Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Vacation day 1 of 10. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, flax meal, cacao nibs, toasted shaved coconut, golden raisins; hot water. Patrick and I rode Lyft to SFO, chatting with driver Michael also from Mornings With Michael which he said was a financial podcast but which I was later unable to find easily in Apple Podcasts. Delta Airlines flight to LAX was uneventful. We sat in row 10 in Comfort Plus aka Comfort+, and Patrick said it was the most legroom he has ever experienced on a plane. We rode a free shuttle to the LAXit lot for rideshare and taxi, and this ride seemed like it took 20 or 30 minutes. We took a 47-minute Lyft ride to check in at Palihouse West Hollywood. We arrived early and had expected to check our bags then return later for proper check-in, but our room was available and they let us have it early. We settled a bit then walked to Joan's on Third for lunch: we shared a short rib sandwich and a chinese chicken salad. Patrick drank an iced latte, and I drank a hot chai latte. All food and drink were delicious. I thought the pork in the sandwich was a bit too salty and the bread a bit too buttery, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. We rode Lyft from Joan's to Urban Light at LACMA. There was a lot of construction in the area when we alighted. We were expecting to purchase tickets for the museum, but luckily it was free admission today. We saw just about everything except most of the pavilion exhibits. We also saw Central Meridian (The Garage) and Chris Burden's Metropolis II. At a break in the middle, we stopped for beverages at Ray's and Stark Bar: Patrick had a lemonade, I had a hot Jasmine tea. We walked to West 6th Street then rode Lyft to the Original Farmer's Market where we browsed. We walked to Trader Joe's to purchase bottled water, then walked back to Palihouse along West 3rd Street. We rested or napped. We walked to dinner at Melanie: sparkling water; two glasses of Reale Cardamone; tater tots with ketchup and chipotle aioli and grana padano; gem lettuce salad with asian pear, parm reg, and sherry vinaigrette; and a three-item charcuterie and cheese platter: jamon serrano, red hawk, sottocenere al tartufo. We had a really nice time. The dining room can get quite noisy when full. Before dining we confirmed they had an organic wine. We returned to the room.