California girls

Sofia and I spent the last three days away from home on a trip to Orange county -Southern California - where neither one of us had been before. Once there we met Lulu, my best friend from high school, and one of her friends.


This was the very first time we went on a trip together without Bella and Lionel and, although we really missed them, we also had plenty of fun. With Wednesday and today spent traveling, that really only left us with Thursday and Friday to explore. We could have chosen to stay one more day and head back home on Sunday instead of today, but since Bella was staying behind I didn't want to be away for too long.

On Thursday we went to Disneyland, which of course was crowded but it wasn't too bad. I had never been to one of the Disney parks as that was not a luxury my sister and I had as kids and, truth be told, if anything Lionel and I had been dreading the time when we would have to take the girls there. Sofia of course loved it, and I was pleasantly surprised that I also had a pretty good time. Seeing Sofia happy made me happy in itself and it was nice to -for once - give her all my attention and be there just for her. Also, despite the;” crowds and the heat, all the people we interacted with were very nice. We were there between 10:30am and 4:30pm before Sofia finally needed a break. We then headed back to the hotel, to buy her a swimsuit - since I had forgotten hers - and to the pool. After all that I thought she would be done for the day, but she decided she wanted to go back to the park. By the time we took showers and made it back the fireworks were about to start. So we ate something in a hurry and went to enjoy the show. It truly was a lovely way to end the night, sitting there under the stars and holding on to my little girl. By the time the fireworks ended Sofia was finally exhausted, so as soon as we made it back to the hotel she crashed fast and hard.

On Friday we decided to head to LA since I had rented a car and neither one of us had ever been there. There was definitely traffic and we hit some really slow spots at times, but overall it wasn't too bad. Sofia and Mara - Lulu's friend - were in the back seat, so they took a nap. Lulu and I used that time to reconnect, talk about the people from the past, and share some of our future plans. Once we arrived in LA we parked the car in Hollywood boulevard, had some quick pizza, and visited the Kodak and the Chinese theaters before buying tickets for one of those tours that take you all around. We wanted one where we could get in and out. Our first stop was at the famous Chateau Marmont, which we found to be highly disappointing. The people working there, most of who spoke perfect Spanish and appeared to be mostly Mexican, let us in to check out the pool and the gardens. It is not that it isn't somewhat nice, but I just don't see why people would pay thousands of dollars to spend the night. If you ask me I have stayed at nicer places, for way less than that. We then boarded the sightseeing bus again, which drove us around Sunset and Santa Monica Boulevards before making its way to Beverly Hills. By the time we made it to Rode Drive we left the bus again to walk around. There we made an unexpected purchase at a kids shoe store as Sofia's plastic shoes were bugging her, so I had to buy her tennis shoes and socks. This made me think a lot about my sister, as she has been known to do things like that. But I couldn't complain too much about it, as in part it was my own fault. I told her to wear the tennis shoes, but I should have made her do so. Other than that of course we had no plans to buy anything there, but it was a nice walk on a beautiful sunny day. One of the side streets was all cobblestones, which made you feel like you were in Mexico or somewhere in Europe, but not in LA.

After our stop in Rodeo Drive we once again took the bus to take us back to where we started. Since we had no plans to get out at any of the other stops the ride back did seem like forever, and by then I could see that Sofia was starting to crash. But sitting there actually gave her some more energy. So when we made it back to Hollywood boulevard we made a quick stop at the wax museum, which I thought was somewhat disappointing as well. Some of the people did look like the real thing, but some of them were not and appeared cheaply made. At least I was glad the ticket was not that pricey, as by then we had already spent plenty of cash.

By then it was 8:00pm and it was starting to get dark, and I really wanted to leave before that as according to me Hollywood Boulevard at night is not the best place around. So we made it to the car for our drive back to Anaheim. One more stop for dinner and we were finally back at the hotel around 10:30pm. We made time for a quick shower and it was time for bed.

This morning we had to get up at 6:00am to catch our first flight, and despite only sleeping 7 hours Sofia is still being a trooper, in a good mood, and acting like a big girl. She has been so great during the entire trip that it really makes me realize how much she has grown, how independent she is with so many things, and how lucky I am to be able to spend this time with her. I love my girl, and can't wait to do it all again.

Hollywood Boulevard

Chinese Theater

Chateau Marmont

Rodeo Drive

Rodeo Drive

A rare moment of silence

Wax Museum

Last picture before we left LA