VISITING ATLANTA & MIAMI HOTSPOTS .. LITERALLY

Baseball -- specifically visiting new parks -- is the ONLY reason to go to Atlanta & Miami in June, at least for me and the hubby who are humidity adverse to say the least.  But one must go when one can, and this relatively short jaunt fit our calendar.   In addition to exploring local cuisine, we saw some family and friends.

It is an understatement that I wasn't always a baseball fan.  Upon committing to the hubby -- your basic lifelong worshiper of the game -- I resisted for the first few years. But then the 1988 World Series happened.  I was not there for the famous Gibson walk-off, but the hubby was.  Fortunately at the time I didn't know what I didn't know; and, by the time I did, it was too late to feel bad about missing that historic home run.

Not that I have been deprived, mind you.   I witnessed the heyday of Bruin basketball, led by the Wizard of Westwood, and attended every game.  I was at every home Lakers game my senior year of high school. I was at the Jerry West 63-foot shot.  I went to Rams games and the 1984 Olympics.   In short, I was a raised as a lover of sports.  Just never baseball.

Flash forward, and this trip represents visits to my 36th and 37th MLB stadiums. Not only am I willing to go, I look forward to this!   My only requests (which the hubby knows well): good seats that are out of the sun.  

First up was Atlanta's brand new Sun Trust Park, located in the suburb of Marietta, in it's inaugural season.  No one could provide an answer as to why Turner Field was shuttered after just 20 years (it will now be the home of Georgia State football), but the new stadium "hits it out of the park" for many reasons.

Baseball fans find each other -- especially when wearing gear that gets one's attention (O's in this case)

It is easy to get to, particularly via Uber.  The food choices are really pretty vast, and delicious.  The scoreboard is incredible.  And there are sunscreen stations liberally located throughout the park, a nice touch considering there is no roof.  We particularly enjoyed their ode to years past with tons of memorabilia, an appropriate tribute to Hammerin' Hank Aaron, etc. This is a storied franchise and the longest by years running in baseball history. Now, if only they would get rid of the annoying Tomahawk Chop, all would be well.

Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz trifecta

Hank's historic #44

The game wasn't interesting -- the Braves got clobbered by the Brewers -- but we encountered many who were there for the same reasons as we were, to see what the Park is all about.

Beautiful sentiment by the Braves, leaving a seat always unoccupied.	Excellent bbq
Worth the wait??	Without a doubt?

While in Atlanta, we had a terrific meal at Rathbun's, one of four restaurants from local premier chef Kevin Rathbun.  And I highly recommend the downtown Ritz Carlton where we got a terrific weekend rate.  By the way, the decision to rely on Uber instead of renting a car was a savings -- not just on the rental itself, but not needing hotel parking which can be pricey.   

Dinner at Rathbun's:  trout above

Excellent lamb

Sunday night baseball at the hotel bar -- the Dodgers come from behind to win!

Miami was the next stop -- flying in and out of Fort Lauderdale -- for our first visit to Marlins Park, opened in 2012.  I rarely fly Delta, but I must say I was impressed with how well both their hub and flight were operated.  Ft. Lauderdale was quite central to seeing friends in Boca (loved Abe & Louie's), Delray Beach and provided excellent access to the I-95.

Lunch with Mark Zeidman above and dinner (right) with Stephanie & Ned Siegel, all friends from Boca.

Marlins Park to me was unremarkable.  The best thing about it? Nobody goes to the games so great seats are always available!  And the parking structures provide a short walk, so that's a good thing.  It's a shame more people don't attend, considering the team has a good roster ... but so far, this year is all about the Boys in Blue, aka our beloved Dodgers, who just keep winnin' games. This is too much fun!

Left, with Uncle Mike & Shelley Stone, who live in Boynton Beach.

Below, probably the best feature of Marlins Park is the Bobblehead Museum, where players, announcers and others in MLB are featured in a rotating (slightly shaking) display.

