Last Day in La Jolla

It’s still hot, and even hotter in Los Angeles if you can believe the weather app! Now Thursday afternoon. Yesterday I didn’t do the hot walk! I did walk Nico early in the morning, but decided not to battle the heat. Lisi took us out to a lovely lunch at a Taiwanese restaurant (a hip and happening chain, and I think there may be one in Sydney) - Din Tai Fung - with Anita and Brian as well. Delicious food. Rather like Queen Chow - yum cha food that you order from a menu...yum. So that was great, and we didn’t feel like another meal. We picked at nibbles, and Michael had leftover fish curry for dinner.

Cami and James left Wednesday morning for a school retreat for 3 days. Not a religious thing, similar to our school camps - a bonding experience at the beginning of the school year. So we said goodbye to them on Tuesday night - James left at the crack of dawn, though we did glimpse Cami in the morning as she left at the normal civilised time - her camp was not as long a journey away as James’. So it is a quiet household, and Lisi doesn’t have to be the chauffeur driving kids to school and activities!

Today I again went with Amr to the high school and swam laps. Good, and we had arranged with Lisi to go afterwards to a cafe where she’d meet us (thus avoiding the hot uphill walk home), and we planned to go to a favourite Taco Bar for lunch, then off to Whole Foods to get green peppercorns which were not available at any other places we tried. It was the last chance, and we did find them. But a mysterious lack in the shops, even in the fancy food places, is that we cannot find taramasalata anywhere!! You’d think there were enough Greeks in the US that they would make and sell it!!

So tonight is last dinner - Michael requested chicken with green peppercorns - he always does - and cauliflower cheese. He will be coming home soon. Tomorrow morning we take the Amtrak Surfliner back up the coast to Los Angeles where we spend 3 nights before flying to London on Monday.

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