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[swayzegod]

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[iambents]

SYD>LAX: Qantas A380

[iambents]

Out to the villa

My flight from Sydney to LA landed right on schedule at LAX but that is pretty much where the convenience for the rest of the day. I arrived at the Customs and Border Protection barrier to find that our Qantas flight had landed immediately after both a China Eastern and a Korean Air flight. It took me nearly two hours to reach the front of the queue - as I watched Chinese passport holders interviewed for up to 15 minutes each and then ultimately taken away to some other interview. It was frustrating to the max - particularly when I reached the barrier after an eternity it took me less than 5 minutes to get cleared, collect my luggage and be out in the street.

Now free of the mobile phone restrictions I tried to call my colleague who had flown in in the United flight around the same time - but to no avail. I walked up to the scheduled meeting space and after waiting about an hour and not being able to reach then on the phone I decided to grab a cab and head to the hotel. I arrived at Maison 140 in Beverly Hills and found that my colleague had left a message saying their phone was dead and that they would meet me out at the Getty Villa at 3pm. So that is what I did, I grabbed myself a quick shower and a fresh shirt and then headed off by taxi up to the Villa. I was totally amazed at the security levels just getting into the place - but once there it is a totally amazing venue and collection - the perfect companion to the Center. We then drove back to the hotel and I had a break before heading over to The Peninsula for a drink in the bar prior to dinner.

Dinner, predictably, was at Spago. I say predictably because my colleague cannot try anything new once he has found somewhere he likes. Always stays at The Peninsula, always eats at Spago, always rents the same model of Mercedes from Hertz. It is actually a pain in the arse - but at least I have managed to get him to try a couple of new restaurants in Chicago (not that there is anything wrong with RL or Spiaggia). For dinner I had some of the best natural oysters I have ever had and a perfectly cooked New York strip. Wolfgang did not grace us with his presence, but Joan Collins was eating two tables over (who knew she was still alive?). The Peninsula sent a massive Escalade to pick us up and when I got back to Maison 140 I started to pack so I would be ready for my 530am wake up call.

A good day.

[iambents]

Departing for the US

Up early this morning to do final bits of packing before heading off to Sydney Airport late morning. The South Western Cabs taxi arrived about five minutes early which meant that I was actually in quite the rush at the time. The cab driver was a total weirdo who proceeded to tell me that 1) he has just been on a five week trip to China with his Department of Health consultant wife; 2) while there his wife had arranged for him to get a massage for his bad back which turned into something with a happy ending for only 50 yuan (about $8); 3) he couldn't elaborate on whether his wife worked for the Commonwealth or NSW; and 4) he owned four houses in some suburb I have never heard of. Strange.

Checked in with Qantas and then headed straight up to the Qantas Club to kill some time before QF11 was due to depart at 2.10pm. I eventually wandered down to Gate 10 and got the very pleasant surprise that sitting at the gate was a brand new A380 instead of the 747 that was scheduled. On the plan we found out that the aircraft was the newest in the Qantas fleet and it was making the run to LAX because it was to be the set for a special being filmed by Oprah and John Travolta in the lead up to her trip to Australia at the end of the year. The major bonus of the aircraft substitution was the fact that the flight was relatively empty and I had an empty seat next to me. Other than that the flight was relatively uneventful - a slightly late departure, loads of turbulence and a few movies on QFs relatively good inflight entertainment. Started off with the fairly oddball Cyrus and followed up with Cemetery Junction and Aussie flick Summer Coda before trying to get a little bit of sleep. Not surprisingly I had actually seen all but two of the 'premiere' films on the plane - and I wasn't interested in watching Twilight. Qantas have introduced this new policy where, if you have a seatback monitor, you can watch 'Gate to Gate' whereas previously the IFE was turned off for takeoff and landing. Gotta cram in as many bad movies as possible I say. To prove this point after some limited sleep I watched the Wog Boy 2: Kings of Mykonos.

[iambents]

LAX>ORD: American Airlines B767

[iambents]

Dana Hotel home away from home

So up late this morning before I decided to head on out to do a little bit of sightseeing around the near north of the city. I must say I settled into my home away from home in the Dana Hotel quite successfully. Makes me with I could stay here a little more.

I decided to start off my visit with a bit of a wander around the near north of the city. I started out from the hotel and headed up the Magnificent Mile and then decided to head up to the top of Big John (John Hancock Center) to check out the observation deck. This is one of a number of them in town but I was amazed at how empty the place was when I reached the top. Indeed, the whole of the near north was pretty empty today. After the tower I headed down and made a stop at the Museum of Contemporary Art before heading on to check out a few of the buildings around the Northwestern campus. From there it was over to Navy Pier before heading back into the city centre and checking out the new Trump building and then wandering back up to the hotel. A more than 10km walk and a good way to get my bearings in town. Plenty more to see though.

[iambents]

More of the Top Chefs

After last night - which was a total shit of a night - work today but a bit of a treat with a lunchtime meeting catered by the kitchen of Marcus Samuelsson - yet another Top Chef Masters contestant. The food aside - which was good - the meeting went very well. This is the whole reason I am afforded this trip to Chicago so I cannot complain at all.

After the meeting I had planned on hitting the pavement again - but the meeting ran quite late and the rain clouds were starting to move in. Indeed when I got back to the Dana they had installed the winter entrance which had not been there this morning. I think this is a warning that something is coming. The doorman even asked me why I wasn't wearing a coat. Worrying signs. I ended up crawling into bed and watching a movie on TV as I watched the city go by from the 17th floor. Such is life.