Julie's California Blog - Day 2

Julie's California Blog - Day 2, April 1, 2013

Carolyn and I survived the first night in our abode. We awoke to a cloudy, windy and cold day at the beach. So what can one do when it's cold and cloudy at the beach??? Shop in Beverly Hills

But first, I needed to take the dogs for a walk and the building super told me about a really nice dog park two blocks down and "just up the hill." Turns out the dog park was 2 blocks down and 2 MILES up the hill. (I'm beginning to see a pattern developing here of things not being quite as advertised.) Poor Squeaker is not used to such a strenuous workout, but she chugged along in hopes of finding the nice grassy park for some "relief". What we found was a big dirt field filled with dogs that Squeaker and Scruffy wanted nothing to do with AND a tiny little tuft of grass. After sniffing the grass for about 1/2 an hour, I gave up and headed back to the condo, thinking they would find someplace along the way. Nope!


So Carolyn and I loaded up and made our great escape to Beverly Hills. Oh Nirvana!!! We did a little shopping and then had a delightful lunch at The Ivy.





It was so comforting to sit down to lunch and not feel like I needed to disinfect the table, chairs and utensils with our disinfectant wipes. Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm NOT a germ-a-phobe, but most of the restaurants at the beach don't look like they've won any health awards lately, rather a few health citations. The Ivy was a beautiful place in Beverly Hills and the food was exceptional. Any place that greets guests with a free glass of champagne is OK in my book.




While watching a gorgeous sunset, we had hors d oeuvres and a wonderful bottle of Gaja wine that Carolyn's husband, Richard sent along. Thank you Richard! Makes the condo look a lot better!




After our hors d oeuvres, we felt like we needed something for dinner, so we set off to find Pinkberry Yogurt. We'd passed one earlier in the day and thought it was pretty close to the condo.

The walk was a little further than expected, but well worth it. Good to know we have a "go to" place when we're hungry and can't get to Beverly Hills.


And for those of you worried about the dogs, they finally found some "relief" on the boardwalk. The concrete is not what they are used to, but heck, we're all having to make some sacrifices here!