Funnily enough, it was Kim and Henry who did the pushing and persuading for us to re-visit Disneyland in California for its 100th Anniversary. I don't really enjoy being in large crowds or standing in long queues but I couldn't resist the idea of returning to Disney where Kim and Henry were as invested as I was in having a magical experience.

The new Star Wars ride, The Rise of the Resistance was thrilling in its scale and execution. It felt like we were starring in the movie! Just to see the Millennium Falcon was brilliant! We all enjoyed the old favorites like Pirates of the Caribbean and It's a Small World. We chatted about happy memories, like when our niece, Kelly, got absolutely soaked on Splash Mountain. Purely by chance, we stumbled across the smallest home in Disneyland, built in to the base of a tree, just by the entrance to the Indiana Jones ride. We paced ourselves and enjoyed every Disney moment. 

We waved at Mickey and Minnie, posed with Eeyore, enjoyed perfect weather, enjoyed each others company as much as the rides, had a delicious lunch, and left when we felt tired.

We embraced the magic and made it a day to remember.

In the very heart of Los Angeles, you can find The Last Bookstore. It is not literally the last bookstore in the city, but it is the largest and quirkiest and definitely worth visiting, even if it is just to inhale the delicious and intoxicating smell of all the used and new books spread over two floors and 22,000 square feet. Yummmmm!

In a world of technology and a need for speed, there is something ever so comforting about slowly wandering around shelves of books, fingering the spines, selecting something old and familiar that launches magical memories as you turn the pages with a gentle sigh, or finding something totally new that fills you with anticipatory delight, to satisfy the senses and engage the imagination. I was on the lookout for The Fourth Wing as it was recommended by a dear friend, but alas, it was out of stock.

The Last Bookstore is offbeat and unconventional with some amusing features. There is a room full of rare and desirable vinyl records, a tunnel made of books, hidden rooms that were originally bank vaults, revealing the history of the old building, little art shops and studios, a gorgeous cafe, loads of comfy chairs and sofas, hidden nooks and crannies with more obscure and rare volumes, creative themed displays and so much more. I felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole into a Wonderland of curiosities. I couldn't help smiling like a Cheshire Cat.

To get to the bookstore we had a fun journey through central Los Angeles enjoying the short trip on Angel's Flight, a railway ride that has been an LA landmark since 1901, we passed by the Bradbury Building, a filming location for the movie "Blade Runner" and then enjoyed the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the Grand Central Market with all the trendy little food stalls. Short stories in their own right. 

A jolly good day!

Everything about The Broad in Los Angeles is contemporary, edgy and disruptive. On purpose.

First of all, the name of the museum caused me immediate confusion. It is pronounced BRODE to rhyme with rode, and not as I expected which was BROAD to rhyme with Ford, as in something wide. Opened in 2015, the museum was named after philanthropist Eli Broad, who definitively pronounced his name BRODE. And so it is.

In a white honeycomb-style building, the museum houses the very best in contemporary, post 1970 art. 

​The touring exhibition at the museum was Keith Haring; Art is For Everybody and we delighted in his colorful, dynamic, NYC graffiti style of painting that reminded me of dancing Rowntrees Jelly Babies. I personally enjoyed the pieces with bold hearts symbolizing inclusion, acceptance, love and compassion, but I also enjoyed watching the discomfiture of some visitors who were not expecting the vivacious and explicit images of penises, homosexuality, AIDS awareness and a clear opinion that was relentlessly anti-patriarchy. 

I was thrilled to see "Stare," a piece by Jenny Saville, a British artist I have admired for years and follow avidly on Instagram. It was exceptional. Her provocative work has found the perfect home at The Broad. At auction, her groundbreaking fleshy and voluptuous self portrait in rich oils called "Propped" sold at Sotheby's for $12.4 million making her the world's most expensive female living artist at auction. Check it out here. Ahhhhhmazing!

Henry and Kim enjoyed the Jeff Koons' balloon exhibits, especially the "Balloon Dog (Blue)." The "Tulips" in bright Jolly Rancher colors was spectacular. Playing with color, size and scale, the bright and shiny sculptures in mirror-polished stainless steel with a transparent color coating are so much fun and deservingly Insta-popular.

