Maryamie: Travel

Viva La Geneva

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 03:36:59 GMT

Last year about this time, we were leaving Geneva after having had a fantastic time at the Lift conference : www.liftconference.com and Robert began suspecting that I may be pregnant. I hadn't touched the fine Swiss chocolates that Laurent, our wonderful host and amazing conference organizer had brought me; I wasn't having any wine (didn't feel like it at all), ran to the bathroom to throw up a couple of times; my back was hurting and I constantly complained about all the different smells. Oh and I wanted to eat Oranges all the time. I flat out refused to have any of that talk, blamed the whole thing on jetlag and being sick and wasn't even convinced after seeing the positive pregnancy test results we got right after we landed in the US and bought our own test at the local super market. That week after being back though, I went to the doctor and they told me, yes sure I was pregnant with child three months along. Now we are back here and five month old Milan is accompanying us and smiling at everyone he sees.
Lift has been yet another mind blowing experience. Watching Kevin Warwick, the first human cyborg on stage, is not an experience you can have every day. Last year we spend a week before coming here at Robert's aunt's house in Germany, but this year she met us in Geneva and has been taking care of the baby while Robert and I attended the sessions. Thank God for Tante Purzel! I have appreciated having this precious adult time to stimulate the mind, watching some of the industry's greatest speak.
I have had such a wonderful time, hanging out with Robert, Milan, Tante Purzel along the conference attendees, speakers, and organizers, nibbling on Swiss fine chocolates and cheese (especially fondue), basking in the unseasonably warm sunshine (after 18 days of consecutive rain in California), meeting old friends and making new ones, and even running into my childhood comic icons, Tin Tin and Milo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scobleizer/2250454120/. I do love Geneva and hope to come back again next year. Geneva is a must see city and Lift a must attend conference. Wish you were here!

Traveling with Baby? Here are fifteen things I've learned.

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 23:36:41 GMT

I honestly thought that my days of traveling adventure would be over once our baby was born. Not so! Barely four months old, Milan has accompanied us without much fuss to Paris, London and Vegas, traveling via Trains, Planes, and even on a bus. We are headed to Geneva next.

If you are traveling with child I highly recommend checking out My Traveling Buddy website.

Baby Center has a great checklist on things to take with you while traveling with child.

My advice based on my own experience?

1) Don't pack too many little bags and suitcases. You will leave things behind or else won't be able to carry all of them together. While it was easier before to have smaller, lighter suitcases, you now need to try and consolidate as much as possible. Remember in addition to the suitcases, you also have to push the stroller and you only have two hands :) I used to pack a suitcase, a carry on and a bag for each of us and it worked perfectly before, but now one of us has to push the stroller while the other carries everything on the cart. My heart goes out to single parents!

2) Don't forget the baby Bjorn or other form of baby carrier with you. You need to check in your stroller and sometimes have to walk long distances before claiming it back after you get off the plane. You can check in the stroller right where you check in to get on the flight, but you won't get it back when you land until you walk all the way to baggage claim. In London, we had to walk far and long, and wait quite a while before getting our stroller back. Thank God, I packed a baby carrier with me.

3) Don't forget the bottle washer and soap. It's hard to wash bottles without the bottle washer and the soap at the hotels or airports might be too fragrant for the baby. I had to send Robert out to search for a bottle washer in Vegas and I had a hard time finding a perfume free soap in beautiful Paris, home to many famous perfumes.

4) If you are using formula, make a bottle ready before going through security screening. They won't let you carry a bottle of water but they would let you carry the milk through. The bottle would be safe for an hour and two and you are not forced to run around and look for bottled water in the airport. The security officer in the Vegas airport told me that I could get out of line, mix my formula with water and go through again if I wanted to. I didn't want to wait in line again, but next time, I will just make the formula ahead of time.

5) Check in early for your flight so you can make sure your baby has a bassinet on board. You can't reserve one on the phone and if too many babies are traveling on board, you may lose out to those who checked in before you. We were late to check in for our flight to London and couldn't get a bassinet as there were twenty other babies traveling on board. We got smart on the way back and checked in early :)

6) Make sure your baby is sucking on a pacifier or a bottle during take off and landing. The air pressure won't hurt their ears as much. We were feeding Milan while the plane was taking off and landing and he fell asleep each time without crying.

