1 July 2010: English vacation, Part 2

In a previous post, I blogged about the first few days of Janice’s and my vacation in England. The Internet enabled us to act as our own travel agents, conducting research on sites to visit and helping us book travel through Expedia. The London Pass program allowed Janice and me to get into museums (although most were free) and other attractions without waiting in line/queue for tickets.

On Wednesday, 23 June 2010, Janice and I went to the Tower of London. Janice remarked that it isn’t so much a tower as a castle (based on a Norman keep). We saw the crown jewels and Traitor’s Gate, and I noticed that the armor exhibit had changed since my previous visit 24 years ago. We had lunch at the Armories Café and then walked past the Golden Hinde (Sir Francis Drake’s ship) to the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater.

We weren’t able to tour the theater because a production of Macbeth (the “Scottish play”) had just begun, so we walked across the Millennium Bridge to St. Paul’s Cathedral, observing a range of architecture on the way. The church is as much a testament to British nationalism as to the Anglican faith, having been redesigned by Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of 1666. St. Paul’s magnificent crypt contains grave stones of numerous notable scientists, artists, statesmen, and military leaders.

Janice and I then strolled by the antique stores of Portobello Market and Notting Hill, made famous by movies. Many of the stores were empty, but the pubs were overflowing with fans and spectators of soccer’s World Cup. The Wimbledon tennis tournament was also occurring that week, but we couldn’t tell if it affected traffic or tourism. We later enjoyed Indian cuisine at Masala Zone, which I liked even more than Wagamama because of a friendly and informative staff, healthy and tasty food, and reasonable prices.

The next day, Janice and I went to the grand British Museum, which had a special exhibition of Renaissance drawings. We also checked out the significant collection of artifacts from ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt (such as the Rosetta Stone, mummies, and statuary related to my Pathfinder: “Holy Steel” campaign), Greece (including the Elgin Marbles or contested sculpture from Athens’ Acropolis), Rome, and several other civilizations. We could easily have spent more time exploring London’s many museums and palaces, just as there are other sites in the U.K. that would be worthwhile destinations for day trips.

Janice and I had dinner at Pret a Manger, which is similar to and slightly nicer than Au Bon Pain in the U.S. We then walked through Bloomsbury and Soho (no relation to Manhattan’s Soho, other than being a neighborhood frequented by artists). Among other things, we stopped in at some comic book shops, including Gosh!, Comicana, Orbital Comics, and the multimedia extravaganza of Forbidden Planet, which has few equivalents here at home.

On Friday, June 25, I mailed two boxes of books and a few souvenirs home to lighten our luggage for our return. Since Janice and I had been unable to get inside the Globe Theater two days before, we returned for a tour. Whenever we return to England, Janice and I would like to try to take in a show.

After a simple but good lunch of wine and cheese at La Fromagerie, we walked to the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker Street. Janice and I are both fans of Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional detective, so it was fun to enter a replica of Holmes’ Victorian apartment. In nearby Covent Garden and Marleybone, we liked the markets and had a decadent snack of Nutella and peanut butter at Crème de la Crepe. We browsed at Daunt’s Books before dinner at Café Pasta, a local chain.

Janice and I flew back to Boston on Saturday, June 26, watching most of Up in the Air on the way. (I screened the OK juvenile fantasy Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief on the flight to Chicago.) After “comfort food” at Wild Willy’s Burgers in Needham, Massachusetts, we began catching up on chores such as mowing the lawn, doing laundry, and grocery shopping.

In addition, I’ve enjoyed the latest episodes of Doctor Who (continuing our Anglophilia) and Leverage. I’ll have to try to post more soon about the end of the regular television season and this summer’s genre shows.

On Sunday, June 27, we met Janice’s middle sister Shelly, her husband Melvin, and our nieces Rebecca and Laura for lunch at a Chili’s in Worcester, Mass., after they dropped off our nephew David at a summer camp for kids with diabetes. We had seen them a few weeks ago at Becky‘s high school graduation party in Utica, New York.

This past week, the “Holy Steel/Dragonslayers” teleconferencing team and face-to-face group skipped more sessions, but we’ll soon be getting back to the fantasy game, a few more one-shots, and the upcoming “Vortex” space opera (about which I’ve been blogging).

