LIVE FROM BEVERLY HILLS CALIFORNIABefore dinner last evening we took a long walk. Our walk included stops at the Beverly Hills Civic Center, Town Hall and Library. We finally passed a gas station for the very first time of the trip. The prices were significantly higher than we are used to and we were surprised that they offer full service gas. We did live in Northern California several years ago so we do remember the higher prices for gas. We dined at the Italian Restaurant II Pastaio which Sherry had recommended to us with a comment on the Blog and the Front Desk Manager had recommended the day we checked into the hotel. We had a nice time. Seating is available inside and outside. We chose inside as Keith gets cold easily. Both locals and tourists were dining. Families, couples, work associated, and those dining alone were there. We arrived when the waitstaff was changing from lunch to dinner. The evening waiters wore dinner jackets. The bread was hot and tasty. They offered more and as much as we enjoyed the bread we said "no thank you". We had two courses starting with a green salad with a tasty lemon vinaigrette on the side. Keith had the ahi tuna and went with the recommendation to have it medium rare. It was cooked to perfection. Anne Marie had the veal scallopini. The menu features lots of pasta choices and several people had a pasta course. We saw Frank and Thelma's comment about enjoying Italian food. We wanted to mention that we have eaten at Patsy's a couple of times. The first time was in 2007 based on a recommendation from a cruising friend who lives in Manhattan and has been eating there since he was a little boy. Most recenlty we ate at Patsy's with our friend when we were in New York City in 2016. Our son visited Eataly in New York City a few months ago but we completely forgot about it until saw us mention it in our Blog and said this was the place he visited. We are just having salad entrees there. What we enjoyed most about Eataly is the amazing range of items that they sell for consumption at home. The sheer size and the number of items carried is amazing. We enjoyed a nice walk back to the hotel first stopping by the Beverly Hills Canon Gardens to see the Holiday Lights. For the second consecutive day we achieved our goal of total miles walked and total steps. All in all we had a terrific evening. Photos: Left to Right Beverly Hills Wilshire, Town Hall, Civic Center, Artwork we have seen a couple of times during our walks, Gas Prices for self and full service, restaurant photos and photos of holiday lights at the Beverly Hills Canon Gardens. After all of the walking it was easy to fall asleep and that is what we did. We began the day as we have since we checked in with breakfast in our room. We enjoyed cereal, fruit, banana, coffee and water. After breakfast we went on a morning walk. With the low for the morning of 51 degrees it was cool so we dressed appropriately. An hour later the sun shown brightly and it began to warm up. We walked on some familiar streets, stopped by a Whole Foods and walked on some very pretty residential streets. In addition with some homes with Christmas decorations one home had blowups with Chanukah decorations. We invited friends Mehrdad and Sonia to join us for lunch so we went on an early walk after breakfast. This allowed housekeeping to make-up our room. When we returned we freshened up, and read & wrote before our friends arrived. Mehrdad worked for Keith for many years at MCI in various management positions. We have enjoyed a wonderful friendship with Mehrdad and Sonia. At about the time Keith retired, Mehrdad and Sonia and their family moved to Southern California and eventually Mehrdad started his own business with a business partner. We have seen them a a couple of times over the years and we keep in close with them. Before we took our second World Cruise in 2008 leaving from Beverly Hills we met them for lunch. We enjoyed lunch with them the following year before we sailed from Los Angeles to Hong Kong on-board Crystal Symphony. The good news is that none of us have aged since the first time we met them in Beverly Hills in 2008. LOL. We enjoyed lunch at the Roof Garden Restaurant at the hotel where we dined on Sunday evening. We picked the restaurant for its convenience and to enjoy a leisurely lunch while sitting outside. We stayed in the restaurant for three hours. Like us they have two children and enjoyed hearing about them along with all that Mehrdad and Sonia have been up to. We never ran out of conversation and also enjoyed lots of great laughs. We look forward to an enjoyable evening and day tomorrow.
