Leaving on a Jet Plane and Arriving and Lunching in Los Angeles

So I took off on another trip on Thursday, June 29 but before doing so, stopped by a local voting post to cast an absentee ballot for the upcoming election for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.

This trip is an unusual one for me in that I am with a group of people including colleagues and people from other companies to go to a convention being held in LA this weekend.

Zipped to LA.  Our plane landed much earlier than scheduled and had to keep taxiing round and round the same route more than three times until our gate was ready.

Finally in and out of the terminal at LAX.

Our rooms were not ready so off to the Grand Central Market behind our hotel for some lunch.

Ordering lunch

Took a table near this nice bar (but didn’t buy from it) and waited for our lunch with a nice cup of cold craft beer.

Lunch is served.  Had a really good lamb burger.

Walk back to the hotel.

Checked in.

My view.

In Marseille, France, in a Room with a View

Earlier in June, I did my annual trip to Cannes, France for the 25th time.  On the way in, I stopped by Marseille for the first time for some fun and business (well, mostly fun).

Arriving in the evening, I was pleased with my lovely hotel room with a view.  It started pouring as soon as we went out for dinner but soon we were greeted by a rainbow.  Dinner was nice and light.  The walk back to the hotel was very pleasant.

Hotel facade

Notable guests of the past

A rhum-only honesty bar in the lobby

Random Malta

It’s a wrap for my recent trip to the Republic of Malta with very random photos of little things I saw and did.

 

 

Visiting St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, Malta

This church in the city of Valletta, formally called Saint John’s Co-Cathedral, is amazing.  I had saved the final morning of my stay in Malta to pay a visit though in truth, it was closed the first time I tried to go as it was a national holiday.

Taken when the church was closed.

In their collection of paintings are two powerful works by Caravaggio: The Beheading of St. John the Baptist and Saint Jerome Writing.

 

 

Breakfasting in Valletta, Malta

This was my final day in Malta back in May when I set out to explore the capital city of Valletta for the last time earlier than on other days.  My main destination was St. John’s Co-Cathedral but before it opened, I had a couple of things to do in mind and one was going to “the market“.

My reading on the city told me that for some reason there was no “market” as you would normally find in other European cities but one guidebook told me that there was a covered market in Valletta.  I was running out of time but went to look for it hoping to catch some action and alas this is what I found…

Closed!

For apparent restoration…

It was some time before the cathedral opened so I decided to get somewhat more proper breakfast than I was planning to have and try some typical Maltese savories.  I knew just where to visit: Caffe Cordina.

Qassata with spinach and pastizz with ricotta cheese.