EL ULTIMO VIAJE A LA PUEBLA DE LA SENORA DE LOS ANGELES

Until I can renew my residency card, I must leave Mexico every six months in order to re enter to obtain another six month visa.  For two years I had a residency card (which allows one to stay as long as they like in Mexico) but the renewal process was just too complicated and time consuming so I dropped it.  Big mistake! as they now have much stricter regulations and I was told you have to start the process at the Mexican Embassy in Los Angeles (not possible for me).  Since then I did find out how I could maybe obtain it from here and I am determined to get it.  I no longer want to leave Mexico and certainly not every six months.

It costs too much money for one, and with the present political climate, I do not even want to admit I am an American citizen.  The biggest expense is the car rental, but Kathie said she would pick me up at the airport and I could stay on her sofa.  This saved me the car rental plus a hotel room.  My lawyer who had a guest house where I stayed for years has retired and moved.  The day before I was to leave Kathie called to say her car was in the shop.  For six weeks she kept saying it needed repairs and I begged her to do it before I arrived, but NO!  I was pissed but arranged for a car at the airport.  For three and a half days, it cost more than my round trip plane ticket.  I found there is a shuttle service, but without a car, how would I get around?  Southern California is not possible without a car.

The first day I was to see a very dear friend who discovered he had pancreatic cancer a few months ago.  He under went a 10 hour surgery and was recovering enough that they were going to pick me up at Kathie's.  Once I rented a car I tried to contact them to say I could now meet them.  No response!  I set off for the lab where I was to have tests done before I saw my doctor.  My P.O, Box had no mail of any kind in it.  I had asked the doctors nurse to be sure and send me the authorization and also asked  her where to go for the lab tests.  So I drove to Mission Viejo to a medical complex with only paid parking.  The lab had no record of me at all.  I was not pleased.  Once I got back to Kathie's I called the nurse (I have no U.S. phone of my own).  She claimed to have no knowledge of my request.  Shouldn't the doctor order the tests after I made the appointment?  I told her she not only said she would take care of the authorization but gave me the address of the lab.  She denied it. This was a new doctor.  It seems I have not only out lived most of my friends, but my doctor as well.  I had yet to meet the man and already I did not like him.

I did hear back from my friend who was back in the hospital.  It seems chemo therapy is not was making better him but worse (not surprised).  We agreed to meet in a few days.  Kathie and I were going to take our usual trip on the train to "The City of the Angels"  (What a misnomer !).  So I went to the train station and bought tickets and picked up a copy of the train schedule.  We were going to visit the new Broad Museum and I had got tickets on the internet before I left.  We left early for the train depot.  A really cute sort of mission style building.  They have a huge parking lot but every where said "tow away zone" after three hours.  It was all reserved for the two restaurant there.   Kathie insisted it would be okay, but I was not about to risk having a rental car towed.  I thought I would ask the nice lady at the counter where I could park.  The tickets were in a packet I had of the train schedule, a map of downtown L.A, and the tickets to the Broad Museum.  My jean pockets are too tight so I asked Kathie to carry them in her purse.  But apparently just before we left her house, she looked in her purse for something land took the packet out, leaving it on the counter.  We had to race back and barely got back in time, but I still did not know where to park.  The nice lady led me to the only eight spots left for public parking.  Ridiculous !  The train left 30 seconds after we got on board.

It is a very pleasant trip on the train and ends at the wonderful Art Deco Union Depot.  It has been beautifully restored to its original glory.  We had an hour and half and we both wanted a french dip sandwich from Phillippe's.  It has been serving them for 108 years,  Don't miss it if you are ever there.  But Kathie had on warm boots and a wool sweater and it was 85 degrees.  We stopped at Olivera Street to pick up some sandals and a light blouse.  Olivera Street is where Los Angeles began.  One building says the deed dates to 1542 although the building obviously does not.  Most of the existing structures (which were originally homes) were built in the 1700 and 1800's.  A charming street but the tourist shops look just like the ones on the island near my home,  Still I love the contrast of the old and the new buildings.  By the time she had her blouse and sandals, we did not have time for our sandwich.  Kathie was sure it was all very close together, but it is not.  It is 8 or 10 blocks up hill to the museum.

