Yesterday was a fairly calm day in the morning. I took a walk down to the Peninsula and left Spencer in peace to do some work. It's about a 20 minute walk to the ocean front and I had forgotten to put on any sun cream. When I got down there I browsed some shops, looking for a hoodie to buy to wear for my return trip to the UK. Something tells me I am going to be extremely cold as soon as I step foot back in England.

I selected my jumper, and also got a cute longsleeved thermal tee shirt that declares I am a Newport Life Guard! That will help to keep me warm too.

There was no shade at the beach, so I headed back home. My mind was wondering and I wasnt really concentrating on my path, so I ended up going a really long way home, resulting in a super bright red face by the time I made it home.

I dozed on the balcony in the afternoon, and when Spencer wrapped up his work for the day we jumped in the car and headed to Crystal Cove. It is a nature reserve and they have renovated a number of beach cottages which were built in the 40s. They are very beautiful, quaint little cottages. You can stay in either a cottage by yourself, or in one of the dorm-style cottages. They are usually booked up well in advance but we had managed to get a last minute cancellation for the night in one of the dorm style cottages.

We checked in and the receptionist, Brent, was very helpful and pleasant. We unloaded our stuff into our dorm and then took a lovely walk along the beach. It had been a very warm day, much warmer than it has been in California since I arrived, and so the sand was still hot underfoot, but the sea was surprisingly fresh. I opted out of a swim and instead enjoyed the sand between my toes and looked at the various birds loitering around.

It was time for dinner, and I had been co-erced into cooking some Greek food for Spencer. A lot of Cypriot food could almost be vegan, if we didnt stick a chicken stock cube into everything that we eat, so I had said I would cook fasolaki (Green beans and potatoes) for Spencer, replacing the chicken stock with a veggie stock.

We got back to the cottage and said a sociable good evening to everyone we saw. I started preparing the beans and potatoes and when the pot was full and the dinner on the cook I made a Greek salad with our traditional Oil and Lemon dressing. We tucked into that and Spencer was appreciative of the salad. So far, so good.

I had overbudgeted on the food quantities and so there was plenty in the pot. I explained to Spencer the Cypriot concept of cooking enough food for everyone plus one portion for Jesus. In Greek families you never know who is going to come knocking on the door at lunch time, when it would be rude not to offer that person something to eat. Usually at home that person is me knocking on my sister or mum's door!!

We ate our salad and then served up our delicious dinner. As we finished serving our plates one of our fellow cottage dwellers came up for a sniff, declaring that it smelt good. We quickly offered her a plate, which she greatfully accepted, calling the rest of her family over. Spencer and I sat outside and ate while the family of four tucked into Jesus' portion of my Fasolaki. It felt so funny that I was feeding all of these people in a cottage on the beach in California!

I was growing sleepy, but still had enough energy for a quick search for some ice cream. We went off down to the beach again as I had spotted a sign for ice cream down there earlier. The ice cream place was shut, but the restaurant was open and they soon had me convinced to go in for a quick desert. They had cheesecake so I lost no time at all in ordering that and a lovely cup of earl gray. The cheesecake as fantastic, just the right thing to finish off my evening meal. Full and fat we took a gentle stroll along the beach in the moonlight before I declared that I was too tired for anything else and made our way back to the cottage.

I may have mentioned to one or two passers bye in the cottage that I had been going in search of ice cream, because on my return everyone was quite keen to find out how I had gotten on. I told them about my delicious cheesecake but that didnt seem to satisfy them and so offered me a yummy oreo cookie ice cream. I think I could get used to eating lots of cheescakes and ice creams. Maybe I might pop out for a burger too????

Definately full and happy I craweled into my little bed and fell asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.