We saw plenty of Warhol, Lichtenstein, Wool, an oversized table and chairs installation by Robert Therrien called "Under the Table,"  a deceptively brilliant Jasper Johns American Flag and the creative wizardry of Jean-Michel Basquiat, a fave of Jay-Z.

The hype for this museum is deserved. I loved all the exhibiting artist's "disgruntled pelicans" defiance, creativity and disruptive vibe.  

Today I saw a flux capacitor in a DeLorean, an original Ford Model-T, Lightning McQueen, a Tesla truck, a Popemobile, a variety of high performance race cars including McClarens, Lamborghinis and Ferraris, the Little Miss Sunshine VW Camper, the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo and a shiny green Supercharged Jaguar XKR with a mounted machine gun and other Q gadgetry last seen in the James Bond movie "Die Another Day" screeching flat out across the ice to save Jinx (Halle Berry) from drowning inside a sinking ice palace. Phew!

Oh, the drama!

Every time we are in LA, we always visit the Petersen Automotive Museum and it never disappoints.

We also got to tour inside The Vault and see the latest Petersen exhibit, "We Are Porsche."

​Being from the UK, I am used to being fascinated by cars, almost against my will, as an avid watcher of Top Gear. My love for cars is inexplicable. I still have an unaccountable affection for the 1963 Opel Kadett that Richard Hammond christened "Oliver" in the Botswana Special. Oh, and by the way, that is the best Top Gear episode ever! Like, EVER! Jezza, the Hamster and Captain Slow rate the Petersen as “the world’s greatest automotive museum.” Praise indeed!

​And on that bombshell...

I have to say, this museum is pure joy for anyone who loves beautiful things, exquisite design, luxurious detailing, mind-blowing engineering, futuristic, sleek, space agey vibes and Willy-Wonka-esque creativity. It is luxuriously, gobstoppingly brilliant!

Henry has a passion for cars and is a true Petrolhead. As we're driving along on our Grand Adventure, he will randomly yell out things like, "R8, E30 M3, L33," as colorful cars whizz by. So the Petersen was naturally top of his list of "Things To Do in LA." 

​The future is electric!

On a hill in Angels Gate Park, overlooking the Pacific, with views all the way to Catalina, sits the Korean Friendship Bell. Away from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles in this peaceful park in San Pedro, we joined with other locals in flying our kite in the strong ocean breeze, high above the beautiful pagoda housing the bell.

The huge bell weighs 17 tons, is 3.6 meters tall (12 feet) and is made out of copper, tin with a little gold, nickel, lead and phosphorous mixed in to enrich the tone and quality of the finish. It was given to the people of Los Angeles by the people of the Republic of Korea in 1976 in honor of the veterans of the Korean War, to celebrate the bicentennial of U.S. independence, and as a token of friendship between the two countries. The bell does not have a clapper and is rung by a huge log being released to batter the bell from the outside. It is patterned after the Bronze Bell of King Songdok, which was cast in 771 A.D. and is still on view in South Korea today. It is intricate and beautiful.

On the first Saturday of every month the bell is rung at 11.30a.m. It is also rung on other special occasions.

When the bell is rung, it is like a prayer being sent up, out over the Pacific Ocean, vibrating in a language that anyone can understand and receive. 

Barbie has been a lightning rod all summer for conversations about gender roles in society. These are challenging conversations worth having, right? 

​Anything directed by Greta Gerwig is a big deal. She chooses her projects with passion and intention, featuring fascinating, often quirky, always complex, female lead characters. I find her work to be extraordinary. 

Margot Robbie is simply perfect in the role of Barbie and such a far cry from her performance in "I, Tonya" that you cannot help but admire her range as an actress. Like Greta Gerwig, she is another smart cookie who chooses her projects with intention. 

Barbie is a blockbuster bombshell and I loved it! 

The movie is so much fun!

