10 March 2025

I’ve now been in Los Angeles for over a month! It feels like it’s been both forever and no time at all. Our apartment feels like a home away from home, I’m working on my sun tan and I’ve got my head around how US service charge works. I’ve also increased my average step count drastically compared to when I was in the UK which has moved me into the top 8% for my age group according the Samsung Health app!

On Sunday evening we watched the Oscars – and made a long list of films we want to see (we’re not far away from the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and they’re screening all of the winners over the next few weeks at $10 per ticket!). Then on Monday I took an easy day, read on the roof for a while, walked to Trader Joe’s and then it was time for Book Club! Book Club has been one of the highlights of my time here so far – there were 15 of us this month. One of the members was very excited about Mardi Gras, so she brought coloured beads for everyone and had ordered a traditional King Cake – a ring of brioche cinnamon roll with icing and yellow, green and purple sugar sprinkled on top. Somewhere inside is a small plastic baby and the person who finds it is ‘king for the day’ (equivalent to the French Galette des Rois tradition for 6th January) – it was agreed that the person who found the baby would choose the book for June. A couple of other keen bakers had also made sweet treats and some had brought wine so it was a delightful evening. I enjoyed reading ‘The God of The Woods’ this month, and like most members of the group rated it an 8 or 9 out of 10, and we had long, lively discussions about parts of the narrative we’d found particularly powerful or frustrating.

On Tuesday, I met Chris for lunch at a Japanese restaurant around the corner from his office and had some wonderful teriyaki chicken, then I went across to IHOP for dessert in the form of more free pancakes. I read ‘Notes from a Small Island’ by Bill Bryson on a nearby bench for a while where a passerby said I looked very peaceful (I felt it too), and then I headed to the Original Farmers Market in time for the Mardi Gras celebrations. A local band called the Nervis Bros. played two sets of New Orleans jazz and many of the audience members were dressed extravagantly in gold, green and purple (representing power, faith and justice) , with masks, beads, parasols, hats… Chris even tried some traditional Louisiana cuisine from one of the food vendors in the market.

On Wednesday the rain returned again, so I took the opportunity to do some laundry, repair some small holes in a blanket we bought from a thrift store, and finish sewing my Finding Dory tote bag! I’m really happy with how my tote bag turned out! It’s not the neatest work ever; I seem to have trouble sewing in a straight line – but nothing that practice won’t fix! I think this pattern will make nice gifts for Christmas. I then started making a zip up pouch which I will put my sewing accessories in (tape measure, turning tools, fabric marker etc.). So far I’ve completed 20 hours of the 50 required for my Queen’s Guide Award and I’ve planned out my next couple of projects. I’ve mastered some basic stitch types and techniques, followed a couple of patterns using flat rectangular panels, so next I’m going to try a simple clothing pattern (I’m in need of some new pyjama shorts) before making a start on the ultimate goal – that dress pattern I’ve been carrying around for years.

On Thursday I took a walk down to a craft shop near Pico-Robertson which is unfortunately closing down, but fortunately for me had everything on sale, so I added to my sewing tools, bought a sketchbook and pencils and found a pattern for pyjama shorts. After the craft shop, I walked along Pico Boulevard and stopped off at a cafe called Marigold Bakehouse which claims to have the best chocolate cake in LA, so naturally I had to try it! I bought a piece to take away and enjoyed it across Thursday, Friday and Saturday (it was a huge slice) and it was DELICIOUS! So delicious, I forgot to take a photograph of it before it was all gone – but I’ll definitely head back for another slice soon! There are many nice-looking restaurants in Pico-Robertson and it was a lovely walk.

Engineering Interlude: I had a long look at the pavement on my walk, which is largely made from concrete slabs. On the residential roads around where we live, the footways are quite broken up and uneven where the ground has settled or tree roots have grown underneath the concrete slabs, causing them to rise up or even break apart in places. You really have to focus when out for a run as it’s very easy to catch your toes on a piece of footway sticking up. In the UK we have quite strict design standards and guidelines for constructing pavements, focused on maximising durability and minimising maintenance. It’s something I’ve become quite familiar with as there has been a lot of scrutiny on design for durability and maintenance on my recent highways projects. In addition to durable designs, Councils seem to intervene quicker in the UK to make repairs if the surfaces of footways become too uneven and degraded. However, on my walk on Thursday along more major routes through West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, there doesn’t seem to be the same problem of broken up and uneven concrete. I realised that this is not because the pavement doesn’t become uneven or broken up, but because when it does, the uneven sections of concrete are ground away so there are no exposed ridges or steps! I do find it very interesting what different attitudes and approaches that different countries take to construction (and health and safety). Focusing on operation and maintenance during the design phase of projects has only really come about in the UK in the last 10 years or so since the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (aka the big health and safety rulebook) was introduced in 2015 – it will be interesting to see whether this approach is adopted by other countries over the coming decades, or if different approaches are taken.

On Friday, Chris and I went for coffee and a pastry for breakfast at Alfred’s (this has become a weekly routine), then I went for a run – it’s taking me a while but I’ve nearly completed Couch to 5k for the second time after taking a break from running in the UK – I hate running in the winter when its dark and rainy – then I went back to West Hollywood Park (can’t believe its been over a month since I first went there and commented on the dog park!) and then up to Sunset Boulevard to visit a great bookshop called Book Soup which has been recommended to me but a couple of people. I bought one of the Book Club books that we’ve selected for the coming months, then headed back home, before meeting Chris and his colleagues for couple of pints, and then dinner at a nearby French restaurant with live jazz on Friday evenings.

Saturday came and we decided to take a day trip to Ventura and found a nicely positioned log upon which to sit and watch the waves. Ventura (or San Buenaventura in full) is a few miles South of Carpinteria so it was a similar skyline to the one we experienced a couple of weeks ago – we saw more pelicans, gulls and curlews skittering around on the beach and diving in and out of the water, then found a beachside bar and grill for a light lunch. It’s another sleepy little town with a long, beautiful sandy beach. As we were enjoying a Californian Blonde Ale, we saw a man ride past on a mobility scooter with a cat perched on his head – anything goes in South California! With the weather being so gorgeous, we decided to book a motel room for the night and extend the trip.

On Sunday we then ventured a little further up the coast to Santa Barbara, starting the day with a coffee and pastry at Handlebar Coffee Roasters, then wandered through ‘The Funk Zone’ full of vintage shops, surf shops and wine bars. We perused the craft market by the beach front, paddled in the waves and found a seafood restaurant on the pier (very tasty prawns sautéed with lemon and garlic). We’d heard people saying that the further North you go up the coast from Los Angeles, the more relaxed and slower the pace of life becomes, and I would agree with that. Whilst I’m enjoying being in LA, it is nice to get out of the hustle and bustle for the weekend. We circled back to one of the wine bars where I chose a flight of white wines for a very reasonable price and we talked to some of the locals, got another huge list of recommendations for places to eat and towns to visit, and even received an invitation to dinner in a couple of weeks time so, whilst I know I always say this, this time we really will be going back soon!