A $40 steak on a two-bit street

Sunday was a day to recover from our Saturday excursion. John did laundry and we watched some football and lazed on the sofas most of the afternoon. It is nice having a washer and dryer in our apartment.  The Torres de Alba is referred to as an apartment hotel and our accomodations are more like a one bedroom apartment than a hotel room. For the most part the accomodations are quite functional with few defects. It's nice being on the upper floor because the city noise is fairly constant and sometimes quite loud. I hear a good deal more of it than John does. The windows do not seal well and as this might lend an avenue for noise to enter it certainly lends an avenue for the air conditioning to escape.  Electricity is included so it's of no consequence to us. It does look like they are remodeling the other tower of the hotel and I do see them bringing in new windows almost every day. The biggest flaw is the walk-in shower. Although it's large, big enough for two people comfortably, the floor is the same grade and level as the rest of the flooring and there is no slope to allow the water to flow towards the drain. As a result there is always a puddle of water in the bottom of the marble tiled shower and I have to be careful when I step in so that I don't slip. All the flooring is marble or granite and it's quite cold.  I would recommend a nice pair of warm slippers to future guests here.

We went down to the hotel gym for a light workout then showered and dressed for dinner.  There is a nice steak house in the Veneto Hotel and Casino next door that we thought we'd try out before the Cowboy game began. In the picture to the right we are standing at the corner of the block where our Hotel is located shooting down the street. The building with the flags in front is the Veneto Hotel and Casino. There are older apartment buildings with shops on the first level across from the hotel. 

I've lived around and worked in some of the nicest resorts in the world for the last twenty years and I have never seen a $40 steak. I was tempted to get one to see if it was dusted with silver. We ordered fish which was much more reasonable. The restaurant reminded me of my stint in fine dining many years ago. But instead of pristine beaches and beautiful sunsets outside there are small shops and shoddy streets and uneven sidewalks amidst a combination of new and old high rise and low rise buildings. In the picture above we are standing under the porte cochere of the Veneto shooting more of the street scene. You couldn't shoot an arrow and hit the ocean from here and even if you could it would not come close to the clear blue water surrouding Hawaii with pristine beaches often within view of the restaurant inwhich you're dining. John learned that the minimum wage here is $1.38 an hour. Most of the workers in the hotel are making about $12 a day. The $40 dollar steak just boggles my mind. Oh, and side dishes were extra. For the price of that steak per week you could have a live-in maid at your beck and call. We probably won't be eating there again. My diet is so restrictive it is actually difficult to go out and eat. I've been getting by making most of my meals in our apartment.

After dinner we walked back to the sportsbook area and watched the Dallas/New York game. Dallas lost and that always puts me in a bad mood. John tolerates me. Tomorrow is going to be another big day, physical therapy in the morning and more stem cells in the afternoon. I went to bed and tried not to think of the game or the coming pain.