San Pedro Fish Market

We took a drive to San Pedro so I could have some steamed crab. I got this half-tan from sitting at an angle to the sun for an hour while we had some of the most delicious seafood I've had in awhile.

This is D's order. He's big on flavours and ordered a pound of shrimp (prawns) from the Market which they then cooked on the grill with spices, butter, vegetables and potato. The result was sublime. The prawns were extremely fresh and albeit very messy to eat. You can order a whole mixture if different types if seafood. Just pick the type of seafood you want from the Market, then tell them how you'd like it cooked (with potatoes? Vegetables? Plain?). You then pay and get your bag of fresh seafood and receipt an you bring both to the ladies in the open kitchen who will cook it (the seafood, not the receipt) for you.

I had two huge fresh crab for US$10. Wow this was well worth it. I had to grab the live crab with tongs an shove them into a bag. This is then handed to the vendor who will weigh the crab and tell you the price. After paying, you get a buzzer which will page you when the crab is ready. I love steamed crab. Fresh crab is amazing on its own, no spices or condiments required.

I love this photo because it shows the perfect partner to seafood on a sunny day - cold beer! I wouldn't have minded a cold juice or soda either, as long as it's cold. It also shows the cute little mallet I had to pay a dollar for. Of course! How else would I have been able to eat my crustacean lunch?

Just to give you an idea of how much they were charging for prawns / shrimp. Shocking!!! My crab was sooooo much cheaper.

Grill em up! The aroma emanating from this cooking spot was wonderful. I was hopping on one foot and then the other eagerly waiting for D's to be ready. Like my Ma use to say of me: ni den dao jing chang le! Literally meaning 'you're waiting till your neck grows long!'

Sushiboy at LAX and another farewell

This was a quick last meal in Los Angeles. My flight back to London was delayed by more than two hours and was given a voucher for a meal. Having had an overdose of calorie-laden meals for the past two weeks, I opted for an udon combo from Sushiboy. It was nothing to write home about. The broth, inari, seaweed and fake crabsticks were very ordinary. It came with a side of California roll. I'm not a fussy eater but I didn't finish this. It may have been the sub-par meal, but more likely me being very sad from having to say goodbye to D. I was too heartbroken to eat and was feeling slightly sick in the stomach.

Space part 2

One of the things I love about California (besides the fact I'm not freezing my bottom off) is space. There is so much of it! I love being in or near a big city and yet able to see wide open horizons. I took a few shots of our journey to go sleighing in fluffy mountaintop snow. I'll need to ask D how we got there as I have a bad sense of direction and need to pay careful attention to be able to tell. I know we were on the freeway for about an hour in total. I remember a 10 and a 15 and some strange rock formations (see above) but that's about it.

Can you see the snow cap in the distance?

We went in a convoy of two cars. D scoffed at me for using the word "convoy". He used to lead convoys in the army and insisted this was not a convoy. I explained that two vehicles and above make a convoy. We are still in a disagreement on this point!

D's car has a sunroof. It was tinted and so everything looks grey. Cirrus clouds! Wahoo! Remember that from school?

Oh boy will I miss the wide open roads and blue skies.

If the helmet was white

I could be a Stig lookalike. I persuaded D to let me ride on his Kawasaki Ninja as opposed to taking the car. We kept bumping helmets at starts and breaks. Is that normal? What can a pillion rider do to avoid this?

A Salvadorean Christmas dinner

Not a turkey or brussel sprout in sight! The cylindrical thing is a chicken tamale which is really hard work to make but so delicious! D's mom wrapped masa around flavourful chicken shreds and cassava. This is done in a leaf and foil to form the cylindrical shape, stacked one on top of the other in a giant pot and boiled. D's Tia (aunt) made the rice and potato salad, both bursting with flavour and his mom also made the beef stew. I've never had any of these before but they were so good sprinkled with lots of cilantro and hot sauce.

Santa trap

Little M walked up to me with an enlightened, excited grin on his face today. 'Hey do you know how to get Santa to come to our house?'. I said no I didn't know. 'You put cookies and milk out!' he replied. Apparently, someone in elementary school told him. So his mum bought some colourful Christmas cookies and let him pour out some soy milk (silk) because the Santa that visits his home is lactose intolerant. Personally, I found the green and purple colours quite off-putting. But sugar cookies are sugar cookies and they are yummy once you get over the unnatural hues.

Wienerschnitzel review

Just a quick stop by a nearby Wienerschnitzel, a fast food hut which will douse chilli and cheese over anything on their menu - fries, burgers and hot dogs. We got two chilli cheese fries and three chilli cheese dogs and settled ourselves on the open air seating. The fries were beautifully crisp and made to order, and the hot dog was grilled (not boiled - hooray!). A sloppy meal but I loved mopping up the chilli with the soft bun. This was the perfect salty, flavourful meal washed down with my favourite soda, root beer. I just wish diet root beer existed; I'll be its biggest fan. This was my first WS experience and I'll definitely be back.

Good news, bad news

Good news: I found the perfect puffer Coat - matte, machine washable, faux fur detachable hood, down-filled, tie belt - it ticked all my boxes. The Gap ones are super shiny.

Bad news: It's from Hollister and retails at $140

Good news: It's 30% off

Bad news: it's still $98, and there's a Calvin Klein equivalent (online only) reduced to $78 albeit without belt. And since the CK one is online only I can't try it. So am I paying $20 for the belt, the right to try it on, and the HCO logo which I actually don't want to be associated with as I'm not a teenage Betty surfer girl but instead a lawyer working in a chic and tailored English city?

Good news: I like the Hollister coat and unlike the CK, I dont have to pay shipping. After converting to GBP, it's cheaper than the closest M&S equivalent I could find (which isn't great).

Bad news: it's Hollister. And what if there is a further reduction in the next few days?

Good news: it looks and feels perfect on. I don't have time to track the prices of puffer coats. I spend enough time tracking securities and financial trends.

Bad news: side distraction, Betty size M?? Yes I chose M for some room for thick jumpers but I used to be a Betty S!

Good news: I'm not a teenager any more and I love the present and look forward to my certain future.

Bad news: aiihhh seriously, Hollister?

Good news: I bought the coat!

Manchester-London Heathrow-LAX

I'm now in LA! My previous experiences flying from Manchester to the US with Delta and American Airlines weren't too good. The three major issues were:

1. The airlines had layovers in a city on the East Coast, such as Philadelphia and Chicago. Connection times are often pretty tight and it's mandatory to pick up your luggage at your first US stop and then re-check in for the onward flight. Praise God I have never missed a flight but I've cut it seriously fine sometimes.

2. After 7 hours of flying, it's awful to know that you have another 5 hours to go. The flight from Manchester to London was under an hour long and then it was 11 hours straight to Los Angeles.

3. In flight service on the British Airways flight was SO much better!

Will post photos very soon once D gets off the computer. I'm blogging from his iPad. I love LA so far, and seem to have brought the rain with me from England. It's been raining a lot, which is totally out of character for the sunshine state.