7) If traveling by train find out where the bathroom with diaper changing table is located and book your cabin close to that. I had to walk through over ten cabins while the train was moving with a baby that badly needed a change, all the while worrying if we were going to reach the station soon.

8) Pack enough formula and diapers. Babies sometimes show allergic reaction to different brands of diapers. It's also very hard to find the same brand of formula while traveling abroad and babies stomach often react to new brands.We ran out of formula in Paris and I couldn't even read the instructions on the formula I bought and had to trust the reluctant pharmacist advice. Luckily Milan liked the new formula and it worked fine for us. Next time, I will pack extra formula though.

9) Having a travel system based car seat and stroller (we use Graco) works best because you can use the car seat in the cabs, buses, trains and cars, and then place the seat easily in the stroller when walking around. The stroller folds easily and is light to carry around. You can also use it as a cart to carry stuff around.

10) If you have older children I suggest running them through the airport to let them exert some of that extra energy so that they are good and tired and ready to sleep in flight. Planning travel during their sleep time is also a good idea.

11) With older children taking some cheap new toys and coloring materials helps keep them occupied during flight. When Patrick was younger, I always bought him a bunch of magazines so he could read them during the flight and of course he had his trusty hand held game players.

12) Remember that there are different rules for traveling with babies domestically vs. internationally. For example, babies traveling on your lap can fly for free on United inside the US but you have to purchase a ticket for them while traveling abroad. It usually comes to about 10% of your adult fare plus taxes, etc.

13) You need a valid passport for children traveling abroad with you, even if your child is only four months old like ours.

14) Before traveling make sure to check with your pediatrician about any medical issues you need to be aware of. Traveling with babies under three months is not recommended and some airlines won't even allow a new born to fly. Depending on the country you are traveling to, your baby may need to get special vaccinations. I packed over the counter gas-relief medicine and baby Tylenol with us just in case.

15) Last but not least, check the weather and pack accordingly for your child. It was raining hard in London and Paris and we looked around for a long time before we were able to find a waterproof plastic cover for Milan's stroller.

Bon Voyage and Happy travels!

Travel Tips

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:36:14 GMT

Track your flight with Flytecomm: If you are picking up friends and loved ones at the airport or dropping them off and/or if you travel plans involve flying, Flytecomm service is awesome. You can even check this via mobile devices.

Book your flights with Kayak: Kayak checks multiple sites simultaneously and is gauranteed to find you the best deal.

Search for hotels with Tripadvisor: You can read hundreds of reviews on various hotels and then check multiple sites simultaneously to get the best hotel for the best deal.

Find the best restaurants in the US with Yelp: Read customer reviews on some of the trendiest as well as offbeat restaurants to find the best place to chow down.

London Bridge, er...price of dollar is falling down, falling down...

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 22:04:02 GMT

Robert can't believe that his wife did not buy a single item while abroad even though we were staying minutes away from the famous Oxford street shops in London and steps away from Galeries Lafayette the most famous shopping mall in Paris, er in the world. The truth is I just couldn't get myself to buy something in Sterling Pounds or Euros where each pound equals 2.01 dollars and each euro is 1.44 dollar. We had two cups of coffee and one lemon tart at the hotel in Paris and it came to almost 50 dollars. Two cups of tea in our hotel in London cost us 20 dollars. Good thing I was sick most of the trip and couldn't really eat much. Who cares about shopping, I would've eaten us out of house and home!
Now that we are back in the US, I think I'll do my Christmas shopping this weekend at a local mall and contribute to the US economy for my share. It needs the help and every dollar counts. That's my story and I am sticking to it.