Anne Marie & Keith
1 Comment
We wanted to thank Ilene for the restaurant suggestion of I’ll Pastaio. The irony is that when we arrived to the hotel and the Front Desk Manager escorted us to a temporary room, we discussed options for lunch. He said there is an excellent Italian Restaurant for lunch and dinner and sure enough he recommended this one. When we were doing our research a couple of months ago we read terrific reviews on Trip Advisor and looked at their on-line menu. We've already passed it on a walk. It was very busy during lunch time with all of the outside tables in use. We decided this morning to change a dinner reservation from a different restaurant to this one for this evening so we will post about the dining experience tomorrow. Thank you again and look forward to sailing with you on the Holiday Cruise. Speaking of restaurants when we returned to the hotel in the afternoon we located one of the hotel restaurants; Belvedere. Thank you Rocky and Dave for recommending it. We didn't quite understand what it looked like based on the photo on the Hotel website. We spoke with the restaurant manager and she showed us the dining area and she mentioned something unique for most restaurants. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and their hours are 6:30 AM to 10:30 PM. You can order breakfast, lunch or dinner anytime meaning at 6:30 AM you can order dinner and at 10:30 PM you could order breakfast. We also asked about the living room which features a traditional high tea at Noon, 2:30 pm and 5:00 pm as it was full with people each time we left or returned from the hotel. She said it is fully booked through the end of the year. We had dinner at Panini Kabob Grill. Recognizing we will be on this long adventure we are keeping our meals on the simpler side during our stay in Beverly Hills. If we were on one voyage, we would have selected restaurants offering a more formal atmosphere and multi courses. They have several locations in Los Angeles and the metropolitan area including two in Beverly Hills. The cuisine is Mediterranean. The menu features several choices of kabob and panini wraps and offers lots of healthy choices. We had a platter which included beef and chicken, rice and a Greek Salad. It was too much food so it was not all eaten. It has been many years since we had Kabobs. Anne Marie used to make them from-time-to-time when our children lived at home with us. After dinner we took a nice walk enjoying seeing the holiday lights all lit up. We've included a couple of photos from outside our hotel. This was a great day for walking. We ended the day with over 10 miles and close to 22,000 steps. After getting a good night's sleep we began the day with some coffee and had breakfast in the room. Based on yesterday's experience we cut the quantity of coffee to one pot and the fruit plate to one plate which we shared. We each had cereal. As they say "you live and learn". LOL. We went on another long walk in the morning. We purchased a few additional items for the cruise. We have a few items to purchase. We plan to pick those up in Honolulu on the Holiday Cruise. We stopped by the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel to reminisce about our stay prior to the 2008 World Cruise. We also stopped by the Waldorf Astoria Hotel which is one of the newest hotels in Beverly Hills and gets rave reviews. These photos are from the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. We continued our walk for a couple of hours including stopping at a few department stores to look for an items for Keith. We enjoyed a salad entree before continuing our walk. In the afternoon we enjoyed the room, including the outdoor patio. We will close now as in a little while we will go out again and enjoy the city and the beautiful weather.
Anne Marie & Keith HAPPY TO BE IN BEVERLY HILLS Thanks to those who have posted comments. We appreciate the good wishes and the suggestions including places to visit and restaurant recommendations. We thought we would begin with a short walk down memory lane. As we get older, each year seems to pass quicker than the year before. We can't believe our last stay in Beverly Hills was in January 2008 just days before the start of World Cruise 2008. We remember that moment as if it was yesterday. We stayed at the Beverly Hills Hilton since that is the hotel that Crystal Cruises used for the World Cruise Gala. It was the only hotel that could accommodate the number of guests booked on the full World Cruise. We didn't know much about the hotel other than it hosts the Golden Globe Awards. We remember the writers' strike that year. We walked a lot during our pre-cruise stay. One morning we arrived to Westfield Century City before the stores opened to see a man walking with a young boy. The man turned out to be Adam Sandler. He was kind enough to stop for a moment for a photo and was just your average person. Unfortunately, it was sunny, but this is a photo of our memory of Adam Sandler. Shortly after arriving to the hotel yesterday we took that walk down memory lane as we passed the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel (also passed the new Waldorf Astoria Hotel) and made our way to the mall. The mall underwent a major expansion in 2015. We did not see Adam Sandler but in 2008 we saw him very early in the morning. LOL. After getting settled at the hotel, we took a long walk before dinner. At one point we were walking on Rodeo Drive which where many areas were decorated for the holidays. We enjoyed dinner at The Roof Garden Restaurant at the hotel. The name describes the restaurant. It is on the top floor of the