A Jaunt Through Wilmington: Courtyard by Marriott (not so much)
November 12, 2019
New shiny bits for the Stick
A quick but essential trip down to Wilmington to upgrade the Stick internet to fiber. Hopefully NPS will be spending more time here in 2020.
The Stick in November
Atlantic facing south
Sadly the best bet for staying in Wilmington is the Courtyard by Marriott. I know. Downtown. It is new, but somehow dated and frivolous at the same time. We were assigned hamster cage 317 (see the red dot).
Dot r you.
generic
generic
generic
Plastic with a glass door?! It’s the new plastic.
Looks OK from here
Molded plastic for all
Dinner and a Negroni at Caprice Bistrot was quite good. Best yet in Wilmington.
Two showerheads and a yawn for the Courtyard Marriott in Wilmington. We’re glad it’s here. We think.
Hyatt Place Pablum in Bloomington, Indiana
October 19, 2019
Yeah well the Grant Street Inn was full. So we ended up at a Hyatt Place. Nope. Hamster cages for all.
Bloomington Morning
Hamster cage 229
Same
Same
Not plastic, but might as well be
NPS will try hard to avoid Hyatt Place in the future. About the only good thing about it is that the Irish Lion is across the street.
Irish Lion across the street
The bar at the Irish Lion
Old Fashioned
There was also a house concert.
Ritt and Wilder Deitz
Two showerheads for the Hyatt.
Plaza La Reina, Los Angeles
October 12, 2019
Plaza La Reina remains an outstanding property. NPS recommended. On our second stay we met one of the owners (Philippe) who of course is friends with a mutual friend. The world is small.
The courtyard (which has net coverage)
Room 202 is a junior suite and is a very nice room. Though its large windows overlook the street, it is quiet.
Bed nook room 202
Not plastic
The site of R2
NPS is in town for R2, about which this posting.
Badmaash serves excellent Indian food in a Bollywood style. Cora’s in Santa Monica is a great place for breakfast.
Greenpoint
The Edison is a very big but very good bar. Pretty empty early on a Friday.
LACMA lamps
A visit to the LACMA is always a good idea.
A rare but consistent five showerheads for Plaza La Reina.
R2 Wine Luncheon Number 5
October 12, 2019
As always, the wine luncheon in LA was excellent. Great food, great company, and great wine. Our host Donnie did it again.
We dined at Lucques, and though we did not have a private room, we were well cared for and had plenty of room.
Donnie and I arrived in time for a cocktail before lunch got rolling.
House made Negroni at Lucques
Negroni components
The house made Negroni was, um, interesting. Infused vodka?! Overly sweet home made Campari. Sweet vermouth that was pretty sweet.
R2 menu
The food was excellent. Sadly, no pictures were snapped. The wine was plentiful as always.
The wine supply
Wine
Wine
As it turned out, a number of small French wineries were in the house looking for US distributors. After lunch, we joined them for a taste.
Vive la France
After an excellent Indian dinner, we decamped to Edison for a night cap. Good times.
Greenpoint
Pullman Sydney Hyde Park: Disco Duck Stuck in the ’70s
September 17, 2019
Business. What you gonna do. The Pullman is not the kind of hotel we would normally choose, but that’s where they stuck us. After a 15 hour flight, an early arrival is somewhat non-trivial in Sydney. No arrivals lounges at the airport, and no early checkin at this business class hotel. So where do you shower off the metal tube?
The hotel staff did offer up the (not really that private) shower on 23 where the pool and weight room are situated. So yes, we did it. Nothing like shaving in public by the pool! LOL.
The shower on 23 was not plastic at least
Fancy a shave?
At checkin, I asked how many room categories there were and figured out the (small) price difference between our assigned category (two) and category six. Switching to a suite was a no brainer. The suites at the Pullman are all numbered “15,” FWIW.
There was a delay checking in each time of about 20 minutes. The exec lounge on 21 has decent net and some snacks, though once again the furniture needs to be replaced.
Working in the lounge with espresso
Here is an amalgamation of 1215 and 1615, our first night suite and the one we had for the rest of our Pullman time. They were pretty much the same with dated (and very dirty) furnishings that need to be replaced.
Entrance way
Hyde park balcony
Those colors
Same view, different floor
The sitting room (1215)
The shower situation in the Pullman suites is complicated. The showers are all placed in a ’70s era hot tub replete with entry steps. At least the water pressure is good.
The extensive bathroom hot tub shower thing
Hmm
There was plenty of time for exercise due to time zone differential on this trip. Up at 4am? Yeah. I was surprised by the number of people who used the gym.
The weight room on 23
View from the exercise room
A day trip to the Blue Mountains with Brian included two hikes and an overnight stay at the Lilianfels. The hikes:
Hiking wentworth falls
Just around the corner from the Pullman is the Philosophy Cafe where not only do they have an excellent breakfast, they also have remarkably good coffee. For Sydney, that’s a thing. Sydney has great coffee all over. Make sure to take the time to find the best!
Sydney espreso
Philosophy Cafe breakfast
Also just around the corner is a great Italian restaurant called Beppi’s. Old school but very good food.
Vino Italiano at Beppi’s
Sydney is a great place to eat out. This trip included a visit to both Bistecca and Freds. Both were remarkably good. The bar at Fred’s (Charlie Parker’s) is also highly recommended.
