santa monica and malibu.

after the family affair in los angeles, D and i decided to head out to santa monica's le meridien and stay for two nights, to wind down our trip. Brian and Johnny hung out with us before their red-eye flight back to the east coast. we had quite the afternoon in search for food!

first, we wanted to go to gladstones for oysters, since, well, we were on the pch and in sunny california! but sadly, the restaurant was closed for a private event that day. what luck. we were recommended to duke's malibu, about a 5 min drive north on the pch, but when we got there, we were greeted with traffic and a long line of cars trying to get into the parking lot! we swiftly decided not to be a part of that party and continued to drive north until we got to the malibu pier.

 D and i at the pier.

the only restaurant that was there was the newly opened malibu farm. seeing that there were oysters on the menu, we were sold. when we sat and ordered, we were informed that there were no oysters available, nor the brioche bread that was supposed to be on the burger, or the cakebread chardonnay we wanted to drink. since this restaurant had just recently re-opened, they were still in the "soft opening" stage. we settled for a charcuterie and fromage plate, a sandwich, and another bottle of chardonnay. the view itself was worth it, so we didn't mind too much about the food.

malibu pier, with the malibu farm restaurant to the left and right.

Brian (and i) had our hearts set on some oysters after this ordeal, so after lunch, we strolled along the coast just for a bit before getting to our car, and decided to head back to santa monica in search for some shellfish.

the boys, with the pier in the background.

after dropping off the rental car at the hotel, we took the hotel car and went straight to ocean avenue in santa monica, heading to the blue plate oysterette*. the timing couldn't have been more perfect; since it was a late-late lunch, the place was not crowded, so we got amazing seats outside, and were able to see all the hustle and bustle of ocean avenue on a gorgeous afternoon.

D's ginormous hand (and finger) towering over the seafood.

a seafood tower and another bottle of chardonnay were in order, and Brian and i were beyond excited. as we were digging into the food, we realized that the promised maine lobster was nowhere to be found. after we flagged down our sweet waitress, she apologized profusely, saying that they were out of maine lobsters, however, had doubled the king crab legs instead. this just added another layer of "food crisis" to our afternoon! to comp us, she gave us two additional glasses of wine, which Brian and i happily took.

full and 95% satisfied, we strolled along the 3rd street promenade before heading back to the hotel.

sunset from our room balcony.

what a wonderful day spent with my husband, cousin-in-law and brother-in-law. i couldn't have asked for better company than with the three men on this trip.

*fun fact: when D and i went our friend's wedding two years ago in la, we had stopped by the same restaurant and had their fish tacos and oysters!