DAY 5

LIVE FROM BEVERLY HILLS CALIFORNIA 

Before 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.

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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.

  

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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.   

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We look forward to an enjoyable evening and day tomorrow.

Anne Marie & Keith