This coming weekend, Janice’s parents and the family of her youngest sister Melinda will be visiting us around Independence Day. College chums David I.S. and Dexter V.H. also hope to visit the Boston area. So much to do, so little time!

18 June 2010: Chicago conference

This week, I helped TT’s events staff at the BriForum event in Chicago. Aiding in setup has been different than my experience as an attendee at Citrix Synergy in San Francisco last month, but I’ve again learned a lot more about desktop virtualization.

On Monday, 14 June 2010, I took an early flight from Boston’s Logan Airport to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport with colleague Colin S. We stayed at the swanky Palmer House hotel on the first night, and I got to explore the neighborhood a bit after orientation. It was my first time in the Windy City. Just as San Francisco reminded me a little of Boston, so did Chicago remind me favorably of New York, with gothic architecture, an impressive skyline, and bustling streets.

During one of my few breaks, I walked around the neighborhood, and saw a scale model of the city and Graham Crackers Comics. Colin and I joined co-workers Bridget B. and Michelle B. and had fresh sandwiches for lunch at Corner Bakery Café and a deep-dish pizza dinner at Lou Malnati’s. The rest of our generous meals were provided at the conference. We later moved to the Hilton Downtown Chicago, which hosted BriForum.

After Tuesday’s breakout sessions, we went to Lucky Strike, an upscale bowling alley/nightclub, where we feasted on fried macaroni and cheese balls and drank beer from bottles shaped like bowling pins. When my family meets in Chicago in late July for my mother’s birthday, we’ll have no shortage of dining options or things to see and do!

On Wednesday, Colin and I went to a Cubs game at historic Wrigley Field. Although I’m not a huge baseball fan, the weather was less muggy than it had been during the rest of the week, the Old Style Beer and bison hot dogs were good, and the Cubs beat the Oakland A’s!

The sports news this week was also dominated by the World Cup for soccer/football. Unfortunately, the Boston Celtics didn’t defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, which ended just after we landed last night. I tended to go to sleep around midnight Central Time and wake up by 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time, so I’ve got some catching up to do.

I won’t have much time for work and e-mail, though, since Janice’s and my vacation is coming soon! I plan to blog in late June 2010 about England, more gaming and genre entertainment reviews, and the implications of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

23 May 2010: San Francisco sightseeing, continued

I’ve already blogged a bit about my trip to San Francisco for a work-related conference and my review of the latest Robin Hood movie. On Saturday, 15 May 2010, I took a taxicab from my hotel across the Golden Gate Bridge, which was swathed in fog. My driver was a Mongolian immigrant who took me to some overlooks, and I decided not to take a cruise to the former prison of Alcatraz. The weather was cool and damp, but I enjoyed strolling through the streets of San Francisco and looking at the varied architecture.

After being dropped off at Fishermen’s Wharf, I looked at souvenirs and the sea lion colony at Pier 39, saw historic warships on Pier 45, and ate some fresh crab and shrimp. I also sampled chocolate at Ghirardelli Square and was shown art by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, and Felix Mas at the Martin Lawrence Galleries.

I then took one of San Francisco’s famous cable cars past Lombard Street (the “crookedest in the world”) up to the Cable Car Museum near Nob Hill, which is similar to Boston’s tony Back Bay. Unfortunately, my recyclable camera ran out of film just as we reached that high point and as the sun came out.

San Francisco also has electric trolleys, buses, and a subway (BART). At the edge of the
Tenderloin, or onetime red-light district, I stopped in at the Beat Museum and had a good lunch of garlic-infused ravioli at The Stinking Rose, a restaurant recommended by David I.S. I walked down the steep hills to the upscale shops of Embarcadero (near the Transamerica Tower) and to busy Chinatown. At Yuet Lee Restaurant, I ordered noodles and dumplings.

After walking through the shops of the Westfield mall and Union Square looking in vain for a summer fedora and cheap blue jeans, I later took the 71 bus to the hippie
neighborhood of Haight-Ashbury. I enjoyed the colorful people and, of course, independent bookstores such as Booksmith, Comix Experience, and GameScape. The combination of street musicians, boisterous youths, and liberal sensibilities reminded me favorably of Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but with a more casual
vibe.

