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Today I checked out of the Ritz Carlton, checked into the Ocean Park Inn (which I wouldn't recommend but at least it's clean where it really matters) and spent the day loafing around in Santa Monica.
I came to the beach here during my last business trip, but now I have seen the town as well I rather like the place. It's everything you could want from a Californian beach town. I wandered down 3rd Street Promenade looking at the shops and the dinosaur topiary, and spent some time on the beach reading and catching some rays.
At about six I went in search of food. Going into a proper restaurant and asking for a table for one isn't my favourite thing, so I was pleased to find a fresh seafood cafe right on the pier. But I wouldn't recommend it; my halibut was dry and tough. On the upside it did come with actual vegetables -- I'm talking carrots and broccoli here -- something that can be hard to come by dining out in America.
There are a few cinemas along 3rd Street, so I chose to see Alien vs. Predator, partly because the timing was good and partly because the cinema advertised THX on all screens. As it turned out the movie was rather enjoyable; somehow they managed to come up with a half decent excuse for the premise and while the action wasn't that spectacular there were plenty of fun moments.
I came out at about 9.30pm. It was dark and there was a bit of a party atmosphere going on. The street was packed with people. A crowd had gathered around a pair of guitarists playing extremely fast flamenco music so I stopped to watch for a while. Further along the street I noticed that Barnes & Noble was still open; it too was packed and I spent an hour browsing books and drinking coffee and reading in the cafe.
I'd parked by the beach and even it was full of people. I don't know if Santa Monica is always like this at weekends or if it was just because it was labour day weekend. Either way, it's a great little town with plenty of night life: I passed many interesting bars and cafes on my walk back to the car. It's the kind of place I'd come to often if I lived in this part of the world.
I'm currently watching coverage of Hurricane Frances on TV. Everyone still in Florida has "hunkered down" the hatches (except for the TV reporters who are out in the street doing their live reports) and is waiting it out. There are some rather sad pictures of boats tugging against their moorings; their owners must be dreading finding out what's left after the storm has passed.
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