The Buddha Bar

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:33:28 GMT

Nothing could cheer me up yesterday. After waking up around 5:00 a.m. to the news of Anita's death, I finally cried myself back to sleep a couple of hours later and except for waking up to feed and change Milan, I stayed in my room until 5:00 p.m. The housekeeping people kept coming by to try and get in and clean the room and I kept turning them away, burrowing deeper and deeper under covers. I was sad for Anita and her family; I felt guilty for not having kept in touch in the past few months and for not having been a better friend to her, and I was physically sick. My cold came back with full force and my stomach was completely unsettled as well. I couldn't breathe; I couldn't eat; I couldn't move; I was a complete mess. It was ironic to be smack in the middle of one of the prettiest locations in the world, Champs d'Elysée, in Paris, in the most festive season of the year with hundreds of colorful lights, no brilliant chandeliers lighting up all the streets around me and yet feel so dark and so sad. I finally went out to get some tea and some cold medicine from the pharmacy, but it was raining and windy and dark and I felt cold and even more miserable being outside.
Coming back to the hotel I ran into Mark Canter and Robert who persuaded me to go out to dinner with them to the Buddha Bar. Mark Canter represents the very opposite of sad and sulky. You can't be around Mark and not feed on his tremendous positive energy. Yes, he is loud and proud and can ruffle your feathers, but you can't be sad and quiet around Mark Canter. He'll tease you; he'll feed you; he'd even sing Opera to you.
Once at the Buddha Bar, we were joined by a group of bloggers from the Le Web conference and soon I felt warmth and peace inside of me. The dinner at Buddha Bar was what I needed, mostly because while mourning the death of one of blogging's greats, I was learning to enjoy the presence of other bloggers and friends. I wish Anita had been sitting at the table with us. She would've enjoyed meeting the people at the table, and would probably be bantering with Mark and Robert and teaching us a thing or two. She was there in my thoughts and will always be in my heart.

Loo of the Year Awards

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:08:11 GMT

I was visiting the ladies room while touring the Tower of London today when I saw a sign on the wall that proudly exclaimed these bathrooms had won the National Loo Award in 2006. I have to give it to the Brits. They know how to make going to the bathroom the most comfortable and pleasing experience. Not only do they have colored toilet paper, they award the best, cleanest toilets in the land. Now if we could get them to provide toilet seat covers...

Pink Toilet paper

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 22:47:21 GMT

Just had a great Indian meal with Dave Winer, Robert and Milan in London. The dinner was wonderful, the wine was lovely and the conversation was flowing smoothly, but the boys didn't believe me when I told them that they had pink toilet paper in the women's bathroom. It was a soft, cotton candy kind of pink. Why do we only have white toilet paper in the States? I want to have pink toilet paper too, or a light blue; oh why o' why don't we have colored toilet paper in the States? I don't have a clue.

London calling

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 00:06:16 GMT

My husband and son are both drunk (one from wine and one from milk respectively) and hugging each other have crashed on the hotel bed. The trip from SFO to London Heathrow although over 10 hours long and without sleep at least for me, went surprisingly well. Barely ten weeks old, Milan is a world traveler now and he is a cute, cuddly and surprisingly good-natured traveling buddy.

As always, Virgin air was great; they had ran out of bassinets for the babies since there were another 20 on board so they gave us the middle seat additionally and checked to make sure we were ok several times through out the trip. One of the flight attendants even carried my diaper bag out for me as I was holding the baby. It might be a small gesture but it made a world of difference to a tired, sleepless mom after being in air for ten hours and packing through the night before. The movie selections were great especially with our own individual tv (I watched Knocked up and Blades of Glory and laughed my way through both). The ability to control the start and end time and being able to pause, rewind and fast forward was awesome. Patrick doesn't like flying very much, living in a post 9/11 world, but I know if he had been with us he would have totally appreciated these features.

The taxi cab fare from airport to our hotel near the London Tower cost 80 pounds which is almost $160 as we hit horrible traffic, but just breathing the crisp London air in December, watching the couples stroll down Hyde park from the window and all the beautiful, historical buildings we passed by made it worth it. I've been through many cities in the world, but London is my favorite by far. I have happy memories of visiting my brother and his family when I was very young here and of course the English major in me becomes alive as soon as we land in London.

