Adventures in the USA: Rachel's Travel Diary

Hello, hello lovely people!

Quite a long post today, I might opt for more frequent, shorter updates in future but I’m still getting the hang of this. Anyway, this is what I’ve been up to this week:

Weekend

We had a relaxing first weekend together. On Saturday we went to IHOP for breakfast! As expected, it lived up to my expectations. From being offered coffee and orange juice the moment we sat down, to the huge selection of pancakes, waffles and french toast on offer (all personal favourites), to watching the sun creep up over the skyline, it was the perfect morning.

Next we took a drive out to Burbank, going past Warner Brothers Studio and the iconic water tower that features in their introductions. We stopped off at a huge shopping complex and stocked up on things for the apartment at Walmart. People aren’t lying when they say you can buy anything at Walmart! The warehouse was bigger than the biggest superstore I’ve every seen in the UK, with groceries on the left side (never seen so many brands of mac and cheese or microwave popcorn), electrical goods at the back and a huge homeware section to the right. We ticked off a lot of things from our list and the apartment is feeling a lot more like a home now – we even got a few pot plants on the way out. Hopefully I’ll be better at looking after plants here than on the UK…

Just up the road, we stumbled upon a Girl Scout Cookie stand – I was very excited about being able to get Cookies whilst I’m here as its such a big part of the Girl Scout calendar, but not something we do in the UK. They’re on sale until April so I’ll be able to work my way through the 5 varieties I picked up and restock with my favourites. So far I’ve tried Thin Mints and Lemon Ups and the Lemon Ups are my favourites. They even have inspirational messages written on them! Finally, we went for a walk through the Burbank town centre as the sun started to set – lots of independent bars and restaurants so definitely worth another visit!

Sunday was Super Bowl day. We discovered a lovely farmers market nearby on Melrose Place and wandered round with a coffee from Alfred (for now, my order is the sugar free vanilla latte which, according to the menu, is what made Alfred Coffee famous!) Then there was just time for a quick grocery trip to Trader Joe’s before settling in to watch the game. What a spectacle! The team spirit from the crowd coupled with the adverts put together specifically for the Super Bowl are something else – it costs millions for an advertising slot during the match as so many people tune in to watch, and a lot of the adverts are longer than you’d usually get on tv, lasting a couple of minutes. By the end of the match, I’d say we understood about 75% of what was going on (thanks to Google explaining the rules!)

Monday

Monday took me back towards The Grove shopping centre and the Original Farmers Market. Just behind The Grove is Pan Pacific Park, another nice spot to read. I finished off a book ahead of a book club meeting on Tuesday, listened to the cheers and frustrations coming from the basketball courts and watched the many dog owners desperately trying to reign in their pooches who just wanted to say hello to each other. The parks I’ve been to so far have been very popular with dog walkers (and badly behaved dogs) making them nice places to sit and people watch. I picked up a new book from Barnes and Noble (from a table saying ‘Blind Date with a Book’ where all the books were wrapped up with a short description on the front). Then I headed home before meeting Chris and some of his colleagues for cocktails at a cool little bar where all the paintings are upside down and there are bar stools suspended from the ceiling! There’s no clear reason why, but it gives the place a fun atmosphere!

Tuesday

Another sunny day, another questionably long walk. This time I headed to Beverly Hills. I followed Santa Monica Boulevard for most of the journey, alongside which is a very long thin park, with occasional statues, a rose garden, and a cactus garden(!!). I had no specific purpose whilst in Beverly Hills other than to see what it’s like, so I wandered up and down the streets seeing all the designer stores (Prada, Gucci, Dior etc.) and then popped into Gagosian, an art gallery with a small exhibition of work by local artist Alex Israel. I really enjoyed this – all his pieces feature real places on the streets of LA (some of which I’e already walked past). The way he captures light and reflections is truly captivating. I love art galleries so will definitely keep an eye on this one and others to see what else goes on display whilst I’m here. 

Tuesday evening was book club time! 16 of us descended on one of the few cafes in the area that stays open into the evening. I was told that a couple of years ago there were only 3 members but the group has grown and grown since then, and I can see why! The members were all lovely, from various industries and neighbourhoods in and around Hollywood and West Hollywood, all brought together by a love of books. In advance of this meeting we read The House in the Cerulean Sea – a fantasy set in a world where magical and non-magical species try to live alongside each other with varying degrees of acceptance and prejudice. The main character Linus travels to an orphanage many miles from home to observe the orphanages’ master and six young residents and assess whether it should remain open. It’s a lovely book, described by several of the members of the club as a ‘palette cleanser’ between heavier topics and a ‘warm hug’. After sharing our ratings of the book, we discussed some of the themes more generally, other books we’ve read recently and decided on a book for next month, so I’m back to Barnes and Noble on Friday to pick up that one! Oh, and to finish to the evening, one of the members had made delicious Valentine’s Day themed funfetti cupcakes!

Wednesday

The weather has turned wet and wild again as the week’s gone on, so I spent Wednesday setting up my new sewing machine! Learning to sew with a machine is one of the firmest plans I’ve had for my time here. I’ve been working on my Queen’s Guide Award for the past 18 months, which is the highest award you can work towards in Girlguiding, aimed at members aged 18-30. It focuses on developing skills like resilience, leadership and communication and there are 5 challenges to complete for it. I’m now working on my Personal Development Challenge, for which I’m required to develop a skill for at least 50 hours. Inspired by a few friends over the years who can make their own clothes, I decided I wanted to have a go myself! It took a while to get my head around the fiddly instructions for threading the machine, but so far I’ve made two scrunchies and I’m already planning my next few makes. My ultimate goal is to make a dress from a pattern and fabric that I’ve been carrying around with me for about 10 years, so watch this space!

Thursday

Rain, rain, rain… and flood warnings too! The ground is so dry here with so much tarmac and concrete that flash floods happen regularly following heavy rain and whilst it’s definitely disruptive, it is not like the relentless several-day long rainstorms we get in the UK, and with sun due again tomorrow and over the weekend, the water will pass through without being a lasting nuisance. The rain does mean that today is a laundry and reading day though. Today I’m reading Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson which has been on my shelves for years but I’ve never got round to it. I thought it would be interesting to read about Britain through the eyes of an American, whilst being a Brit in America!

We’re now heading into a public holiday weekend, and Valentine’s day, so we’re taking our first overnight trip out of the city, but you’ll have to come back next week for more on that!

Signing off now from across the pond,

Rachel