Say hello!
- Hello [in Portuguese]. - [laughs]
[music]
Hello from the beautiful California coast.
When you think of California,
a lot of people associate with beaches, right?
And when you travel to Los Angeles, you realize you got a lot of options.
Today I'm going to show you two very distinct beach communities,
Venice and Santa Monica.
They're both unique in their own way.
We start in Santa Monica.
[music]
This park right here overlooking the beach and the pier,
this is the Palisades Park.
Here there is also a boardwalk,
so you could enjoy this oceanfront view,
either from up here or down there.
A lot of people also come here for a picnic or to see the sunset.
It is a really beautiful place.
Something cool over here is that this is a very walkable community.
[music]
Remember when people could come here driving?
- Yeah, yeah. - So much better when it's closed
to pedestrians like this.
Pedestrian only. Look at this.
[music]
We arrived! - End of 66.
- We arrived! - Yeah.
[laughs]
This is it, really! The end of the historic Route 66.
People would drive all the way from Chicago
until arriving here in Santa Monica.
Welcome to California!
[music]
The road supported the economy of various communities
all the way across the country
[music]
We're now at the Santa Monica Pier and there is a lot going on here.
But before... It's getting a little hot right now.
[laughs]
Well, it is warmer now, but not so much to go the beach.
These people are brave.
We're here during late fall.
Here you can enjoy the pier or the cafes, the bars, restaurants.
Also, there's an amusement park over here.
[people screaming]
There's no entrance fee to the park here.
You just pay per ride, and they all have different prices.
Oh, the Ferris Wheel is the most expensive, $10.
And they don't accept single riders.
It would be nice to see Santa Monica from up there,
but for $10...
- No. - [laughs]
You can also buy tickets in these kiosks over here.
You don't need to go to the main ticket booth.
That is so cool. It's spread all over the park.
The first time, actually, that I see something like this.
[people screaming]
A lot of restrooms over here.
1909, when the construction started here.
- Debuted as the West Coast's first concrete pier.
- Oh, wow!
- Uh-oh, but read what it was initially used for.
Public utility for piping treated sewage.
- Uh-oh. [laughs]
- Treated. Not raw. Treated.
- The last shop, baby, the very last shop.
Shall we buy something here? [laughs]
That is so cool.
"The last stop shop at the end of Route 66."
Look at this, coming all the way, and here we are.
We drove a good part of it already, huh?
One of the main tourist spots along Route 66.
Entire Arizona and New Mexico.
We drove in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri.
And, of course, California.
There's a restaurant even at the end of the pier.
[music]
This is the Pacific Coast Highway.
It's a beautiful drive over here along the California Coast.
[music]
Very close to the beach, there is an outdoor mall.
This is Santa Monica Place.
There's a gym here.
And look at how cool, they all have headphones,
so that the music doesn't disturb the mall.
It's very interesting. I love it.
Things that you only see in L.A. - Yeah.
- What store is that? - Johnny Was.
Remember? "Gordon Is" What video?
Disney Springs - Yes.
- Gordon Is.
- [laughs]
Welcome to Third Street Promenade.
This is a major pedestrian-only shopping street
that stretches for three blocks right in the heart of Santa Monica.
[music]
Here you can have a really good idea of what we did.
Started over here at the pier,
walked this way until Santa Monica Place.
We parked right here, by the way, P8.
These green structures are all parking lots
that you have 90 minutes free.
We are right here where the dinosaur is at the moment.
We're gonna walk all this,
and this here is the light rail station four minutes away.
Very close, huh?
In the afternoon and the evening,
this place is booming with people.
We're here in the morning because we want it a little quieter.
- Do you see how they promote their colors?
They make large spheres in the colors that they're using.
- Yeah, that is so clever.
- Yeah, they are smart people.
I bet they're eating more apples than average for the human race.
- One apple a day, right?
- No, it's probably three apples a day.
- [laughs]
- Carlo's.
Look at this!
You know, Renata,
I'm walking along here, and I'm seeing all these storefronts,
and one catches my eye and...
I'm curious! What is it?
It's a store that's not open.
Brazilian - Made for Fun.
- Unfortunately, went out of business, look at that.
- Chili Beans, that's what it was.
- Yeah, such a shame.
- You know one thing I'm noticing here everywhere,
a lot of hiring signs, "We're hiring," "We're hiring,"
just like Starbucks and a lot of shops.
- Yeah. - You notice that, too?
- No, I didn't, but...
- It is, it is. - They need people.
- The economy is back. - Yeah.
- Very cool, if you bring your water bottle,
you get free water right here on the street.
And these drinking fountains are spread all over the avenue.
- Oh, that's a good deal here.
$5.99 rack.
This is interesting.
Oh, wow! Deal of the year!
$2.99, these items right here.
There's also a Farmer's Market here in one of the crossing streets.
We're here on a Saturday morning if that interests you.
Taco Tuesday, all you can eat for $7.99.
That's a good deal.
There's room for another one here, Gordon.
It's calling you.
[laughs]
It looks like you can find out all the stores over here
just by scanning the code.
Let's see if it works.
Okay.
Oh, there you go, business directory.
This is a pedestrian-only street which means no bike,
no scooters, no skating, and no skateboarding.
Well, that goes without saying.
[music]
Ooh, free.
- How to save yourself three bucks.
- More than that, because then it's $2 every half an hour.
Next stop... - Tacos.
- [laughs]
Venice. - Tacos.
- Venice. - We'll see who's right.
- [laughs]
We're both right because the tacos he wants to go are in Venice Beach.
- All of this is new. - Yeah.
- Look at all this, beautiful... - Wow, it's looking good, huh?
- Ooh!
