Second Helpings

Temperate Torrance.

Back to the travels. When we were planning our trip before leaving England, we came to a bit of a full stop after San Diego. There were various places we would have liked to have visited, but transport out of San Diego wasn't conducive to our wishes. It seemed a short stopover in Los Angeles was necessary, wherever we planned on going to next. Having seen the famous sights of LA last time we'd visited the U.S. hubby decided to book a hotel nearer the south beach in Torrance. Not the wisest of moves with hindsight.

We'd planned on travelling by train from San Diego to Torrance, which on paper looked a pleasant and easy enough journey. But in reality getting from the station to our hotel in Torrance would have required a degree in navigation and the stamina of Hercules to drag all the luggage from one bus to another. In the end one of my cousins, Gary, kindly offered to drive us there, so that was quite a relief, if not the most scenic of routes. Gary is a very chatty guy ensuring his family stories and detailed conversations made for an interesting trip.

Our hotel in Torrance was another lovely one, very comfortable with classy restaurants and plenty of activities, so we didn't stray far. There was a massive shopping centre across the road, including another Macy's and a Barnes and Noble, so there was much time spent perusing. We didn't buy a great deal, but did manage to secure three toy US flags and some drawer liners from the dollar shop.

The hotel had a lovely pool and spa and although it was a little too cool for swimming, it was plenty warm enough by our standards to sit outside to eat and drink. The staff seemed highly amused by this as they seemed to be of the opinion it was cold, but then Californians haven’t generally spent a lot of time in England. We also ate at a local Mexican restaurant where the staff and food were delightful, but not as delightful as the huge bottle of wine served with our meals.

Talking of wine, hubby had been complaining about the price of bottles at our hotel, but would not listen when I suggested maybe there was a shop selling it cheaper nearby. Insisting there were only the shops in the mall across the road and none sold booze, he continued to pay over the odds. On the last day I went in search of a Post Office to send a letter to my sister and discovered a massive, cheap booze shop just round the corner from the hotel. Serves him right for assuming and being too idle to venture far.

Talking of post offices, they always seem very difficult to locate in the USA and asking people in hotels and in the streets results in a lot of conflicting information. I walked a long way trying to find somewhere to post my letter, but could find no Post Office, so took the advice of a passer-by who suggested using the FedEx office up the road. After my letter was weighed and I was informed it would cost $56 to post I picked myself up off the floor, sweetly declined and set off on another search. Eventually I located a Post Office tucked away in the mall where it was weighed, stamped, stickered and I assumed air-mailed back to my sister in England. The bad news is she never received the letter, so that’s another gripe and something else to chase up.

Talking of hubby...I have been aware for many years of our patently obvious different planets of origin and grown used to the many and varied cross-wired conversations we participate in, but I think one of the weirdest took place in Torrance. Talking of family we’d met in San Diego I was pleased to say I’d now met four of the five cousins I have there. There were originally six in the family, but sadly one died suddenly a few years ago.

‘Which one was it who died?’ enquired hubby.

‘Danny.’ I replied.

‘Did he have a heart attack?’ continued hubby.

‘Yes,’ I confirmed, ‘but he only ever had one kidney.’

‘Oh,’ mused hubby. ‘I thought he had four.’

I suppose denial of deafness and lack of concentration are contributory factors, but I concluded whilst in Torrance, hubby definitely speaks Martianese and I have an aversion to learning foreign languages .

Just a few photos of our short stay in Torrance.

https://picasaweb.google.com/Eyupmeduck/TorranceJune2011?authuser=0&feat=directl...