Trip: Los Angeles, California · March 2025 · a work trip with my team · Sunday to Wednesday, near Manhattan Beach

In March 2025 I went to Los Angeles with my team. It was my first work trip since moving to New York, and I hadn’t expected to be on it. There were five of us: Anton, Jeff, Brendon, Ben and me.

Getting there

We started the Sunday in the New York office at 9:30, then took an Uber to the airport and flew out at noon. We landed at around 3 in the afternoon, LA time.

We stayed at an Airbnb about three miles from Manhattan Beach. It was a yellow house, and my room was quite big.

Manhattan Beach

We dropped our bags and at about 5 took an Uber down to the beach by the pier.

The walk down to the water.

It was a really nice beach, and so clean. I honestly couldn’t find any trash anywhere. People were sunbathing, couples were walking, kids had made little sand castles, and everyone was just having fun and being respectful. There were seagulls, a couple of boats out on the water, and no street vendors. The ice cream shops were a little way up the hill.

Out on the pier.

Anton and I got ice cream. Ben and Anton went for a swim. I didn’t want to risk it, but I did dip my toes in. The water was very cold.

Anton and me on the pier.

Seeing a beach that clean got me thinking about India. I think part of the reason our beaches aren’t that clean is that there are just too many people. But I also think that when a place is clean and pristine to begin with, people think twice before spoiling it, especially if there are plenty of bins around.

Volleyball nets as far as you can see.

A team dinner

That evening we went for dinner at The Strand House, a big restaurant right by the pier.

The Strand House, after dinner.

That dinner was my first time trying oysters. I also had sea bass, and over the trip I tried crab cakes for the first time too. I didn’t know most of these dishes until someone showed me.

It was also my first company dinner. As the evening went on I felt more and more at ease. Everyone was trying to make me feel at home, and Ben was really helpful. It felt like I was just another member of the team, and that was a very nice feeling.

The work days

The next three days were work. We spent them at the office, building things, with lunch delivered to the table: tacos one day, Thai the next. I kept going even though I was tired. I think the week went well.

Flying home

We flew back on Wednesday and landed in Newark late that night. On the plane I watched movies, my first in a really long month, and I wasn’t stressed at all.

Looking back the next day, the whole trip felt memorable. I got to learn a bit about American customs, and try food I’d never tried before. Mostly I just felt grateful. If it weren’t for this job, I wouldn’t have been in Los Angeles at all.

Coming back

I went back to LA for work twice more in 2025. In June it was a quick one with Jeff, Monday to Wednesday, and we were near Manhattan Beach again. One afternoon I got back out on the pier.

Back on the pier in June.

In October I flew in from Chicago on the Friday night, straight after a client onboarding there, and gave myself the weekend before the next on-site. I stayed in a small Airbnb room on the edge of Beverly Hills, near Koreatown.

A day tour

On Saturday morning I booked a full-day tour at 8 AM and was at the meeting point in Santa Monica by 9:30: Hollywood, Beverly Hills and the beaches, all in one day.

We started on the Santa Monica Pier, at the sign that marks the end of Route 66.

The end of Route 66.

Then down the coast to Venice Beach: the skatepark, the boardwalk with its shops and stalls, and rows of palm trees along the sand.

Venice Beach.

Around lunchtime we were in Beverly Hills. Photo at the Beverly Hills sign, then a walk down Rodeo Drive, past the Beverly Wilshire hotel and the designer shops.

Beverly Hills.

After that we stopped at the Original Farmers Market and The Grove for lunch and a walk around. Then in the afternoon we went up to Griffith Observatory. From the terrace you can see the Hollywood sign across the hills on one side and downtown LA on the other.

The Hollywood sign from Griffith Observatory.

The last stop was Hollywood Boulevard: the Walk of Fame, the handprints in the cement outside the TCL Chinese Theatre, and Madame Tussauds, where I got a photo with Marilyn Monroe.

Outside the Chinese Theatre.

With Marilyn, at Madame Tussauds.

Between two Oscars.

That evening I ended up back on the Santa Monica Pier, all lit up for Saturday night.

Santa Monica at night.

Warner Bros.

On Sunday morning I went to Mass at St. Gregory Nazianzen, near where I was staying. Then I checked out, left my bags in storage, and went to Warner Bros. in Burbank for the 1:30 Studio Tour. I’d booked that the same morning too.

The Warner Bros. water tower.

We rode around the backlot in a tram, past streets of fake buildings that turn up in one show after another. Then the sets, including Central Perk from Friends, and the orange couch from the opening credits, set up by a fountain outside.

Central Perk.

The couch from the Friends opening.

There was a whole DC section too, with the Batmobile and the superhero costumes.

The Batmobile.

After the tour I went back up to Griffith Observatory for sunset, and stayed until it was dark and the whole city was lit up below.

LA at night, from Griffith.

Then two days of work, and a JetBlue flight home on the Wednesday afternoon.

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Notes to myself

• The Pacific is cold in March. Dipping my toes in was enough.
• Write down restaurant names on the night. I forgot this one almost straight away.