Back in the USA

It was back in July 2020 that we moved from Maryland to Australia and I thought it would be a while before we would return to visit. It's the lure of doing two special train rides that has resulted in our return. The first is the Coastal Starlight from Los Angeles to Seattle and the second is the Canadian from Vancouver to Toronto.

We flew down which to Sydney to have dinner with Robin at an Italian restaurant called Russo and Russo. Take a look at the menu and your nonna never made stuff like this. We shared several dishes and of course, ate too much food.

Let's just say the cuisine offered on our flight across the Pacific was not at the same level.

I had booked a motel close to Los Angeles Union Station and we eventually made it, even though the bus driver got lost driving the Flyaway bus from LAX to the Station. Yes. he was heading off down I-5 to San Diego and all the passengers were getting worried. He eventually got off I-5 and reversed direction and finally made it to the station. He told me that he was substituting for a friend.

In the same block as the hotel was a small hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant that got good reviews and they were well deserved. Although Australian restaurants can do most cuisines very well, good, simple Mexican food is beyond them. These dishes were wonderful. And cheap! These two dishes along with two huge glasses of juices made from freshly chopped fruit cost $27.

Petrol in Los Angeles is ultra-expensive. This would be about $2.10 a liter which would be AU$3 a liter in Australia. At the Flying J in North East petrol costs $3.36 a gallon.

We had forgotten that 1 is the ground floor.

The ubiquitous shower / tub is a rarity in Oz where hotel units usually have just a shower.

The next morning, we needed a good traditional American breakfast so we went to the nearby Phillips which is famous for its 'dips''. You can read about it here.

You line up to order your food and they bring it to you on a tray.

Old formica tables, populated by old men having breakfast.

Traditional salt, pepper and sugar shakers. You don't see them in Australia.

Marianne's French toast. In Australia, this would be dolled up with fresh fruit.

My pancakes with scrambled eggs and bacon. By American standards, the bacon was pretty good but nowhere near as good as the air-dried bacon we get from a butcher in Maryborough.

And I am still confused by the cars driving on the other side of the road.