 

For the flight home, I was able to try Jet Blue Mint -- their premium seats -- and justified the expense because of our 7 a.m. departure. Another home run!  I scored two cubbies -- a single "compartment" on either side of the aisle, with a truly fully-flat seat and lots of other fun amenities. My one complaint was the location of the headphone jack which required a contortionist to operate.  Small concession; it was otherwise a terrific experience. 

The hubby settles in on the opposite side of the aisle, and my compartment.  Loved it!

IS INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL TOO STRESSFUL? YOU DECIDE ..

It's not a stretch that the hubby and I are pretty experienced travelers, having now gone to more than 60 countries.  That certainly helped with the series of cluster "challenges" incurred in short order on the recent trip to India, The Maldives and Western Australia.

 

The story begins with pretty straightforward transport:  Depart the Maldives via Sri Lankan Air for the short flight to Colombo (Sri Lanka), then 2-½ hours later depart for Perth via Singapore Air with a plane change in Singapore.

The flight out of Male was delayed about 30 minutes (hence a shorter transfer time). We were told that we needed to clear immigration in Colombo, pick up our checked bags and transfer them to Singapore Air for the remainder of the trip. No problem; right?

First up: Immigration will not let us enter Sri Lanka without a Visa. Well, we're not actually entering the country, other than the distance to the baggage carousel. If we can't enter, how then do we collect our bags? We were told to talk to the folks at the Sri Lankan Air transfer desk (the one with the very long line). A fellow traveler noticed my rising level of concern and urged me to go to the front of the line, which I did. I was then told, no problem -- we'll transfer the bags for you. Really?  Like American transferring bags to United?? Sounds fishy at best ..

Does this image make YOUR blood pressure go up??  Deep breaths ...

A short time later (seemed like an eternity), we were then told that Singapore Air will neither accept the bags, nor, most importantly, us, because we don't have an EVisitor Visa for Australia. What?? Since when do Americans need a Visa for Australia (we didn't when last visited in 2010)??? Oh, in the last year.  And then the inevitable words were invoked:  "Let me speak to your supervisor." Tick, tock .. we're now less than an hour from departure.

We were then told by the supervisor: "Sorry; we spoke to the Australian Embassy and, indeed, no entry without Visas. But, you can apply online for immediate approval!"  I was so frazzled at this point, I dashed to the airline lounge for wifi with tablet in hand. Get this, our passports and travel details were with Mr. Supervisor as I embarked on the rush visas. Remarkably I have entered the passport details so often I have them memorized, including issue and expiration dates, not to mention our credit card details.  Ten minutes and two applications later for $70 each ($60 of which was the surcharge for immediate processing), I dashed back to the desk with the confirmation numbers in hand!

Twenty minutes before departure, Mr. Supervisor comes back to deliver not only our passports but luggage tags and boarding cards ... well, for me.  The hubby's visa had not been approved (a vast conspiracy??).  No worries, this will get us at least to Singapore to deal with it there.   

A mad dash to the gate, where we were already "known" and immediately board. Just before take-off, we were given a handwritten boarding card for the hubby's second flight. He predicted the suitcases at best were a 50/50 shot for arriving in Perth with us, but at least we were on our way.   We followed directions to visit the airline transfer desk in Singapore so they could further track the bags and help assuage any concerns.  

As we're descending in to Perth, one of the flight crew asked me if we needed assistance on the ground with our issue. What's interesting about that?  I never shared the situation with any flight crew ... they just knew! As soon as we were off the plane, yet another supervisor was there to help, who contacted baggage personnel who indicated the bags were accounted for. And, true to his word, that gentleman was there at the luggage carousel when we happily received our stuff ...  

So we made it.  What's the moral of this story? 1) Do not acquiesce. While I was securing the visas, the supervisor said to the hubby: "You're not going to make your flight." His (calm) reply: "Yes, we will." Don't be daunted by a few inevitable challenges. And, 2), which was learned the hard way, check EVERY country for entrance requirements in advance. Who knows, maybe we'll need a visa to go to Canada soon.

