April 2010

Went to see author Isabel Allende last night, in the local Books Inc. bookshop just down the road. She came to present her new book, “Island Beneath the Sea”, read parts of it and answered a few questions and signed autographs. What a beautiful, warm, intelligent, inspiring woman! I have read a few of her Read more

The kids are doing really well now. E loves her school and seems to mingle well. She even went on her first “play date” yesterday. These are different than in the UK: as school finishes at half past 2, the afternoon is longer, which means the play date usually ends at 5, or before dinnertime, Read more

First day of school and pre-school today. After a bit of a mad dash this morning (we have to leave the house half an hour earlier than back in the UK, which doesn’t sound much, but believe me, it is crazy), we drive to school. It’s fantastic how the roads around the schools are so Read more

Went over to the coast to Santa Cruz today. A stunning day, and only 45 minutes’ drive. I’d read in the guide somewhere that Santa Cruz has a huge amusement park along its famous boardwalk, and it is just that: huge. And noisy and straight out of an 80s teen movie. Fantastically corny, and so Read more

The idea of writing an online diary about our experience in the US has been brewing for a while. I kind of always wanted to write about what it’s like living in a country you weren’t born in, but never got around to actually doing that while I was living in the UK. Such a Read more