CA - Possibly, Maybe, Now Definitely! Day 5 Shopping, Venice Canals (but no Gondalas), More Shopping

tonymc · 6 Sep 17, 02:59 AM

Day 5: Shopping, Venice Canals (but no Gondalas) and More Shopping...

Trip Index here.

As you may guess from the title, not my favourite day!

Incidentally, you may be thinking what happened to the storm that was forecasted yesterday? Well, it hit around 03:00 waking me up as the rain was bouncing off the decking and the glass panels surrounding the terrace!

Several sleepless hours later, the local news was switched on, and fortunately it looked as if we had escaped any serious flooding, but the forecast for the day was overcast with a chance of more thunder and showers.

So with this good news, I asked the ladies if they wanted to try the shopping facilities at Santa Monica Place, a short stroll from the famous Santa Monica Pier. Need not have asked - you can guess the answer.

10:00 set off, and found the parking really easy in one of the adjacent parking garages... and a bargain as the first 90 minutes were free.

Visited Bloomingdales first where the Clinique counter was the first port of call. Joanne and Alex each made a purchase which qualified them for a free gift. Whilst chatting with the assistant, we found out she had lived in Harrow for some 10 years, and she then added a few free extras (on top of the other free gifts) as a "Labor Day" gift!

We then had a stroll down to the pier, which given that it was Labor Day was absolutely heaving, and enjoyed lunch at that well known restaurants, McDs!

Whilst in McDs, having bought some hot dogs for a lunch on another day, we cheekily asked our server for a few more ketchup so (to save on buying a bottle to use once! ) and we came away with a dozen or more sachets!

As It was heating up now with the cloud cover burning off, we decided to head back to the resort. Parking cost us the grand total of $1.25, and the garage was noticeably fuller than when we arrived earlier.

Alex having decided she was shopped out, Joanne and myself went for a stroll along the Venice Canals which were only a few minutes from our accommodation. Even though these were only a couple of blocks from the seafront, they were an oasis of peace and tranquility, although no Gondalas for hire - I suspect we will have to leave that until we arrive in Vegas!

After our canalside stroll, we returned to collect Alex for a more restful time by the pool. It was still warm but with a pleasant breeze, and we managed a good few hours catching the sun and swimming.

Fast forward to evening, and instalment 2 of shopping! We were off to Westfield Mall at Culver City, only a few miles away, as they have a Hollister there, but more importantly, an Olive Garden.

Salvation on the very right-hand side!

Arriving around 18:30, we had planned to put our name on the wait list at OG then have a wander around the mall, but with only 15-20 minute wait advised, we just had the opportunity to visit Sephora where Alex bought a gift for her mate, back to OG and our buzzer going off within a few minutes of our arrival.

Our server was good, but did seem to be pushing extras all the time we were ordering. We stuck to our guns and had the Tuscan and Gnocchi & Chicken soups with a salad, followed by the breadsticks. When our server came to clear our plates, something must have got lost in the English-American translation as she shortly returned with another two soups and portion of breadsticks! Much as we would have liked the soup, we couldn't have managed the additional servings so we had to decline them.

Mains arrived - Lobster Ravioli for Alex, Shrimp Alfredo for Jo, and the Steak Gorgonzola with Futtucine for myself. We all made a valiant effort at finishing, but none of us cleared our plates. Our bill came to $76 + tip, so a bit cheaper than our Cheescake Factory visit a few nights ago.

We all then waddled back to Hollister for some more shopping, and much to my relief, it was declared that all shopping had been completed so we could return to base.

Again, another fairly boring night, as we didn't arrive back until around 21:00 so it was on with the TV where we found the latest UK X Factor showing amongst the hundreds of channels, so we settled in to watch this, without falling asleep this time.

As we said last year, and Alex endorsed after many years of training, it's tiring doing nothing!

Melbatb · 6 Sep 17, 04:41 PM

Good to get all that shopping out of the way

tonymc · 6 Sep 17, 05:01 PM

Originally Posted by Melbatb

Good to get all that shopping out of the way

Just the minor problem of Premium Outlets in Vegas now

Melbatb · 6 Sep 17, 06:25 PM

Originally Posted by tonymc

Just the minor problem of Premium Outlets in Vegas now

Which one - or both

Pussycat Doll · 6 Sep 17, 10:32 PM

Shopping all done! I don't believe you! The canals look lovely, much nicer than the beach area!

**jocat** · 7 Sep 17, 10:47 PM

Well I can't let Martin read this trippie - he'd be most jealous at you having spent hours by a pool.

He's taken great delight in telling people that he only spent two separate hours by a pool all holiday.

He wouldn't be jealous of you having to go shopping though!

tonymc · 8 Sep 17, 12:56 AM

Originally Posted by Pussycat Doll

Shopping all done! I don't believe you! !

Originally Posted by jocat

He wouldn't be jealous of you having to go shopping though!

Of course, I did happen to mention that as the cases were full to bursting for the car journey to Vegas, we wouldn't have any spare room for new purchases as we are flying back to San Francisco on Monday!

This was counteracted by the comment we'll find a suitcase shop then - may have been a mistake having told Jo that we have two checked bags each allowance on both SouthWest and our homeward flight on VA!

Glee Fan · 9 Sep 17, 03:51 PM

Another enjoyable day. You can never do enough shopping! There's always room for more!

I had the Lobster ravioli at OG a couple of weeks ago but it was extremely salty. Did Alex find this with hers? My ds and I both had it and were really disappointed.

tonymc · 10 Sep 17, 03:02 AM

No problem with the Lobster Ravioli - she managed to eat it all!

summersun · 3 Apr 18, 10:53 AM

great day x