We walked up the Grand Park which begins at City Hall and goes all the way up to The Music Center.  Downtown L.A, is really beautiful now with lots of parks, fountains and gorgeous buildings.
From 1960 to 1964, I worked on the 7th floor of the iconic City Hall building.  I looked out over what would be the Grand Park (they were talking about it then) but all I saw were slums, crumbling buildings and vacant lots. It took over 50 years, but it is now beautiful  The architect for the Broad Museum was severely criticized as The Broad looks like a lump compared to the beautiful soaring Disney Hall covered with polished stainless steel.  But that was the architects intent - to make a contrast,  Inside is gorgeous with huge spaces of brilliantly lit rooms.  It is all post war modern art (not really my cup of tea)  I prefer the French Impressionist or the old masters, but I did find a few painting I could admire (I even recognize some of the art work)  They allow no photos with a flash and I have never found out how to cut off my flash, but I took a quick one on the lower level as we exited.

We then went to Philippe's for our french dip sandwich.   They invented them and they are still the best ever.  The place looks exactly the same as it did when I was a kid and my parents took me there with the same tables and stools and saw dust on the floor.  Again, we barely made the train going back but luckily got on one of the little shuttle buses they have for old people and it took it right to our train.  I always enjoy going to L.A, but probably this was my last time.

Next day I had to meet Donna for lunch.  She is a Trump supporter so I was not looking forward to it. I immediately told her that she will not change my mind nor do I think I can change hers, so let's  not talk about Trump.  But you can't stop these people.  I am not sure how I managed to get through lunch let alone digest it.  But we met a Cedar Creek across the street from the old Mission San Juan in their beautiful patio, so I tried to focus on that.  My next stop was my doctor.  I had deliberately made the appointment for my last day there so there was plenty of time for the lab tests (which he did not order).

Of course it was an hour after my appointment time before he walked into the room.  He opened my folder (inherited from my old doctor) and preceded to read off a list of tests he wanted done (bone scan, C.T. scan, blood tests).  Why didn't he order them before?  I told him I was leaving the next day and he said to cancel  my flight.  (I don't think so!)  Obviously he had never looked at my chart until he walked in the room.  I told him that I felt great and the only symptom of old age that I could think of was flatulence.  He ignored the statement and did not even crack a smile.  You cannot trust people with no sense of humor.  I had already decided I did not like him and my opinion did not change.  From there I went to meet up with my friend with pancreatic cancer.  He has lost so much weight and he looked like a shell of his former self.  But his eyes had a steely determination.  That plus a good attitude is more than half the battle.  At least that is my excuse for living too long.

It was nice to see some friends (except Donna) and I enjoyed the train trip to old L.A. but I do think it was the last time I will do it.  We have doctors here and if people want to see me, they can come here.  Noriko came all the way from Japan, why can't they?

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UN VISITANTE DE JAPON

It seems odd that in all the years I have lived here, my first house guest would come all the way from Japan (but then, my life is odd),  I met Noriko 57 years ago when my good friend Kyl brought her to my tiny apartment near the campus at USC.  She was so cute, she looked like a China doll (make that a Japanese doll).  I was best man at their wedding.  Some years later they went to Japan to visit her family.  Kyl decided he wanted to move there.  He found an ad in the Pasadena Gazette looking for an English teacher at a private high school.  The problem was he never graduated, so we copied my diploma and inserted his name.  He got the job and later faked a masters degree on the computer to get a job with a college.  The Japanese are extremely honest and trusting and rarely contest anything.

