Trip to LA

Greta and I left the house a little after 5:00 AM this morning to go to JFK for our trip to LA.  We got there by 6:00 so had plenty of time to check in, get coffee and just relax without having to do the usual frantic rushing.  We had business class seats.  Greta got hers from work and she used frequent flyer miles to get mine.  And just by chance, our seats were next to each other.
These pictures aren't that great because I took them with my iPhone and the lighting wasn't much, but I didn't want to look like I don't do business class every time I fly.
 We got our coffee before we boarded but Greta had a Mimosa on the plane before take-off.

 Here's Greta hard at work.  That agency messed up!!!

 Look at all the leg room.  Our seats had leg rests that raised like a lounge chair.  And we were given comforters and full size pillows.

 Not to forget about the DVD that came with more than a dozen movies.  I watched Letters to Juliet and Greta watched Up in the Air.  We started to watch Date Night but didn't have time to see the whole thing before we were going to land.   We can finish it on the way home.

 This was our breakfast and with real silverware not plastic

 And real mugs not paper cups

 For lunch we went to The Ivy.  Laura said it was THE place to go in LA.  I had looked it up online and it said the paparazzi are always around to spot celebs.  Our experience was very different than a lot of the reviews I read.  We went around noon and got in right away.  The staff was courteous and helpful and the food was delicious, albeit twice as much as it would cost somewhere else.  I had the roasted vegetable salad which is one of their signature items.  I was glad I asked for the dressing on the side, because it was better without it.  The flavor of the sauteed vegetables was delicious.

 

Greta got the swordfish tacos.  I'm glad I didn't get that because for sure it was too many points with that big cup of guacamole and all the beans and the rice not to mention the tortillas.  I'm sure I would have finished it all, it was also so good.

We checked into our hotel, the Westin Bonaventure in downtown LA.  We were on the 17th floor in the yellow section.  This hotel is the largest hotel in LA.  The next two photos are views from our room.

I downloaded an app for my iPhone that can find people when you want to take a picture of yourself or you and someone else.  This is a photo I did using that.

We stopped at the concierge desk and signed up for a tour for the next afternoon and found out about the Spa when asking about whether there was a hot tub or sauna in the hotel.  It turned out the Spa had a sauna and steam and the concierge gave us $15 discount coupons for it.  We went up there to see what they had available and it turned out we could get appointments for 6:15.  It was 5:30 so we went down to the bar and had wine and chex mix for dinner.

Greta got a Swedish massage and I got a Shiatsu Massage which is a "traditional Asian technique using moderate to strong finger pressure to work deep into the muscles and pressure points to relieve aches and stress.  I thought this would be good for my aches in my neck and lower back, and it was.  The girl who did it was tiny, 89 lbs, but so strong.  She even walked on my back!  Thank goodness she was only 89 lbs.  She said not just anyone can do this, you have to be small and know what you are doing.

Then we went in the sauna and back to our room and fell asleep.