The scene where Barbie steps out of her high heel shoes and her foot maintains that Barbie Doll shape is so clever and well executed. Barbie watching Colin Firth as Darcy in Pride and Prejudice as a a legitimate way to ease anxiety made me snort, as I too watch that particular version of P&P to self comfort. It's a classic. That fabulous monologue by America Ferrera as Gloria explaining the impossible expectations of society that women not only have to bear,  but smile with gratitude while bearing them, gave me goosebumps. Hearing Barbie and Ken singing along to Closer to Fine was so funny. And we can all relate to Weird Barbie, right? Except for being able to do the splits. Ha!

The role reversal had me cheering to see women in the traditional male roles from Mount Rushmore to the Supreme Court to The White House (or The Pink House in this case!) but then I was terribly sad to see Ken reduced to a decorative object, seen as foolish, useless, unimportant, irrelevant and without his emotional needs being considered or met, and then I thought, hey, Ken represents us women in society! This movie makes you think about gender, roles and society as we have set it up, with men largely taking the power and control and women being deliberately subverted. This is not an opinion about the movie, this is a fact about society. 

There are so many clever scenes that are riotously funny in the moment, but by the end of the movie those moments add up to a stinging satire of society. Barbie has a kick, a bite and will scratch at your eyes.  

Greta Gerwig said about the movie, "It’s a spicy margarita. There’s like a lot packed into it...I always wanted it to surprise people. I wanted it to make people laugh, but then I also wanted it to kind of almost unexpectedly make people think and cry."

It's a movie that makes you think and have those challenging conversations about gender politics.

​After watching the movie, I don't crave a Malibu Dream House, a pink Corvette convertible, an iconic pretty-in-pink wardrobe with to-die-for accessories, or a Mojo Dojo Casa House, or even a Ken, I simply crave equality. 

I may have to watch it a few more times.

💖💖💖

Henry took us to Cars and Coffee in San Clemente, a place for petrol heads to meet and swoon over cars. He was in his element.

We saw Taylor Swift. Can you spot her?

​Presumably driving the getaway car?

From a distance we saw the Queen Mary, another of our favorites. We have so many happy memories on board, particularly with my dear cousin Pippa and her family when they came out to visit, a good few years back now. She swears she met a ghost on board after getting lost on an upper deck. The ship has definitely got spooky vibes!

Happily, we found somewhere else for lunch in the nearby Marina.

Later we went on to Cabrillo Beach where we lazed around for the afternoon. It is one of my favorite beaches in the LA area as it is a hag stone beach. Hag stones are sedimentary stones found on beaches, rivers or lakes, that have naturally formed holes in them. They are believed to have magical, protective properties that ward off negative energies and are sometimes called Witches Stones or Fairy Stones. I had a relaxing afternoon mooching amongst the rocks happily finding the hag stones. 

Later we went to enjoy the sunset, fly our kites and enjoy the Korean Friendship Bell at Angel's Gate Park, up on the hill, overlooking the Pacific. Another easy breezy evening.

Once we set up the trailer, we headed straight for Huntington Beach to walk the pier, watch the surfers, spot dolphins, feel the sand between our toes and take a dip in the Pacific Ocean. After the last couple of weeks of intense heat, the cool sea breeze was a great relief. We had some dark clouds but no rain. Bliss!

We were in luck, the World Surfing Championships were on and we saw some of the best surfers we have ever seen. Wow!

After a lobster roll for dinner at Longboard Pub and a beautiful sunset it was time for an early night.

Another Route 66 treasure is Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch in Oro Grande, a spit away from Victorville in California.

This place is pure joy.

The wacky humor, whimsical creativity and colorful artistic ingenuity of the ranch immediately captured my quirky imagination. Made of tall metallic trees with welded rusty boughs topped with dazzling glass bottles glinting in the sunlight, tinkling hanging mobiles and moving art pieces, all made from repurposed, recycled glass and a hodge podge of everyday household objects; bicycle wheels, kitchen utensils, old TV sets, discarded tools, even a rusty old jeep and right at the back of the funky forest of delights, a huge satellite dish.

Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch traces its origins back to the 1960's when artist Elmer Long began transforming his desert property into a captivating showcase of repurposed glass and other discarded objects to delight and inspire passing visitors on Route 66. Clearly it was a passion project. Today it stands as a living testament to the vibrant culture and history of The Mother Road embodying the spirit of resourcefulness and resilience that defined the highway's heyday, turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.