Over the years I visited Japan many, many times.  They would spend many Christmas Holidays with me.  Kyl died last year and I convinced Noriko to visit me.  She is even older than I am and I was worried about all the walking we would do, but she was a real trouper.  The first day we walked to the island in the middle of the Rio Caule (just two blocks from me).  It is a pretty walk but all that is there are tourist shops and some restaurants.  She made the comment that it did not matter if you were in Singapore, The Philippines, or Hawaii, all tourist shops look alike.  I had to agree.  We ended at the Insurgente bridge where we crossed to my bank.  She had purchased dollars in Japan thinking she would spend them here.  I explained that other than a few tourist places, we only use pesos, but not to worry we would exchange them at my bank.  This was her first "Mexican Experience".  I had brought my passport and handed it to the teller along with my bank card.  She explained (in Spanish) that I could only deposit the dollars.  I said fine, just tell me what it is in pesos and I will draw it out of the ATM outside.  She then began to SLOWLY count the dollars.  She rubbed each one and handed it to the man next to her while he examined them.  About about 15 minutes it was determined that a $10 and a $5 had a small coffee stain and were not except-able.  Okay tell us again what the peso equivalent is.  Then another man came over and said he needed a copy of my passport.  (What do they do with it?  Stable it to the dollars?)  I said "Okay go ahead", and he said,  "NO, you must make a copy and come back.  This would have added another hour or so to the transaction, but luckily I carry a copy of my passport in my wallet and he accepted that.  They also have a copy of my passport when I opened my account.  NEVERMIND.   I then asked what my balance was.  She said she could not tell me, but I could get it from the ATM outside!   I told Noriko to be prepared, for nothing is easy to do here, especially when dealing with the Government or an institution.  In order to calm my frazzled nerves we stopped at Los Mercados (where the white people shop) to buy some sandwiches and sit in their beautiful courtyard for a cup of espresso.

That night we went to Di Vino Dantes for dinner.  It is the most beautiful room this side of the river with excellent food.  It is located above Gallery Dantes (the largest art store in town) and it over looks the sculpture garden below.  I ordered some tapas, which are my favorite and plenty for dinner for two.  The next night I cooked my famous pasta and invited Jennifer and a snow bird friend, Don who was leaving the next day.  The following day was Saturday so we went to the Saturday Market at Plaza Cardenas at the end of my street.  It is very colorful with a least 100 stands selling everything from food to fine art (most of it tourist stuff),  We then walked along the ocean to the Cathedral in Old Town.  It is the most beautiful church in town and an icon for the town with the angels holding a crown at the top.  I thought she would be tired and we would start back, but she wasn't  so we continued to walk the entire Malecon.  We were lucky enough to catch the flying Indians.  There is a very tall pole at the waters edge and Mexicans in color costumes, throw themselves backward off the top and spin all the way to the sand upside down.

The next day we mostly rested for we had dinner that night at Hacienda San Angel (my all time favorite)  It is a small boutique hotel and restaurant located in a gorgeous huge old mansion way up on the hill above the Cathedral.  The rooms and courtyards are spectacular with candles everywhere..  Yes, it is expensive (for Mexico) but worth every peso.  I asked and was told it had been a private home.  Next day we did some wandering around and Noriko saw her first big iguana.  A small black one was across the street one morning, but this was a huge green and orange one.  I think we next went to the Botanical Gardens.  We picked up the bus across the street from me which follows the coast line most of the way.  Gorgeous views of the water crashing against rocks. As we passed Mismaloya, I pointed out where Night of the Iguana was filmed.  At that point the road leaves the coast and climbs up into the mountains.

It had been a year since I had visited there and was very impressed with how good everything looked.  Of course they have also doubled the entrance fee (but the dollar has also doubled).  We took only a few of the paths that wind through the jungle.  The vanilla orchid winds around many of the tree trunks and she also enjoyed seeing the coffee plants.  What surprised both of us was the cocoa plant.  They make chocolate from it (as well as a few other drugs).  It  has a yellow fruit about the size and shape on a mango.  The paths were just dirt, now they are either cobble stones or gravel.  Everywhere there were new plants or pots of small plants waiting to be planted.  I was glad to see the jade plant was in bloom.  The blossoms are an iridescent  green that does not look real.  The new orchid pavilion is still disappointing to me but they are plenty of orchids throughout the garden.  We had lunch in their restaurant which overlooks the park.  Just gorgeous.  The ride home was another "Mexican Experience"  The driver was speeding down the hill, when all of a sudden the motor made a strange sound and died.  He pulled to the shoulder (which happened to be on the wrong side of the road).  First he got out and climbed under the bus.  Then he reentered the cab and pulled a broom off a shelf above the dash board.  How do you fix a motor with a broom??  He inserted the handle into some hole.  I do not know if it was gas, water or oil, but he seemed satisfied and tried to start the engine.  When it did not turn over he slowed pulled into the wrong side of the road and started coasting down until the motor caught.  Of course this was still on the wrong side of the road.  Luckily it is mostly down hill into town.  At one point a couple got up and asked to be let off in front of their condo building.  He either did not understand or did not care for he zoomed by while they screamed and pointed behind us.  Ignoring them (and everyone else) he pulled into the gas station and the entrance to town and stopped at a gas pump.  He then told us to get off the bus.  This was the end of the line for him.  Luckily I live just 5 or 6 blocks from there.

