Weekly Musings

2017 - Week Twenty Nine
'The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day...'
(The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho)

I am actually writing this from Bergerac in France, although the majority of my week was spent back in LA revelling in the last five days of guaranteed sunshine. On Monday I went back to Beverly Hills to sample the celebrity favourite Urth Caffe for lunch, where I had a chicken and broccoli quiche and a Spanish coffee that had a cute dove created in the foam. I started reading The Alchemist whilst there, and finished it within 2 days, such an interesting book - I would recommend for anyone who feels a bit stagnant or is questioning direction in their life, it has a real positive message. I had a bit of a splurge in Sephora before heading back to collect Aum, and that evening we stayed in for tea as the hectic weekend had caught up with us.

On Tuesday I visited the Hollywood Forever cemetery, where legends such as Judy Garland, Johnny Ramone and Chris Cornell are buried. It was a beautiful, peaceful place with fountains and landscaped gardens, and I was the only person there which made it an incredibly serene experience. Afterwards I felt completely the opposite after going down the Walk of Fame, which was noisy, rammed with tourists and pretty tacky to be honest; I am glad I can tick it off the list of sights but wouldn't rush back. That evening Aum's dad arrived so we took him to Santa Monica to a seafood restaurant called Water Grill, where I had orecchiette pasta with Ecuadorian shrimp and wilted spinach. The place had a trendy brasserie kind of vibe with great views of the beach so was fun to sample it.

On Wednesday we went for my final American breakfast experience of the trip, at Headlines Diner again as I was leaving early on Thurs. I spent my last day sunbathing in the garden, packing my suitcase and buying a few last minute presents for people, and then we went back to Rize in Venice for tea where I shared some belly pork for starter, then had a coconut milk Thai curry and noodles washed down with a passion fruit mojito. I waved goodbye and embarked on the epic trip home on Thursday, and landed back in rainy Manchester on Friday morning. Being incredibly jetlagged I cancelled plans for drinks with my friends that evening in favour of tea and a sleepover at my parent's, but it was bliss!

Unfortunately upon arrival back in the UK I learnt the awful news that Chester Bennington from Linkin Park had taken his life, which not only upset me, but being a huge fan of the band and having loved their music since I was first introduced to their Hybrid Theory album by my cousin as a little mosher in high school, it brought back lots of memories and made me very nostalgic. Therefore it only seems right that my track for this week is a favourite by them, as it is impossible for me to choose just one.

Yesterday I went into the city centre to meet Laura and Abi for brunch at Pot Kettle Black in Barton Arcade, where I had a gorgeous dish called N'duja which was a tomato, smoked mozzarella and pecorino stew with poached eggs in the middle, served with sourdough toast - it is making my mouth water thinking about it! We had a wander around town and then I headed back to mine to pack a suitcase (again) ready for my flight to Bergerac today, before scoffing an Indian takeaway at my parents last night.

My flight today was at 12.20pm but from Liverpool, so I drove and left my car, although I walked in the completely opposite direction so ended up having to order an Uber to save missing my flight - blonde moment! It was slightly delayed but I arrived before 4pm and met my friend Claire at the airport; I am staying at her family home so her mum collected us both as she had just landed from London where she now lives. Our uni friend Laura arrived a few hours later with her husband Dickon and their little boy Ernest who is two and a half, and we had some dinner and a few glasses of wine whilst catching up on each others' lives. Looking forward to exploring a bit tomorrow.