Yesterday was a lovely day of leisure in LA. I had delicious breakfast down the street from my friend’s place in Venice, at Rose Cafe. A couple of hours later, I met up – again at Rose (great food, especially the salads!) – with my friend Joy from Australia/Brooklyn who happened to be in LA. We had a lovely chat and lots of coffee, took a drive through streets that Joy, who used to live and work in LA, loves, admiring the fairytale cottages and tall palm trees. Next we did some browsing through the upscale shops of Abbot Kinney Blvd and had a quick manicure in Santa Monica. It was an indulgent and all girly afternoon.

In the evening, I got fish and shrimp tacos from a nondescript Mexican joint right behind Robby’s place. It was amazing – for $10, I had a real feast one can only dream of in New York. It was great to see guacamole made right there and then, just for me. After dinner, we walked through the back streets of Venice to the gorgeous and very zen apartment where Eric, Robby’s best friend, lives. The boys, on a raw food kick, had a sprout and quinoa salad, we all shared kale juice, sat around the fireplace, walked up to the rooftop terrace to see the blinking lights of LA all around us, talked of travel and other pursuits, and then retired for the night. It was a simple and chill day in Venice.