Mexico ... and a few other places

[amaroo]

Our last night in Mexico City. What a superb one it was! Many months prior I had the hotel book this night, this restaurant.

Pujol .... Pujol



Street snacks



Rice, geoduck clam, scallop, mulato



Sea Bass, cacahuatzintle juice, celery


Octopus, habanero ink, ayocote, veracruzana sauce

 

[amaroo]

Wild mushroom soup, beans, Mexican tarragon



Lobster infladita



Cauliflower, almond salsa matcha, chile de arbol



Grilled fish, pumpkin amarillito, segueza



Duck, black recado, nance, Ixil onions



Lamb, mint mole, lime, baby potato



Sommelier recommendation

 

[amaroo]

At this point of the evening, I had to wander outside and take a call from another AFF’er. More on that later...






Mole madre 1475 days, mole nuevo .... I’ll confess - I’m not a big fan of the Mole





Avocado, coconut, lime, macadamia



Chocolate, pennyroyal, Pinole, caramelized banana



Apple tamal, cinnamon, caramel









Sensational meal! Put this one on your list...

 

[amaroo]

Our last couple of days in MC we were watching the weather unfold in New York - our next destination. It wasn’t looking good and the madrooster was using all his tricks to ensure we got to NYC. We were originally planned to fly MEX-CLT-EWR, however that changed to MEX-DFW-JFK ..... and then that changed back to MEX-CLT-LGA. This all happened whilst we were having dinner and the madrooster was flying on his own holiday.

Anyway, that all changed as the CLT-LGA got cancelled very late that night - the East Coast was a disaster. We ended up on a very early departure out of MEX, heading to CLT. Beyond that - no one knew what was next.

MEX AA lounge

 

[amaroo]

MEX-CLT AA J

It was a great Day for flying .... as long as you didn’t want to land in NYC. The flight was nice and the crew were lovely.







Pretty tasty...



Welcome to CLT .... Our first time in Charlotte, and it looks like we’ll be spending some time here.

 

[amaroo]

Yep, despite all the good work and many changes - there was just way too many cancellations (IIRC ~3,000) for us to get to NYC today. Spent about 1.5hrs with AA agent Kevin, who had the patience of a Saint. He thumped that keyboard non-stop and ended up getting all four of us on a flight to LGW via RDU .... tomorrow, pending no further cancellations. After listening to all the diversions heading to CLT (LHR,MAD,CDG,etc,etc) the next thing that had to be sorted was a hotel for the night.

Quick call, and we were sorted for the night at the Ritz Carlton Charlotte. Soon enough we pulled up at the RC and check-in.

This is a cracking hotel, and Charlotte’s not a bad place to drop the bags for a night. We made the most of it and explored what Charlotte had to offer.

Ritz Carlton, Charlotte, NC



The view...

 

[amaroo]

After a decent 1/4 day hitting Charlotte (read shopping) we headed back to the RC. It was blowing a gale and pretty cold..... the kids wanted room service and a movie. We decided to eat in-house at BLT Steak.... it was ok.

 

[amaroo]

Next morning the signs looked good, the weather had cleared and all NYC airports were open. We were keen to hit NYC!

CLT and our chariot ... CLT-RDU AA J



J wasn’t that impressive - but, we were on our way.



RDU another first for us..



Still a bit of a hangover .... felt sorry for the poor sods on that QF4639 arriving from JFK



RDU-LGA AA Y (one class flight)

 

[amaroo]

Yes, we were on our way. There was a real risk we wouldn’t fly, due to some sort of instrument failure. The airline had to get NYC ATC approval to take off... it took ages. I had started to be convinced we wouldn’t make NYC this day.

Some nice views from the seat....



The other side would have had stunning views of Manhattan - can’t win em all.

 

[amaroo]

LGA was a complete mess. The building works combined with days of cancellations created total chaos. The building work meant our pre-arranged car was being held at different location - we had to take a bloody bus to meet them. Not a simple task for a family on a 5 week holiday with the luggage to prove it. Having found our driver we loaded up and headed into Manhattan.

Our digs in NYC was the Park Hyatt, we were looking forward to this stay however, it quickly descended into an unpleasant experience, and one that will probably see us terminate any future business with them ..... I do have a stack of Hyatt points, so I’ll use them and just carry on.

We ended up being moved to three different suites within a 24 hour period - pathetic! On check-in one suite wasn’t ready - we arrived at the hotel after 5pm, and waited another 1.5 hrs, to finally get the keys .... OMG, I don’t know what went on in that room, but there was no way we were sleeping in it, the smell of chlorine was overwhelming. Absolute crime scene stuff, no wonder they needed 6 hours to clean it.