hotel located next to the outdoor pool and spa. The tables are under large umbrellas. There are gas lamps near the tables providing some much-wanted heat when the sun went down. In fact, midway through the meal we asked if a second heater could be brought closer to our table. The wait staff was amazing as was the food. We each had salads and as we were eating them we remarked how much we enjoy salads and fruit in California. We both had a Ezpazote-Scallion Marinated Pacific Swordfish entree which was delicious. It was all the more tasty accompanies by charred corn, avocado and chayote-Lime slaw. It became fairly dark outside shortly after we were seated so we didn't get take photos of the food. Very few people were dining but that will quickly change as we get closer to the Christmas Holiday. With that said when we got back to the hotel before dinner the bar area was very busy and the area off the lobby where tea is served had been equally busy when we left the hotel for our second walk of the day. We slept well last evening given we were up very early on Sunday morning and our body clocks were two hours later than the time in California due to the time zone difference. The room is located in a corner section of the hotel with no rooms on the bedroom side. We heard no noise. Before breakfast Keith took a walk around the lobby which was all lit up with Christmas decorations. Our hotel package includes a daily breakfast. We had breakfast in our room. We had cereal, fruit, coffee and water. We were surprised at the size of the fruit plate and the coffee pots and only had a portion of it. We will know better for tomorrow and will plan to share on plate of fruit and one pot of coffee and even that is too much. Our goal today was to pick up items needed for the cruise which we did not bring with us from home. This includes some liquid items for cleaning clothes, nail polish remover and batteries. We walked to Rexall Drugs where we found most of the items on our list. We enjoyed lunch at Eataly located at Westfield Century City. This is an Italian Market with restaurants, cafes, counters selling food and wine and a cooking school. Anne Marie is half Italian and as we stopped by several of the counters with food she would point out items and reminisce about the wonderful meals her Italian Nana (who lived with her family along with her grandfather) would prepare each night for the entire family. We also walked around the Mall for quite awhile. Before leaving the mall we stopped at Gelson's Market where we shopped in 2008. The store underwent a renovation earlier this year. They added places to eat including a sit-down bar, grill station and a Wolfgang Puck pizza counter. The majority of floor space is dedicated to items found in grocery stores. We purchased a few items including some wine. Some photos from Eataly. We returned back to the Hotel for a short break and went back out and walked towards Rodeo Drive and then on several side streets. The weather was terrific with the sun shining and highs in the 60's. We returned to the Hotel and took advantage of the beautiful patio enjoying some wine and fruit. The hotel is truly amazing with so many personal touches. This is the first hotel we have stayed at that personalizes the pillow cases. For Anne Marie it should have been AMS but they are forgiven. LOL. We have dinner plans for this evening and will post about this tomorrow.
Anne Marie & Keith CALIFORNIA HERE WE COME We enjoyed a good night's sleep at the airport hotel and heard no aircraft noise. After we awoke we got ready for the start of our adventure. The hotel shuttle took us on a five-minute drive to the airport terminal. Check-in was efficient and with Global Entry allowing pre TSA check we made our way through security expeditiously. We enjoyed coffee at the airline lounge and visited a few stores before making our way to the gate for our flight. Our flight left on-time and was uneventful. There was some turbulence but in someways it felt like being at sea. While the first class section was full, the coach section was less than half full. This is because of the time of year when business travel slows and tourist travel ramps down until closer to the Christmas and New Years Holidays. The good news is that we landed 45 minutes early. However the plane that was at the gate was delayed so if they didn't switch gates we would have been delayed arriving to the gate. We were assigned a different gate and by the time we arrived we were back on schedule. Translation. We waited 45 minutes on the plane. LOL We did have a first. Thanks to the airline app we can track when the luggage gets loaded on the aircraft. While we were sitting in the airline lounge Keith noticed that the luggage was loaded on an aircraft. The only problem is that it was loaded on another flight to Los Angeles that left three hours before our flight. When we landed the app showed that the luggage was being held at the customer service area and that is where we claimed our two pieces. The last two times we sailed from Los Angeles (May 2017 & September 2018) we stayed at hotels on-site at Disneyland. On other cruises we booked hotels in Long Beach, San Pedro, Santa Monica, Marina del Rey and Beverly Hills. This time we returned to Beverly Hills and booked the Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel. The last time we stayed in Beverly Hills was before the start of the 2008 World Cruise and we stayed at a different hotel property. The Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel will be our home for five nights. This is our first time staying at this hotel. We booked a garden patio