BONUS CONTENT OMG:
"WHY DO I DO THE THINGS THAT I DO."
ReplyDeleteAnd of course Stephanie is awesome; she's a Brzezinski, we're all awesome. :D