On Sunday, May 16, I had brunch at Mel’s Drive-in, a diner that Dave had also recommended. After catching part of the festivities and costumes (or lack thereof) around the annual Bay to Breakers Race, I took a shuttle bus to the airport. I raced through security and was put on standby for an earlier JetBlue flight than the one I
was originally scheduled for, but ended up just waiting for the later flight home.

Coming soon: Catching up on comics, genre television, and games!

20 May 2010: California conference

Although Janice and I haven’t traveled for work in a while, we’re making up for it this spring and summer! Janice’s technical communications conference in Dallas a few weeks ago went well. On Tuesday, 11 May 2010, I took a JetBlue flight from Boston’s Logan Airport to San Francisco for the Citrix Synergy conference. On the way, I rewatched the Richie/Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, which was decent. I stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Downtown near the Moscone Convention Center.

My first impressions of the city by the bay were positive. The business district reminded me of those in New York or Boston, with varied architecture, good urban energy, and a diverse population. I grabbed lunch at a Del Taco, which is similar to Taco Bell, then registered and attended the welcome reception. All of my meals for the next few days would be provided through the show.

Since this was my first time attending this conference as an associate site editor, I had a lot to learn. I went to the keynote addresses, breakout sessions, panel discussions, and laboratory demonstrations of virtualization technology with about 4,700 attendees (more than in past years).

I found the crowded sessions and vendor hall informative, but I didn’t get to interview as many users and prospective columnists as I had hoped. Fortunately, reporters Jo M. and Bridget B. and blogger Brian M. more than made up for it, and I visited TT’s offices near my hotel. I also enjoyed meeting peers at the press dinner at Ducca on Wednesday, May 12, including foreign correspondents Tony S. from England, Jolein de R. from the Netherlands, and Valery M. from France, as well as fellow New Englanders Carryl R. and Shelly F.

I didn’t get to see much of the host city in the first few days because of conference sessions, but I did talk with executives from Citrix and Intel. For the final night party on Thursday, May 13, we were bussed out to Treasure Island, which had an impressive view of San Francisco’s skyline. Comedian and “closet nerd” Sinbad was the headliner and was pretty funny. An open bar, live band, and several dining options made for a festive night in the large pavilion tent, making up for the fact that I knew relatively few people there.

Coming soon: Robin Hood review, sightseeing, and more!

27 April 2010: Crusaders visit

<!–[CDATA[

After hosting Byron V.O. from St. Louis and running Pathfinder: “Holy Steel” fantasy role-playing sessions the previous weekend, Janice and I hosted Damon F.P. and Steve M. on 24 and 25 April 2010. I’ve been friends with the guys since studying at Archbishop Stepinac High School in New York’s Westchester County back in the early 1980s. While onetime college roommate Frank P.D. was also in New England with his family, we weren’t able to meet him this time.

That Saturday, Janice cooked a tasty barbecue (Sloppy Joe) lunch, then drove Damon, Steve, and me up to Salem, Massachusetts. We had considered going into downtown Boston, but I’m glad we went somewhere different for sightseeing. Janice and I have gone to Salem for the festivities around Halloween, but this was Damon and Steve’s first time. We visited the Salem Witch Museum and the Witch Trial Memorial, strolled through the historic seaport, and explored various shops.

We stopped in at an Army/Navy surplus store, Harrison’s Comics, and a newsstand with more comics and gaming supplies. We reminisced about school, talked about work and family, compared classic rock notes, and had a good dinner at O’Neill’s, an Irish pub. (A few days earlier, I had gone with co-workers to New Mother India on Waltham’s Moody Street.) That evening, Janice and I introduced Steve to Wii Sports Resort while Damon dozed. Janice and Steve did better at the golf and bowling than I did.

On Sunday, we had a pancake and sausage brunch after Janice served her weekly volunteering stint in Dedham, Mass. Steve and Damon then returned to Connecticut and New York, and Janice and I ran some errands at Legacy Place and continued booking our upcoming travel. Our busy weekends will soon continue with Free Comic Book Day and Janice heading to Dallas for a conference!