Tucked away in a lone cement courtyard near the foothills of Altadena, string lights lazily hang in front of Bulgarini Gelato. A few tables, with tiles and carved sunflowers on their surfaces sit in the shade just outside the windows, but upon opening the door, it was an entirely different vibe. Something straight out of an Italian travel book.

Besides the pungent pool-like smell from first walking in, the place begins to grow on you. The pool smell fades away, but the wall to the right was the shade of a summer ocean with about five photos of Italian delicacies hanging, each one tilted a different direction. One was of a bowl of gelato, of course, and another was a picture of stacked chunks of what seemed to be pineapple. Below them was a long counter-top table with four chairs.