Around the world in 40 days but no Gallipoli

[Flying mermaid]

That night we went to a wine bar called 28-50 in Mayfair. We had met a lovely young English couple in Pisa (both lawyers) and they had suggested meeting up when we got to London. We had a lovely evening with them - nice wine list as well. No photos this time we were too busy talking!

 

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Next morning a relaxed start and then off to Heathrow for our flight to JFK. We tend to sit out on the Terraces (Concord Room) - quieter out there.

 

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Flight over was good - seemed to eat non stop.

 

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Afternoon tea was served before arrival - there were cakes as well, but I just had sandwiches and scones.

 

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We were staying at the Pierre (a Taj hotel). We have stayed at the Taj in San Francisco a number of times and love it so decided it was time to try the one in New York. We had stayed at the Plaza a few years ago and hated it - beautiful building, but very rude uncaring staff. The Pierre was a nice change - really enjoyed it. The function room areas were particularly pretty.

 

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We weren't planning to do much in New York - look at shops and check out prices at Sephora. Last time we were in New York Sephora was really cheap compared to Sydney duty free but this time there didn't seem to be much difference - vagaries of exchange rates?

Chicago was excellent - we were sitting in the third row - a good compromise as it is close enough to see all expressions, without having to turn your head too much.

 

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Had to go to Angelo's for some white pie - the only pizza I like!

 

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The Pierre has 24/7 elevator operators.

 

[amaroo]

Little Venice...looks the goods. We'll check it out at X-mas, although the climate might take a hell of a shine off the mood/walk.

 

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Yes - probably not a winter thing

 

[ellen10]

Great photos again.
This time last year we were just leaving London. In 4 months time we will be in New York.

You have brought back many lovely memories and whetting my appetite for our next trip.

 

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We hadn't thought about lounges at JFK, so when we spotted the Flagship lounge that was a pleasant surprise. We had skipped breakfast at the hotel, as we were nervous about peak hour traffic, so were able to enjoy the food.

 

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Our next pleasant surprise was our flight to SFO with AA had flat beds. Only 10 seats in F with a very professional crew. Mr FM slept after the meal because he knew he had a longish drive ahead, but I enjoyed the on demand movies.

 

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Menus and Bose headphones.

 

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Lunch with delicious sundaes to finish. Snacks and fruit available all through the flight, as well as those fantastic warm nuts to start and cookies at the end. For a domestic flight (albeit a trans continental), it was terrific.

 

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We hired a car at the airport and drove to Yosemite on HWY 120 - hit a lot of traffic, so it took 4.5 hours. Thank goodness for GPS when negotiating those huge freeways! We went over Tioga Pass with stunning views (bit scary as well). We had stayed at the Ahwahnee 3 years ago and were looking forward to returning. Ambience from a previous age, with lovely public spaces.

 

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We stayed in the Library suite again. Actually didn't have a choice as it was the only accommodation left, which was lucky as i was planning to book it anyway. You really need to book 10 to 12 months in advance as it is very popular.

 

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We had been there previously in summer when water levels were down. Unfortunately there is still a massive drought and not a lot of snow, so it still wasn't great, but better than before. Our first walk was to Mirror Lake.

 

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Next walk was to Vernal falls. There was an interesting party doing the walk - girls dressed very modestly with kerchiefs over their hair. They had such beautiful peaceful faces - would have loved to ask them what they belonged to but it seemed disrespectful. The older woman in the party and I formed a bit of a bond as we were both struggling with the climb -she gave me a lovely wave as I passed her party on the way back down.

 

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Our final walk was to Yosemite Falls.