I definitely recommend Apex hotel as well. Rooms are not too big and run on the expensive side, but it is a pretty new hotel in the middle of the city, with wonderful staff, nice restaurant, very comfortable and big beds and the shower is so great, the water pressure so high, I am ready to marry it :)

Ok, I am ready to crash next to my family now. I just had to beat Robert as being the first to blog when we got here and seeing that he has crashed on the bed after drinking some nice wine at dinner, I saw my opportunity. The free wifi in the hotel by the way rocks! Sweet dreams world citizens. XOXOXO.........

Fun things to do while you are in Palo Alto, California

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:24:18 GMT

Drinking Irish Coffee with Irish bloggers was quite fun. I especially enjoyed meeting Alexia and seeing Damien again and they quite spoiled us with wonderful gifts from the Emerald Isle. Turns out that my friend Damien and his Irish buddies are actually staying in the Cardinal hotel in Palo Alto and were looking for some fun things to do locally. I worked in Palo Alto for quite a few years and actually know my way around there quite well.

Strolling down University avenue is fun, especially if you are hungry because there are so many good eateries around you and not just on University Avenue either. There are some good coffee shops and bars as well depending on what your drink of choice maybe. With Stanford Shopping Center nearby on El Camino, the Apple Store on University Avenue along with so many cute little shops, and Fry's Electronics only a few miles away off of Portage Avenue, you have your shopping needs covered. And to get some culture you can go to the Stanford Cantor Museum. Rodin's Gates of Hell is a special favorite of mine to visit again and again.

Some of my favorite restaurants in Palo Alto:

If you are looking for pricey, then I would suggest either Evvia, the Greek restaurant on Emerson st. or MacArthur Park on University Avenue. If you are looking for Ethnic, Straits Cafe (Singapore), Mandarin Gourmet (Chinese), and Robaii (Middle Eastern) are among my very favorites. If you are looking for healthy and fresh then I suggest Pluto's or Andale.

Grabbing a cup of coffee at University Cafe or a late night drink at Nola's is always fun too.

Oh man, now I am hungry and it's way too late to go to any of these places. Well, Bon apetite friends and hope you enjoy your stay in Palo Alto.

My favorite places to visit in theSan Francisco bay area, Northern California

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:33:16 GMT

So my Irish Blogger friend, Damien and his buddies are in town for a visit and he has asked me to recommend some places to visit while they are here. When I am at a new city and have limited time, I usually try and take advantage of one of the city tours, such as this one for San Francisco. I think to experience San Francisco in its full glory though, you have to hit the following sites and not necessarily in that order:

Hang out at the Fisherman's Wharf and grab some creamy clam chowder in a sourdough bowl.
Take a ride on a cable car around the city, and hopefully you won't be in an accident to hit your head and become a sex maniac.
Walk or drive down Lombard street and take a picture.
Take a stroll in Golden Gate park, my favorite part being the Japanese Tea Garden.
Have dinner at an Italian Restaurant in North Beach; one of my favorites is Michelangelo Cafe.
Walk around China Town.
Shop at Union Square.
And of course see The Golden Gate Bridge.

If you have more time and want to explore the bay area, I suggest going to Muir woods and Sausalito. You could also spend a day in Berkeley and walk down Telegraph avenue, or venture out to the Santa Cruz Board Walk; or go Wine Tasting in Napa Valley or Sonoma County; or go visit Monterey Bay Aquarium and drive down 17 Miles Drive in Carmel.

If you still want to explore further in Northern California, then I suggest going to Yosemite National Park and/or Lake Tahoe.

These are some of my favorite places, but I am sure I left so many things out. Does anyone else have any suggestions for Damien and his friends?

Leaving Your Shoes at the Beach

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:08:50 GMT

Thinking back to our Cancun trip, I was reminded of a curious little incident that happened there. On our last night there, the conference organizers invited everyone to a wonderful dinner party. Once the party was over, Robert and I decided to take a walk at the beach. Walking past the outside bar, we saw the last of a wedding party breaking away and heading to their rooms. There was still a few people drinking at the bar, but the beach was quiet and empty. We walked past the bar and the swimming pools and took the wooden steps down to the beach. We decided to leave our shoes on the last step, before walking on the cool sands.