Finally, a huge shout out to the folks at both Sri Lankan Air and Singapore Air (the latter well deserving of #1 airline status). They were ultimately incredible while just trying to both follow the endless rules and provide us with "how to" information, for which we were enormously grateful. Maybe, too, I had a bit more delicious Aussie wine as a result.  Cheers, mate!

All smiles, all the time .. the nicest! 

A GRAND JOURNEY ENDS IN HONG KONG (Part 8 & final in a series on this journey)

Two years in a row, a stop in Hong Kong ended up being for a very short period of time.  Compared to the last year's visit -- just a six-hour plane change en route home from Johannesburg -- this year's 26 hours was a joy!  I wish I could take credit for the stop, but it was Cathay who provided the generous layover en route from Perth to LA. If one could nitpick (for sake of argument), check-through baggage is not allowed with a stop in excess of 24 hours. The path of least resistance was throwing all the luggage into the taxi, with the help of our hotel's airport-based personnel.  After flying from Perth for 8 hours, it was just 9 a.m. when we arrived at our hotel. Where to stay is the other big decision, even for a brief stop.  As one can imagine, every hotel in the world has a presence -- and the high-end ones are abundant.  In the past we've always stayed on the Kowloon side, so I made an executive decision to switch it up and picked The Four Seasons (in the Central District or opposite side). We've enjoyed having many benefits by booking through Amex Platinum Fine Hotels program (upgrade, breakfast, wi-fi, etc) but discovered there is an attendant "risk."  View from the room looking to Kowloon side (above);  Welcome amenity from hotel and a wonderful FS exec I know from home -- love the cookies with the FS logo (below) Technically the program's hotel check-in time is noon (when available). But on so many occasions, we've checked into our room upon arrival -- even quite early in the morning.  It is always such an amazing pleasure, that if the room happens NOT to be available, well ... you get my drift. Arriving after many hours of travel and with no time to spare, we anticipated settling in with a shower and getting on with our one day. That was not to be, at least initially, when we were told the hotel had been full the night before thus no check-outs thus no rooms to be cleaned for the next check-in.  Really?  Every one of the 399 rooms?? Another long story short:  How situations (which always arise) are handled is what makes for a great hotel.  Suffice it to say, after a brief conversation with management, we had a lovely breakfast and were in beautiful accommodations by 10:30.  Thank you to the great people at the Four Seasons for making that happen. The big plan for the day was a trip to Sam's Tailor on Nathan Road. I asked our hotel to recommend some light local fare for lunch as we had a big dinner planned, and left with their recommendation close to Sam's. The hubby wanted to have the folks at Sam's guide us as it is their "hood." Apparently great minds think alike for both sent us to Cuisine Cuisine in the MIra Hotel. With my buddy Roshan Melwani from Sam's -- yes, he's that tall. The restaurant manager could not have been more attentive and the restaurant's cuisine is excellent in a beautiful setting.  We dashed back to Sam's to thank them for the recommendation (not to mention the escort and intro they provided at the restaurant).  From there we took the subway back to our hotel, just two stops as it whisked under Victoria Harbour which separates the Hong Kong and Kowloon sides. Dinner was a repeat of the last night from our 2015 vacation, except that was the London outpost of L'Atelier Joel Robouchon.  And what a spectacular way to end things.  My only regret is getting to the Landmark shopping complex (where the restaurant is located) too late to shop!  It is a shopper's paradise on steroids.  Total eye candy, for sure. Maybe that was the hubby's secret plan .. Back to the dinner, "l'atelier" means "workshop" and is thus called due to the open kitchen visible from the U-shaped bar seating.  We find it totally fascinating.  And then there's the wine list containing 3,400 labels.  The selection is staggering.  All you oenophiles can see what I mean here. It's always amusing to find California Cabs in other parts of the world, and what they sell for!  Looking inside "l'atelier" or workshop from our seats Apples perfectly and precisely arranged.   The main course (veal) is presented prior to the painstaking carving and plating process (at least 10 minutes) ... it was delicious. Desserts presented, shown intact (L) and as they are revealed (R). As the food coma sets in ..  And then it was time to go home.  Three weeks, literally a lot of ground covered, 11 flights, nine hotels, four countries (five if you count the overnight in Sri Lanka), one home stay.  Safari drives, a Wonder of the World, forts and mosques, beaches, shopping, eating and fascinating people met far and wide.  And, still, there's no place like home!

