25 March 2025

It’s a beautiful morning here today! Mum asked me on the phone yesterday if it was getting noticeably warmer now than when I first arrived and I said ’no, not really, it just doesn’t chill off so quickly in the late afternoon’ – well I regretted saying that by the time I met Chris for lunch in long jeans because it was very warm yesterday! Our apartment maintains a comfortable temperature though – the balcony catches the sun in the morning, but it doesn’t shine directly into the living room – I’m sure we’ll be grateful for that as the summer approaches. Lots of the locals have said to us ‘oh don’t worry, it’s not usually that hot in the city’, but they’re forgetting that we’re from England and they’re used to the warmer climate here! It still amazes me that people sit outdoors in the sun at restaurants with the heaters on!

Anyway, winding back to the last week, as Monday was St Patrick’s Day I made sure to don my green t-shirt, jumper and scrunchie. In the afternoon I headed to the Original Farmers Market again. Over lunchtime they had ‘Glen the Irish Bagpiper’ roaming and playing Irish tunes, but I arrived just as he finished. I treated myself to a slice of raspberry pie (like a big jam tart really) and tried a couple of different Irish red ale’s at the two pubs in the market. One of the bartenders is originally from Bexley in London but has been in LA for the last 35 years so we had a quick chat about London and he told me a joke that ‘only British people understand’ as the punchline concerns British regional accents. Then I met Chris at his office so we could join the real Paddy’s Day celebrations at an Irish Pub nearby. I was surprised that there wasn’t any Irish music here, just typical modern nightclub music, but everyone was dressed up with green accessories, shamrock glasses and even full emerald green suits! The menu was full of Irish spirit: Guinness, red ale, ‘Green Beer’ (pale lager with green food colouring) and Irish Whiskey. It was only the second time I’ve had Guinness and I liked it a lot better than the last time! As it was a Monday, we headed home at a respectable hour, still slightly baffled by how St Patrick’s Day has become so popular here.

Wednesday was Chris’s birthday and he also had a morning meeting in Santa Monica, so we made the most of the opportunity to have an amazing breakfast at a hotel near the seafront in Santa Monica! They even brought out a pain au chocolates with a candle for him! We just had time for a quick stroll along the seafront and through a farmer’s market before Chris dashed off to his meeting and I found a good spot to read. After a couple of hours we headed back to the office in the city and I found some more nice spots to read for the afternoon, before Chris’s colleagues wheeled out a strawberry gateau for a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’. Food is an important part of any celebration for us, so we rounded off the day at a modern European restaurant that we’ve been meaning to try for a while called The Little Door, and it really was the perfect end to the day. There was even another candle presented in the dessert, just in case we’d forgotten what the date was.

On Friday I embarked on my biggest sewing project yet: starting to sew my new pyjama shorts. I cut all the panels out and made the main body of the shorts (whilst having to unpin and re-pin the panels a couple of times because I couldn’t quite understand how the pieces were supposed to fit together). There were a few sewing terms I had to look up along the way as well, but it actually came together surprisingly easily, and I was glad that I’d spent so long prior to starting thinking about sizing and checking and rechecking measurements as the fit came out pretty accurate. I finished the project on Monday when I completed the waistband, fitted the elastic, made a drawstring and finished the hem. There are a couple of sections of stitching that are a bit scruffy, but overall I’m pleased with what I’ve achieved. It took around 10 hours to make the shorts and it would definitely be quicker the next time around.

(forgot to take a finished photograph before I slept in them!)

In the early evening on Friday, I met up with someone from Book Club to hike Runyon Canyon. A few members from the group had previously suggested a group hike up there but I’d not been available before, so when I had a free evening I jumped at the opportunity. Even though there were only two of us on Friday, it was really enjoyable and gave us a chance to get to know each other better. Part of Runyon Canyon was affected by the wildfires earlier in the year so some of the hiking trails are still closed off, but the main route is a paved, wide, gentle ascent up to a stunning viewpoint over the city. The Hollywood Sign is on the next canyon over but there was a pretty good view of it as well.

Then for the weekend we headed up the coast to Santa Barbara again, to have dinner and stay overnight with the friends we made in a wine bar on our last visit. Before meeting them for the evening, we took a walk through Downtown Santa Barbara, browsing the craft market, grabbing some frozen yogurt and eyeing up the many bars and restaurants in the area. Then we went to our home for the night which was in a beautiful spot to the west of the city. It was a very relaxed evening with our hosts, with home cooked food, beautiful red wine and flowing conversation. They even have two cats and two dogs which we spoiled with attention. Then on Sunday we had another sunny day on the beach and we went back to the seafood restaurant on the pier. This time we were brave enough to try Box Crab, served whole in its shell (having been cleaned and gutted by the kitchen) so we had to learn how to get the meat out of the claws, which was a challenge but very tasty! Finally, we made our way back along the coast to watch the sunset on Santa Monica Pier!