There was an album full of reminiscences and photos from Nathalie and a toy hacking kit from Louis, complete with 3D printed model heads of the children, scanned and printed without my knowledge while we have been away! Anne's card is a work of art in its own right and I still have her present to look forward to when we get back. I'm sure it will be absolutely magnificent.
After some time contemplating the thoughtfulness and generosity of my family, we set off for La Jolla, where we watched pelicans and seals before visiting the superb Museum of Modern Art. The gallery must have one of the best views of any gallery anywhere - quite spectacular.
After that, it was off to Mission Park for some retro fairground fun, including a great bone-rattling 1920s wooden roller coaster. Now you wouldn't get that sort of thing in Southport ... oh hang on, I spent two summers working at an almost identical roller coaster on Pleasureland (now sadly gone).
Wandered around Little Italy, visiting some excellent arty shops and then went to San Diego's Day of the Dead shop where we stocked up on various skeletal goods. Of course skulls are now a bit of a style cliché, but La Dia de los Muertos is an important tradition in Southern California and Mexico and is a way of honouring the dearly departed and confronting one's own mortality.
In the evening we had a superb surf and turf dinner at Lou and Mickeys in Downtown San Diego. We looked for Downtown Abbey once again but could not find it. I am beginning to think there is no such place. The food was exquisite, washed down with a couple of bottles of Francis Ford Coppola's finest Zinfandel. The highlight of the evening, however, was the sommelier / waiter, who turned out to be a highly skilled magician who has performed with Dynamo, no less. He dazzled us with some amazing tricks - for example I signed a card which, after lots of shuffling, ended up folded up inside his mobile phone which had been sitting on the table the whole time. Great fun!
Mobile trickery...
I must say I don't feel any older, but when I look in the mirror I realise that age is indeed catching up with me.
It is probably best to end this wonderful day with the wise words of a local philosopher and sage, Robert Downey Junior...
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