19 Sep 2021 Paris Sushi Dinner

We had some time to re-group, go to the store and settle on our dinner plans.  Of course Japanese Food holds the top two spots in out list of places to eat.  Lucky for us the Palis is just blocks from Little Tokyo.  Takara was already on our radar and it was only three blocks away.  We did not have a reservation so we had to go over to the annex next door.  That was fine for us and in a way better than if we had gone into the restaurant.  The annex could seat 8 folks and it was just us and one other patron.  The most odd part of this is the food came through the wall.  There was a painting on the wall and the waitress would slide it to the side and grab the food.  I took a great picture of her doing just that.  She saw me and made me delete the picture because its a secret!  Hmmm, not the well kept type of secret.  The sushi was top notch and there was extra Saba for me.  I like Saba, marinated horse mackerel, but it was too fishy for Leslie and for Laura so I got both of theirs.  Yummy.  A brisk stroll later and we find ourselves back at home.

Ordering time

A tiny place became our private dining area

Food magically appears from behind the painting

Leslie and Laura both ordered the Chirashi Sushi and the shiny fish in the middle was the Saba that IO got to eat

Lucky us!

The quintessential Paris shop

I want to go!

Nice Wall

 

19 Sep 2021 Paris by the Louvre

We strolled down by the Louvre and got our first peek of the Eiffel Tower.  Some of the streets get shut down on Sundays and the locals will walk or bike on these streets.  We saw a band of 200 bicyclists, young and old, pedal by us while we were at the Louvre Pyramid.  We kept strolling along in the crisp autumn air upper 60's to lower 70's, until the creeping jet lag forced us to return to the apartment.  Luckily for us, there were beds for all of here and we made use of them for a brief circadian rhythm re-adjustment. 

A cool Metro Station

Very delicate exterior metal work

No end of statues

Here we are at the Louvre entrance

There it is!

Just the start!

For 10 minutes bikes just came by

This Taxi thought it could navigate through all the bikes and a guy stopped him and stood in front of the taxi so he had to stop.

Look at this orange "bike"

A real big fixer upper!

19 Sep 2021 Paris France

 

We have arrived!  It was a long and turbulent flight.  The air was rough due to some residual tropical systems out over the Atlantic Ocean.  The lay flat pods were nice but it is difficult to get a good sleep on any flight.  We landed at 7AM local time which was 1AM our time.  Our pre-arranged driver did not show up so we all piled into a taxi for what seemed like a quick drive to the Palis Royal.  The streets were devoid of cars and people, partly because it was early and partly because it was Sunday.  This three bedroom apartment is fully equipped with kitchen, washer, dryer, dishwasher and incredible view.   The interior of this building is a planted with trees and is a park that is free for people to stroll through.  We did some strolling though there ourselves when we went out for lunch / breakfast.  Croquette sandwiches for everyone.  I got the Croquette Madame, a ham and cheese sandwich with fried egg.   Leslie and Laura got the Croquette Monsieur which is the same sans the egg.   

She's so fancy...

Yes, I can stay here!

Hello Laura

Time to lay flat Mr. Chair

Oh yes, I can feel the circulation in my legs flowing freely

Love that smile!

Our path to Paris

The mask was a hit!  The flight attendant and a passenger all wanted to take a picture

Crooked and rusted antennas all at different angles.  The street view from the Apartment

The garden view from our balcony

My bedroom, pre-unpack mess

 

18 Sep 2021 NYC

 We enjoyed our stay at the TWA motel here at JFK airport. It was a little tricky getting breakfast but that didn't matter as we slept in as long as we possibly could. Then it was a simple walk over to the sky train and back to terminal 8 to the fancy 1st class lounge at JFK. I indulged in some day drinking. On the suggestion of TB Tony I went ahead and drank some Woodford whiskey! I'm not a whiskey drinker due to my initial experience with old grand dad whiskey back in the day. I will say no more about those experiences! After that I hit the wine bar.   A fine Napa Valley Cab helped me get loose enough to get some sleep on the flight.

The exterior of the tunnel 

The tunnel from the side

The aforementioned tunnel

Lots of formed concrete 

Connie is the name of the plane / cocktail lounge

This is the TWA Hotel

Show me the way to to the next whiskey bar...

First class lounge

Sipping the good stuff

17 September 2021 New York New York

 

1964 is calling but we are not answering! We don't want to end up in the Twilight Zone!  It was a delight flying up to NY NY.  We were the first on the plane, first with drinks in our hands and first to roll our eyes at the folks who are totally unaware how to board an airplane.  The flight itself was uneventful,  thank goodness.   The clouds were something special,  the lowest cloud level looked like the surface of a lake.  Very pretty and most unusual.  We landed in terminal 8, got our luggage at carousel 8 and then took elevator 8 to the sky train.  The sky train took us back in time to 1964.  The TWA hotel is super cool and retro to its core.  The building was designed by Saarinen, the same guy who did the Gateway Arch. It was after 10 PM when we got to get room so no further activities for weary travelers. 

With the sunset in the background

The clouds look to be reflected off of the surface of a lake 

Vary captivating 

Skytrain all to ourselves 

Zoom zoom

We have arrived!

Just in time to relax

Much needed directions 

The long red carpet

Laura's room.  She can look into the lounge from her room

 

17 Sep 2021 Hollywood FL

Leg #1.  Ft. Lauderdale to NYC.  We will be staying at the TWA Hotel at JFK airport.  Its going to be a retro mid century modern evening!

Pickles is watching TV and hanging out with Veronica.

I have ghost pepper powder and Habenero powder too!