April 24th, 2012- After arriving at LAX this morning, we took the shuttle bus to pick up our rental car, from Budget. This was out first time renting a car during our travels, and it was definitely a learning experience. We had rented the car for the day because we thought it would be easier to get around for the day. We also assumed that we could drop it off at any Budget Rental. Grr, we were wrong! We had to drop the car off at the same location where we had picked it up, in LAX. The Budget representative said it was because we had ordered it online… 

Renting a car online for a day or two isn’t worth it, unless you are leaving the city the same day, especially if it’s like our case, where we were going from LAX to SOMA to West Hollywood. Going back to LAX from West Hollywood, would have been a total drag, in LA traffic/rush hour. So we decided that we would head to Santa Monica (SOMA) for lunch, and return the car after lunch, since it was the most convenient thing to do…

 We had lunch with Ana from Cabeza de Coco and Illse, from Full Figured Potential at Sonoma Wine Garden, in Santa Monica. I really liked the restaurant’s layout: 1) dining room, 2) deck 3) patio and 4) bar; which set a relaxed, yet elegant mood. 

My husband and I ordered two glasses of red wine and The Garden Lunch Special for Two, that consisted of a pizza of our choice and a large green salad. We chose the sausage pizza with fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers and oregano, and it was DELICIOUS! Honestly, the best pizza I’ve had, just thinking of it is making my mouth water, ahahaha. We also had the Chef’s Tasting Platter, that had a tasty selection of cheeses, meats and pan. If you are ever in Santa Monica, I highly recommend eating at Sonoma Wine Garden.