Sydney to L.A. to Park City (or, a 29 hour layover in Los Angeles). Our time in Australia has come to an end, but this country has a special place in my heart! Here are a few more pictures of Sydney and surrounds for you.

We head to the airport, check our bags, do the passport/security thing and before you know it we are boarding. This flight is 13 hours. Ugh. We leave Sydney at 1:00pm on Sunday and will arrive in LA at 7am the same day. Back in time. I have no sleeping strategy, I am just gonna let this one happen. We skip lunch on the plane as we just had breakfast at the hotel. I start a movie, Notting Hill, and stay awake for the whole thing. Something about Hugh Grant, I think. I follow that one with. “The Big Sleep”, a Bogey/Bacall number. I almost watch the whole thing before falling asleep for God knows how long. I wake up and decide on “Woman of the Year” next, a Hepburn/Tracy flick and fall asleep almost immediately. These classic movies have a way of putting me out! When I finally wake up again we are a little more than halfway there. The rest of the trip is a bit of a blur. Walking, stretching, reading, movies, sleeping. It is now morning in L.A.. We have arrived, and it is the biggest day of the year here - Oscars night. The 90th Academy Awards.

Bob and I grab a cab to the Four Seasons Beverly Hills and after a quick freshening up (did I nap again?), we head to the pool. It is lovely, though the temps are in the mid 60’s. I have a cover up and the temps are fine for me. We spend several hours here relaxing before retiring to the room to watch the Oscars. It is strange to see them on the west coast, as they start early as compared to the east coast (duh), and are over by 8:30pm. So when they end, we go to the hotel restaurant for a bite. I think our last meal was on another continent? Weird! People are dressed up here so we get a little gussied up too. Dinner is good enough and the restaurant is packed! I have a green salad and Osso Bucco - braised veal shank - over polenta, and Bob has a salad and a NY steak. I like mine better than he likes his. I think he complained to the waiter but I never pay attention when this type of thing happens. Back to the room and time for bed. We are really starting to feel the travel.

The next morning is sunny and warmer, so I see the whole pool thing happening again until we have to leave. Coffee, juice, pool. Others are enjoying their breakfast outside and Bob is running in the fitness center. He joins me later, but 10:00am comes quickly. Time to do the airport thing. Again. We saw nothing in L.A. besides the inside of the hotel and the pool. Rest and relaxation was the only thing on the agenda, and we pulled it off. Here are some pictures of the pool area and restaurant at the Four Seasons. Next time I want to go to Santa Monica Pier. https://www.fourseasons.com/losangeles/

On the road again. LAX is busy but we get checked in quickly and before you know it I am on a damn plane. Yet again. This makes for the eighth flight in seventeen days! Destination Park City, Utah. Bob has business to conduct and I don’t.

Our hotel is the Hotel Park City and it is cozy in a western kinda way. Lots of animal, cowboy and gun artwork. The hotel is a member of Marriott’s Autograph Collection of boutique hotels, which I will have to research further. We check into our room, and almost instantly, Bob has a meeting and dinner engagement. I am headed to Ruth’s Chris Steak House located on property. After all this fancy food over the past 2 1/2 weeks, I suddenly want a cheeseburger in a major way. I get seated, place my order and am served quickly. The burger is good but the fries not so much. They need to be crispier. I forgot to order them well done, my bad. After dinner I head back to the room, do some writing, enjoy the balcony views and I am sleeping by 8:30pm. The only problem with this is that I am awake at 4:00am. I lay in bed until Bob’s alarm goes off at 6:00am and then I start about planning my day. http://www.hotelparkcity.com, https://autograph-hotels.marriott.com

The hotel’s other restaurant is called Bandana’s Bar and Grill, where breakfast is served . I have some scrambled eggs with potatoes, bacon and sourdough toast, plus a latte. I get through about half of it berfore I am full and get the check. Back to the room for some writing, laundry (there is a washer and dryer in the room!), and a little research on what to do. I am feeling the historic Main Street area with shops and art galleries is a good place to start, so the hotel shuttle takes me there. Main Street is just what a ski town center should be, with shops, galleries and no shortage of eateries. I browse a few galleries and stop for a latte. The RiverHorse is a cafe and market with a fine dining restaurant on the top floor. I think we are eating here tonight.

After coffee I stop at another gallery. Huge canvases, some sculpture. Pretty. Time for a refreshment. The Spur Bar and Grill is licensed as a bar as opposed to a restaurant, so one can buy a beverage without buying food. Utah liquor laws are very strict this way. I was thinking wine but their Revenge Bloody Mary, crafted with local vodka, catches my eye. It is totally tricked out. I am full by the time it is done. Time for more exploring. I will let the pictures do the talking.

I get back to the hotel and enjoy the views from the balcony a bit before getting ready for dinner. I was correct in that we are going to a restaurant named the RiverHorse, but it is a separate location from the coffee shop and market I visited this morning. A group of 20 or so are driven by van to the restaurant and we are seated in a large glass porch with a view of Main Street at night. It is pretty. People order from a set menu and the conversation is a mix of personal and professional. After dinner we return to the hotel and confirm our ski location for tomorrow: Deer Valley. Stay tuned.