Hey Girrrrr!

How is it going over there? What is the highlight so far?

I have been back for a couple of days. No, did not bathe in the ocean but walked on the beach early evening. I also drove up to the mountains, very dramatic landscapes in Cali.

Did swim in on public swimming pool that was huge and shaped like a basin it was the most insane Pool I have ever seen. It was great. The next day I sashayed into the Roosevelt Hollywood hotel's swimming pool like. my daddy owns the joint and spent the day there. It was great, but by that time my trip was almost at an end and I have seen so much misery on the streets of LA and SF that it started bothering me, didn't feel right lying on a pool chair and ordering expensive drinks from the bar menu. SF was great, spent most of the time with my family over there and that was the highlight. The festival went ok, not. great not bad. All in all LA is kind of ugly and not hospitable and I say this from New York! Also it was great to go back to paying what now seems low prices for everything. You guys are freakin crazy on the coast, LA was 40% - 100% pricier than NY on everything. 11.50$ for coffee and a pastry?? Here it is 6 and that's in an upscale cafe. Never mind SF. How to hell do all these hipsters in their tattered clothes afford to sit around in coffeeshops in LA? Plus I encountered more people who don't wash themselves or their clothes in LA more than NYC. And NYC has its share. Sorry I'm kind of judgemental  when it comes to personal hygiene. Anyways a busy two weeks, saw a lot, done a lot, and now back home. :)

The. festival was ok. Not great, not bad. I spent extra days exploring nature around LA and swimming pools of course. Then went to SF, had a great time spending time with family. Also SF is very beautiful. LA is not. Glad to be in the east coast paying $14f for a bowl of pasta and not $24.Crazy pricy over there.

Oh. Wow. It is impossible for me to pick one highlight. It is all spectacular. Had a little snafu getting my car today and didn’t get it till 4:30. I didn’t want to drive out of Lisboa in rush hour trying to read signs in Portuguese so am staying with this gal I met from NYC! We went and got tattoos today. Was her first one. Me, I’m outta room now on my arms. So I have a permanent souvenir. 
Yeah. That is exactly why so many folks from CA are moving to PDX. We are significantly more affordable. I will say though it is driving prices up here too. That has always been one of my questions! “How do these hipsters who appear to be urchins without a pot to piss in afford the Left Coast?” They have 5-6 of them that share a one bedroom place in PDX. Or they have nice trust funds they are spending . 
I ditched  Verizon and their $10 a day for half gig data and got a Portugal SIM card. $15 for 15 days with unlimited data. This will be better for driving and using maps. Bad thing is I cannot text or call with it, but I don’t need to do that anyway. I stay in touch with Daughter on WhatsApp. 
Gotta run. Glad to hear your trip overall was good. Yes. The houseless crisis has grown exponentially on the West side and it is not really fathomable for so many. On the other hand, I know plenty of folks that are becoming desensitised to it, which adds tragedy to travesty. Sad. 
OK Ms X! More soon! 
I will try to send a pic of Sintra tomorrow. Will be hard to pick as I probably have a hundred 

Sounds like you’re having lots of fun! Post pics when you have them. Xoxoxo