- Just a quick detour to show you Main Street Santa Monica,
where you also find a lot of shops, bars, and restaurants.
And they all have outdoor seating right now.
Look at this. How cool, huh? - Yeah.
It's amazing how some things don't change.
- Like what?
- Firehouse. The restaurant is still there. - Yeah.
[music]
This mural is the view of this street over here.
This decades ago, and also from back there.
Wow, look at the line here.
You can also order online.
This one comes with the quesadilla
- Ah! - Why don't we get that?
You won! Our first stop in Venice, huh?
- Yeah, tacos.
Ready for some Tijuana-style tacos?
- Yes.
This guy Teddy, he started with a food truck,
and now he's popular all over L.A.
It's the place of the moment for you to try this birria taco.
This is what birria is.
- Yeah, it's new to both of us.
Describe the immaterial things without value or quality,
so it's probably the food most people may throw away.
That's why you shouldn't trust everything you read online nor jump to conclusions
Birria tacos can actually be made with any meat
as long as it's slow cooked,
and you add the right ingredients to the stew,
especially the chilies.
- That's a soup.
- That's for you to dip the taco.
- Yeah.
[music]
- Ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da.
How different is it from a regular taco?
- It's good.
Do you know the main difference?
The taco is red, right?
Well, as the name of the restaurant says.
The soup is what makes it. It's really good.
Inventing different forms to eat. [laughs]
I never imagined myself making such a mess eating tacos.
You can even have that as a soup, huh?
- Yeah.
The tacos were delicious.
But here is my advice: don't order online,
regardless of the size of the line when you get here.
Everybody who arrived way after, ate before us.
The delivery time was supposed to be 15 minutes,
it ended up being half an hour.
Oh, let's see how this works.
This is the Metro Bike.
$1.75 here every 30 minutes,
and it looks like you pay right here.
Purchase a trip, one ride...
- Insert credit card.
- whohooo, it works.
- Of course, it works.
[music]
- Hello back there.
- Welcome to Venice Beach!
- Yeah!
Venice, Italy? No...
[music]
It is so easy to rent a bike.
You don't need to create an account in advance or anything.
Just go to the station, insert your credit card,
and that's it.
But you must have a U.S. phone number because they ask for it.
Look, the bike even has a place here for you to put your phone.
It fits perfectly, look at that.
The best way to enjoy Venice Beach.
[music]
Ooh.
- Hello! [in Portuguese]
- This is great.
The beach was Schwarzenegger's gym.
You know that this is where he used to go to the gym?
- Absolutely. - Right?
Make sure a light comes up. - Yep.
- Great ride.
Love it how easy they made to get a bike.
Need the right bikini?
[music]
There is this court.
And then, for you, Renata, is this court.
[laughs]
Those are clearly the pros.
There's so much going on here.
All kinds of sports, basketball, skateboarding, rollerblading.
It's a party.
Here is the famous Muscle Beach.
But it is closed, look at that.
This is a famous place here in Venice Beach.
This is considered the birthplace of the fitness boom in the U.S.
[music]
Venice Beach is not just party all the time.
That side of the boardwalk is where all the shops are,
restaurants, loud music.
Over here, the residential area.
Wow, look at this.
Just a couple of blocks from the beach,
and it looks like we're in a whole different world.
Which Venice came first, here or Italy?
- I don't know. - Come on, is that even a question?
- Yeah. - [laughs]
- You tried to trick me! You tried to trick me!
This Venice here was obviously inspired by the Venice in Italy.
Now, these canals are not natural, those were man-made
in the beginning of the 20th century.
This Venice was even called Venice of the Americas in the beginning.
That was the original name.
It doesn't even look like we're in the same neighborhood, huh?
Look at how peaceful this is.
In the beginning, there were even gondolas here.
- Really? - Really like in Italy, yeah
- Really? - Now, there were way more
canals than today. - Uh-hmm.
- They were filled in to make room for the roads.
- Aw, that's so bad. - Yeah, only four remain today.
- I want to know where do you get the pizza.
- What pizza? - Venezia Pizza.
- [laughs] - Venice's pizza [in Italian]
- Which canal? Do I take it straight
or do I turn left here?
It was probably a great idea way back
It is really charming.
And today, this became a really upscale neighborhood.
The canal here is really shallow. You see the bottom.
And almost all houses have their own boats.
The main developer of this canal area here was Abbot Kinney.
That's why the main street here in Venice is named after him.
- We used to drive here, you know? It was not this busy.
- Absolutely not.
- All these new cars, all these new people.
- This is like the place to be right now
- Oh, yeah! Look at it.
This was nothing way back here.
It was all this end. This was dead, deader than dead.
- Amazing how a city changes, huh?
- 10 years. - Yeah, 10 years since we left.
- It is so interesting though. It's such a big city.
So many different people, so many different areas.
Parking can be almost mission impossible,
but they got public valet parking.
Abbot Kinney today is considered one of L.A.'s best shopping districts
with a lot of stylish boutiques, cute cafes, and restaurants,
and a lot of things to do.
[music]
In case you haven't been to Los Angeles yet,
Venice is very close to Santa Monica, just 10 minutes driving.
Santa Monica is a separate city, by the way,
and they are all this close.
And this is my tip for when you're planning a visit to L.A.
Try to go to places that are close to each other on the same day,
otherwise, you're going to spend a lot of time in traffic.
If you like my tips, I'd love to see you back,
because in the next video there's more L.A.
When you say California, what do people normally think of?
- California. - Beaches, baby.
- No, movies.
No, gold.
No, San Francisco.
- No, cable car.
- No, technology.
- No, L.A. Dodgers.
- Surf, sunset.
- All the above.