Before mostly basketball and some baseball, a couple of news items of the day: Donald Trump will talk on the phone to Vladimir Putin tomorrow, and probably announce some sort of  cease fire regarding the Ukraine-Russia War .  Whatever eventually occurs, it will not be particularly favorable for Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine. Donald Trump's popularity is below 50% , but  only 27% of voters have a positive view of the Democratic Part y. I unabashedly brag about how great Hawaii is.  Well, from station KHON,  Hawaii is the #10 least desirable state in the USA . Skyrocketing cost of living. Poor employment prospects. People here don't like outsiders.  Not only newcomers, but  visitors, too .  Those who work in the tourist industry appear to be nice, but are told to do so. West Virginia was the most undesirable, Mississippi second worst, then Louisiana and Alaska. NCAA basketball March Madness begins tomorrow, March 18, for men and 19 for women....

We leave the Tokyo Westin at 6:30AM Sunday morning to catch a flight from Narita Airport to Singapore.  Thus, I won't have time to post an article that day.  So, I send this now, and not long after midnight Hawaii time will come a second posting to cover that absence.   By the way, did I tell you that it is cold in Tokyo?  44 F. As I indicated yesterday, I've been to Robuchon many times. Click on this  to see some of my previous visits.   Ten years ago I indicated that Joel Robuchon, a quarter century ago, was named Chef of the Century, and that he is five years younger than me. He first retired in 1995 at the age of 50. His cuisine is retrogressive, harking back to the earlier days of French cooking before all the micro-stuff you now see, called  molecular gastronomy , created in 1988, but only began to become prominent around 2000. He passed away five years ago at the age of 73. It was another perfectly clear day in Tokyo today, so we had a...

We're in the Plumeria Lounge of Hawaiian Airlines. Next stop, Haneda Airport.   It's alway so exciting to anticipate the coming of a global adventure.   Now, I want these trips to be as secure and comfortable as possible.  Thus, we are traveling business class, except for the Bangkok to Dubai to Munich leg being on Emirates first class.   I never asked, but I assume they don't practice Ramadan on their flights and airport lounge. In  2022 we caught an Emirates first class from Bangkok to Duba i.  Unlimited caviar, with showers on the plane.  Fabulous experience.   So we thought we'd double the pleasure.  It is 3000 miles from Bangkok to Dubai, but 3700 miles from Dubai to Munich. And a big plus.   Washington D.C. is reaching peak cherry blossom blooms now.   They said it's due to climate change.  Tokyo and D.C. are very similar in terms of weather.  Certainly, too, our first few days then will feature a...