We dropped a serious amount of coin booking two suites with this mob, and I made my total displeasure known to all and sundry. Ended up receiving multiply gifts from F&B, limos, free points, upgrades, +++ worth many $$$$ .... they also discounted the total room bills by 50%. They tried to recover, but at the end of the day this $ hit shouldn’t happened.

Collection of 6 different suites we ended up not enjoying... in the end, I just stopped taking photos.

 

[amaroo]

Determined not to let the days events beat me, we headed off to one of our favourite NYC restaurants - Balthazar

The traffic was total chaos, and I had to call the restaurant and beg for a 20min window to our booking time - just made it. What a day!





Anyway, the food and atmosphere at Balthazar was a great way to end a dud day .... love this place. I implore everyone to eat here when in the Big Apple

 

[craven morehead]

At this point of the evening, I had to wander outside and take a call from another AFF’er. More on that later...

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Mole madre 1475 days, mole nuevo .... I’ll confess - I’m not a big fan of the Mole

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Avocado, coconut, lime, macadamia

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Chocolate, pennyroyal, Pinole, caramelized banana

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Apple tamal, cinnamon, caramel

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Sensational meal! Put this one on your list...

I've put on 8kgs following this TR looks fantastic

 

[craven morehead]

Next morning the signs looked good, the weather had cleared and all NYC airports were open. We were keen to hit NYC!

CLT and our chariot ... CLT-RDU AA J

View attachment 121710

J wasn’t that impressive - but, we were on our way.

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RDU another first for us..

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Still a bit of a hangover .... felt sorry for the poor sods on that QF4639 arriving from JFK

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RDU-LGA AA Y (one class flight)

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First time flying AA domestic J next week LAX-PHX not expecting much ..........

 

[VPS]

Determined not to let the days events beat me, we headed off to one of our favourite NYC restaurants - Balthazar

The traffic was total chaos, and I had to call the restaurant and beg for a 20min window to our booking time - just made it. What a day!


View attachment 121761


Anyway, the food and atmosphere at Balthazar was a great way to end a dud day .... love this place. I implore everyone to eat here when in the Big Apple


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ahh memories of NY and Balthazar

 

[amaroo]

Being a day delayed into NYC we lost our pre-booked, non-refundable paid tour of the UN .... I hit them up for a credit, first response was tough luck .... but I ended up getting the money refunded. Don’t think the UN needs more money from me to fly around the world in first, swilling the bubbles.

Luckily, we weren’t delayed another day. We had some big events arranged this day starting with an early access tour of the 9/11 memorial/museum. I’ve seen this before, first time for the rest of the family .... second time around, it’s still a moving experience and very interesting.

I recommend making the effort to do the early access tour - walking around in a very small group is the way to see this Museum.

 

[amaroo]

The importance of this window can be seen in the next photo ... wow, one in 40,000!







We spent quite a bit of time wandering after the tour concluded, then had a look around the area - it was that cold you just didn’t want to spend anytime outdoors. We headed back to midtown and grabbed a bite to eat, we had big plans for the rest of the afternoon...



Richard Rogers Theatre - built 1925



Hamilton! I booked this way back on the 8th March 2017 .... 10 months earlier. The cost was truly eye-watering, I even purchased insurance at US$150 .... one more days delayed at it would have been a very smart move.

Hamilton has been a phenomenal success, all four of us loved it ... it was worth every cent!!

 

[amaroo]

It’s a beautiful theatre and set. The cast did a great job, I can see why the soundtrack did so well on the charts. Even if you don’t like musicals, do yourself a favour and see it - it’s a masterpiece! It’s now playing in London, and we have made plans to see it again in London.



Arriving back at the PH we were moved to another suite for the third and final time, they had placed chocolates and a bottle of wine in the room. I exploded, management got involved and the compensation was increased and delivered as per my earlier post. Bloody miserable box of chocolates.

 

[amaroo]

ahh memories of Balthazar

Can you imagine how good life would be if it were your weekly local

 

[amaroo]

I've put on 8kgs following this TR looks fantastic

Cheers. The food is always big part of our holidays. Weight wise - we clocked up some big numbers of klm’s and steps climbing those temples ... we actually dropped a little

First time flying AA domestic J next week LAX-PHX not expecting much ..........

It’s ok, we’re spoilt with J in Aust .... head and shoulders above US and Euro. IMO.

Have a great trip, look forward to reading your TR.

 

[amaroo]

Del Posto, Del Posto

Our first time at this restaurant. Superb is the word - the building, dining room, ambience, food, wine list, people .... the complete works!

Dinner menu has two options - IL menu Del Posto, at five courses or Captain’s menu, at 8 courses. We went with the 5 course, IL menu Del Posto.

This was a fantastic dining experience - top 5 of the trip.