Jennifer asked us over to see her place right on the river.  Noriko had brought some of Kyl's ashes which she wanted to scatter in the ocean.  I explained that it was not easy to do.  The wind off the water blows them back at you.  Also there are too many people about.  We thought about the pier, but the same problem, so I suggested the river.  It flows on past my place and on out to sea.  She liked the idea and brought them.  Jennifer showed us the best stairs down to the river, but the river is very low during the winter so we had to jump across several rocks to find a good stream of water.  I think Kyl would like being in a Tropical Paradise.  Kitty accepted Noriko after a few days ( I knew she would). One day we found kitty with a bird in the dinning area.  She was furious when I took it away from her.  It was dead, but she was not through playing with it.  Feathers were everywhere.  Do you know how hard it is to sweep up feathers, with no vacuum?  I finally decided The Hell with it, a few feathers never won't hurt and I can get them next time I mop.

We had such a busy schedule that we only got to the beach once,  My apartment is just five blocks to the ocean, but I prefer a beach restaurant further south.  It is maybe 10 or 12 blocks but she was up to walking.  We went down B. Badillo pass all the beautiful shops and fine restaurants, then crossed two blocks to the pier, where we continued walking down the board walk on the sand pass many beach restaurants.  My favorite is La Carretta a tiny place but they all know me and call me by name.  The food is good and if I want an extra umbrella they will get it.  Food is served on little tables between the beach chairs (that would be the plate with french fries)  She really enjoyed it and we got to see the "fly boys" who have hoses attached to their feet that shoot them up way above the water.  A fun day, but we took a cab home.  One day we had breakfast at the new Hacienda restaurant across the street (I am working on a blog on it)   You can see my church bell tower rising about it.

Almost every night we watched the fireworks off the pirate ship from my terrace,  They happen every night all year but this year (I assume only during the "high season") they apparently have two ships for we see double fireworks.  She love it.  I asked her what surprised her the most about Mexico.  She knew everything was slow here.   It is always "manana" and she was amazed at the traffic jams on my street.  Cars double park around the taco stand on both sides of the street.  It makes is impossible for the huge tour buses to make the turn.  Sometimes cars are backed up for a block honking horns which everyone ignores.  The offending owner of the car blocking everything will calmly finish his taco before moving the car.  What surprised her the most was the noise level.  Bars blast out music so loud you can hear it a block away.  I took her to a few bars where conversation was absolutely impossible.  Cars go by with speakers blasting out a "boom boom boom" that rocks my windows.  Mexicans are just noisy.  The talk loud they laugh loud (and they laugh a lot).  There are a lot of adjustment to living in Mexico, but where else can an 80 year old with little money have as much fun as I do?

We visited almost all of my favorite places and I thought this blog would be a good way to showcase them, but alas, my camera took terrible pictures.  After she left I was at a costume party and mentioned that I was not able to get a good photo.  A friend spent about 5 minutes with it and fixed it, but too late for these photos.  I am really sorry I could not get pictures of the Mardi Gras parade.  I was so glad she was here to see it.  While we were waiting for the parade to pass she said, "Is it like the Rose Parade?"  Not hardly, it is mostly cars and trucks with balloons and steamers and lots of nearly naked men and women (most in drag) but it is a fun evening.  The last night we took a funicular that took us to the top of the hill where we had drinks at their bar overlooking the entire city and bay (I drank, she had Ginger ale)   We took it back down where my favorite restaurant is.  It is called Swedes and I highly recommend it,  The food is fabulous and the ambiance very romantic. A perfect conclusion to a wonder two weeks.

Of course I went with her to the airport.  Her ticket said only Gate 7,  I asked if that was A 7 or B7 and he said it was "B".  I told her once she got through security to watch the signs for gate B.  She did and settled in at Gate 7.  She noticed the sign said Minneapolis, but thought it would change to Santa Ana.  When her boarding time arrived and nothing had happened she asked the attendant, who told her she was at the wrong gate.  Never mind what the ticket says or what we were told.  He looked at the board which still said Gate 7.  After further checking  his computer he told her it would be leaving from Gate 11.  She barely made the flight.  Welcome to Mexico !!

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