WESTERN AUSTRALIA - THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED (Part 7 of a Recent Journey)

When one is already in an area of the world (in this case, the Indian Ocean southwest of India), adding on another segment in the "area" makes a lot of sense.  At least to me and the hubby... To clarify -- and if you've been "virtually" traveling on this trip with us -- you know we spent 10 days in India and four days in the Maldives.  Why not head southeast to Perth, which is then a straight shot north to Hong Kong, the last stop before heading home?  But that wasn't the only reason for the visit. Having traveled in 2010 to Australia's east coast (Sydney, Cairns & Melbourne), we knew a return trip was inevitable.  What sealed the deal was the gracious invitation to stay at a winery in the Margaret River (Eagle Bay) region of Western Australia.  How did that come about? The hubby's L.A. client hails from Perth and the winery belongs to her parents and, ultimately, our generous hosts. We spent the first night in the country in Perth proper before heading south to the wine area.  Como The Treasury Hotel (which I highly recommend) converted an old building into a multi-level complex in the heart of downtown Perth.  Of course, when in Australia, a koala visit is a must -- this one at Caversham Wildlife Park -- where one could also interact with plenty of kangaroos as well. Breakfast at Como The Treasury in Perth. Clockwise from above: The irresistible koala -- up close; family of sheep -- the one on the right is just 10 days old; kangas in various states of repose.   And then it was on to the raison d'etre.  Wise Wine has been operated by Sandra & Ron Wise since 1992, and is just a gorgeous location.  We arrived in the evening when it was quite dark. While looking for the home, we happened upon wedding festivities (the winery is ideal for this) which garnered more than a few glances. We finally found our way to their spectacular abode where they met us a short time later, got immediately acquainted and settled in for the weekend.   Talk about a "play on words" above; At right a winemaker is crushing Cab Franc grapes at the winery facilities. On the property and for the wedding.  More about Crown later.  In addition to the wine making facilities, there are two wonderful restaurants (Lot 80 -- that is their divine raspberry dessert below -- and Wise Vineyard where we had amazing breakfasts) and some accommodations, not to mention a fair amount of kangaroos.  The hubby encountered large groups during his morning walk!  I nearly collided with one during a (pitch black) night drive -- the thing was the size of "Harvey," Jimmy Stewart's imaginary companion in the movie of the same name -- probably 6' tall. Clockwise from upper left: Entering the property; classic "fish & chips" at Lot 80 along with a fabulous raspberry dessert; stonework along one of the paths on the property. The Wise family home (and our accommodations) left; above is their view of Eagle Bay Sandra showed us around the area while Ron golfed.  We loved seeing galleries, the spectacular beaches (prime surfing spots) and some wineries.  As with Napa/Sonoma, one could easily spend several days absorbing all there is to do. The hubby and I spent a day driving around ourselves, going to the very southwestern tip of the country (below). Amelia Park Wines, Margaret River Magnificent piece of art at the Gunyulup Galleries in Yallingup  (try saying that fast ...) Above, at the very southern tip of WA, where the two oceans meet.    The sun sets over Surfers Point in Prevally.   Lots of folks come with their dogs and wine to this scenic spot. We headed back to Perth for our late evening flight to Hong Kong and saw a bit more of the city before hanging out at the Crown complex -- hotels, restaurants (including Rockpool and Nobu), shops and casino.  The Perth skyline is shown below. Next and last stop of this journey:  Hong Kong.