suite. Our room was not ready upon check-in. We were given another room that we could use which we did and then we went out to have lunch. Our room was ready by the time we arrived back from the restaurant. This is a special trip for us and Keith booked a room to celebrate the start of this adventure. The room is beautiful and what makes this one unique is the amazing outdoor patio. We look forward to having breakfast outside along with enjoying some nice afternoon time outside. Some photos of the inside of the room and some additional ones of the patio. The Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel opened in 1991. The hotel includes 140 rooms, 38 suites and 17 private villas. The exterior of the hotel has a French Riviera look and its winding walkways are lined with lemon trees and palms. The hotel is a short walk from Rodeo Drive. The hotel includes three venues for dining: The Belvedere serving Mediterranean-Californian cuisine; The Roof Garden serving Californian Cuisine and The Living Room featuring Traditional Afternoon Tea and food items. There is an intimate venue to enjoy a drink, light snack and conversation called The Club Bar. There is a fitness centre, a spa and a rooftop pool and Jacuzzi for exercise and relaxation. The map will give those of you not familiar with Beverly Hills an idea as to its proximity to Los Angeles and other nearby areas. We will dine at the hotel this evening and will post about that tomorrow. We are excited to be in California and look forward to a memorable journey. As we begin this journey we thought we would include a slide show from previous World Cruise adventures. NOTE: The slide-show may not show on all devices. Anne Marie & Keith LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED
Today begins a new adventure. All items on our checklists are complete. We added last-minute items to our carry on and checked luggage and ensured all important documents are with us including passports, and cruise documents. We received two sets of cruise information; one for Crystal Serenity and one for Mozart. Mozart Final Cruise Documents will be sent to us electronically a e-documents while on-board Serenity.
The documents we received in November were for the Holiday Cruise and included the "Before You Sail" booklet and luggage tags on the left side of the photo. In December we received the information for the 2019 cruises on-board Serenity. This included a revised "Before You Sail" booklet reflecting the new dining venues on-board Serenity following the recent dry-dock and a new look for the luggage tags. We also received updated luggage tags for the Mozart River cruise. The updated tags and booklet are on the ride side of the photo.
We want to mention that packing our luggage was more challenging for this cruise than past cruises. This is because on the day the World Cruise begins we will change rooms. The good news is the rooms are next to one another. We decided the move would be easier if we didn't unpack all the luggage. Anne Marie determined the items we would need for our pre-cruise stay. These items went into one piece of luggage. She also figured out what clothes and other items we would need for the first two voyages and placed some in the pre-cruise bag and the remaining items in two other pieces of luggage we shipped to Serenity. The rest of the clothing went in other suitcases we shipped. Once on the ship we will not unpack those bags until we change rooms. We will have them stored for us until the start of the World Cruise.
This is the luggage shipped to California for delivery to Crystal Serenity on the day we board.
Since September we received three letters from Crystal Cruises with information about the World Cruise. We also received hard copy booklets in a keepsake holder detailing all of all World Cruise shore excursions and land programs.
As we have done in the past, we are staying overnight at an airport hotel this evening before our early morning flight. Crystal will provide most of our transfers on this adventure. They provide two complimentary transfers for those on the full World Cruise plus we are using one Crystal Society Milestone providing two additional transfers. A private vehicle organized by Crystal Cruises took us from our home on a one hour drive to the hotel. The driver's name was George. He was quite the professional in all ways. He arrived early, was courteous and a safe driver. He drives on the weekend to keep busy but has a job at one of the luxury hotels in our city. The drive went by quickly as we talked the entire time.
This is our third visit to this hotel and the staff is very customer focused. Our room was ready when we arrived and the few items we asked for (extra coffee and creamers) had been placed in the room. The person who checked us in remembered us from our one night stay in September prior to our flight to Rome for the three Crystal Serenity back to back cruises.
A reminder of the Holiday Season at the Hotel.
We will enjoyed dinner at the hotel and relax as we get ready for tomorrow. Our next post will be tomorrow evening from Southern California.
We will conclude today's post with a map showing our itinerary for this adventure. Until tomorrow. Anne Marie & Keith
.
Click to set custom HTML
It's Time. Let's get the party started.
Anne Marie & Keith
The following is a video from Crystal Cruises highlighting the behind the scenes makeover of Crystal Serenity. We were on-board Serenity right before dry drydock. Additional details for each voyage on Serenity follow. Following is the detailed itinerary for the Mozart R/T Vienna River Cruise. |
Archives
May 2019
Categories |