Amer Picon at Charlie Parker’s (means a liberal)
Charlie Parker’s bar
Cocoa Banana
The Cocoa Banana from Charlie Parker’s (by Giacomo Franceschi)
house fermented banana wine (local yeast from the air)
bourbon (maker’s mark)
dark rum (havana 7)
montenegro amaro
cocoa butter
Fred’s open kitchen. Absolutely delicious food.
These fish. Just wow.
Recommended by Aaron Bedra
Bistecca grill (where the steaks are hand cut)
Speaking of bars. Make sure to include some time for: Lobo Plantation, a quick visit to the Marble bar (once anyway), the Baxter Inn, and Door Knock.
Zombie lighting at Lobo Plantation
Lobo Plantation tiki bar
The thing about the Marble bar is that it is trapped in a Hilton. The old stuff is beautiful, but whoever decided that plastic cups and formica tables were the way to go needs to be fired. Then again, the clientele was mostly tourists in tee shirts. Ordering fries seemed like the thing to do.
Marble bar
Your fries are ready
Baxter Inn is set up for whiskey drinkers, but the clientele?? Not so much. Go on an off day.
Baxter Inn Willet
The (locked) back room
Door Knock was a blast. Fun bartenders and very good drinks.
Mescal for a Paloma
Sawing the ice at Door Knock
Last Word at Door Knock
Dinner at Spice Temple was very good, though the atmosphere is a bit down market. Go for the food, not the ambiance.
Spice temple western style dumplings
We did some sailing in Sydney harbor.
Sydney transport of the fancy variety
An afternoon visit to the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art is recommended.
All told, a low three showerheads for the Pullman. Great staff, but a property that really needs some investment to stay relevant. No more furniture from the ’70s!
Lilianfels, Katoomba, Australia: The Blue Mountains Lux
September 16, 2019
Katoomba is a great place to visit if you are into hiking, spectacular views, and nature. On a previous day trip, we didn’t spend the night (coming in and out by train from Sydney is almost fast enough to make that work). This time, we opted to stay at Lilianfels which is an old school resort right near the three sisters.
Lilianfels resort has many buildings
Lilianfels was likely built back when royalty seemed to matter. NPS calls this kind of place an “old lady hotel.” Lets just say Lilianfels is most famous for its high tea in the afternoon. We missed that in favor of hiking.
See more about the Three Sisters hike and the Grand Stairway here.
When we arrived just after an early lunch at 8things (recommended), only one of the rooms was ready, so we ditched our stuff and headed off on the trail. Three hours and 6.3 miles later, we enjoyed a Negroni by the pool.
Lunch at 8things
Post hike Negroni
I was assigned room 223.
Lilianfels bedroom
No real view from 223
The bathroom was spacious and the shower was not plastic at all. Very solid.
A visit to the spa got us access to the hot tub, which after going up over 900 steps felt pretty great.
Lilianfels spa
Dinner at Miss Lilian teahouse was bad. Do not eat there.
Drinks at the bar downstairs in the main house were much needed.
On the way out of town, we stopped into Wentworth Falls for a hike there too. Absolutely worth it.
Hiking wentworth falls
All told, Katoomba overnight may be a bit of overkill. Lilianfels is a four showerhead kind of place. A bit too old school, and who lets such a bad restaurant persist?
Back in Oslo at the Hotel Christiania Teater
August 30, 2019
Oslo is a beautiful city, but whatever you do, don’t try to drive in it. Even people who grew up here can’t do it. In particular, trying to get to the Hotel Christiania Teater from Lillehammer is, well, “interesting” in that Chinese curse kind of way.
As a creature of habit who has found a great property in Oslo, NPS is happy to stay at the Hotel Christiania Teater again. The only wrinkle is that someone else has booked 620 for Wednesday night. Scooped!
That meant we were relegated to room 510, which is a nice room with an inner courtyard facing “view.” 510 is very nice, but is not at all a 620!
510 is dominated by this comfortable bed
The suite sitting area is in the same room as the bed (which in our view makes it less of a suite and more of a room)
bathroom alcove
the shower is set apart by a huge heavy door
Sadly the plumbing seems to wake up early and make insane amounts of noise. An alarm clock of sorts.
The glass shower compartment, this shower is OK
One of the best parts of Hotel Christiania Teater is the bar downstairs which is top notch and always nice to visit.
Negroni with Norwegian gin
Excellent Indian food can be found at Jaipur.
Delicious
And of course a visit to Himkok is pretty much mandatory.
Experimental aquavit cocktail
Experimental Aquavit Cocktail
2cl aquavit
2cl tequila
4 cl beech water kefie
10 ml ambrato (bison grass)
10 ml Italicus
stir down. serve up.
After a one day delay, room 620 became available. An excellent, interesting, quirky space with a great shower.
The supermodels show off 630
bedroom is all bed
walk in shower with tub
One of two great alcoves with windows
All in all 620 has tons of room to hang out, exercise (which is important since the hotel has no gym of its own), blog, read, etc, in comfort.
Some time in Oslo, included a visit to Gøran’s cousin’s excellent art gallery PURenkel.
I added a painting to the art collection.
starfish
There was also Indian street food, beer, and espresso.
A talk.
Visiting Miles
Dinner at Hanami was very good. Excellent sushi and great service.
Just skip the bar at the thief. These people have forgotten what hospitality is.
Five showerheads for Hotel Christiania Teater, one of NPS’ favorite hotels on the planet.