We were gone star-gazing and walking for about 45 minutes to an hour. It was well past mid night when we came back to the stairs, and we didn't see anyone nearby. I looked at the stairs and saw that only one of my shoes was left. Robert's shoes and one of mine was missing. As I was pointing this out to Robert and walking towards the lonely shoe, I tripped over something at the beach. Recovering my balance, I realized that someone had buried one of Robert's shoes under the sands. Upon searching further, we found that the other shoe was buried close by under shallow sand. Someone was playing a joke on us, but we couldn't see anyone near by. We were tired and sleepy and in no mood for a joke, but we had to find our shoes.

Robert started digging in the sand for my other shoe. I told him, he wouldn't find my shoe under the sand though because they had left one of them on the stairs. The clue was that we should look for it elsewhere near the steps. So while Robert continued to dig in the sand, ignoring me, I went up the stairs and around the swimming pool looking for the lost shoe. After looking around for a little while, I found it hidden under one of the chairs by the swimming pool.

Dangling the lost shoe in the night air, I shouted over to Robert to stop digging. We put our shoes on and holding hands started to walk towards our bedroom. I asked Robert, who do you think did that and why? But Robert just shrugged in response. There really wasn't anyway to know.

I couldn't let it go though. I asked again: There must've been a message for us. They left clues and it wasn't really hard to find the shoes. What was the message do you think? I looked up at Robert.

Robert responded in a cool, matter of fact, tone: "The message is clear. Don't leave your shoes on the beach!"

Cabo Vs. Cancun

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:47:30 GMT

Somehow the muggy, gloomy and unseasonably rainy weather in the bay area today has made me look out the office window and drift away on a nostalgic magic carpet to our two Mexican trips in the last couple of months. Robert had speaking engagements in Cancun in May and in Cabo in June, and since I had never been to Mexico and didn't think I could travel for leisure too much after the baby was born, I decided to take sometime off and accompany him. If you follow the theory that each of us was brought to this earth for a purpose, I like to think my purpose in life is to live on the beach: preferably somewhere with mild weather, warm waters, and immediate availability of tall, cold drinks. While we only spent a weekend or so at each place, I could've easily stayed in Cancun or Cabo for another few weeks or months. It's hard to say, in hindsight, which one I would've chosen to go to if I had to pick one against the other. So I'll give you the facts based on my observations and you can decide for yourself.

1) The flight to Cancun from San Francisco in May cost me $750 while the flight to Cabo in June cost $350.
2) There were no direct flights from SFO to Cancun, so we spent over 9 hours to get there. By the time we got our luggage and got to the hotel, it had been over 12 hours since we had gotten on the road. The trip to Cabo was about three hours, and we were checked in to our hotel in less than half the time to Cancun.
3) We stayed at the Westin in both places and although hotel costs were picked up for Robert as a speaker, I figured they were pretty much the same. The Westin in Cabo, however, was at least a star and a half above the one in Cancun in many different ways: service, quality of food, rooms, setting, architecture... you name it.
4) Both places were pretty touristy and you couldn't really get much of the authentic feel for the place. Granted we were there for a short time, it was pretty shocking to see Home Depot and Blockbuster in Cabo and fast food chains in Cancun and Cabo.
5) Everyone pretty much spoke English, so we had no problem getting around.
6) The water in Cancun was liquid turquoise. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. The water in Cabo was the typical blue, green, gray of Pacific ocean, but of course still beautiful.
7) The weather in Cancun in May was much hotter and muggier than the weather in Cabo in June. It felt like everything even ice was lukewarm in Cancun. It melted as soon as you got it. In Cabo, however, we enjoyed a cool breeze for the most part and the iced drinks were really cold.
8) Neither one of us got sick at Cancun, but I got some serious mosquito bites in Cabo and was itchy for days while Robert got a stomach bug and was praying to the porcelain god for a couple of days when we got back. I have never seen him that sick.

I'd like to go back to Cancun to see the liquid turquoise waters and visit the Mayan Ruins, however if you are living in the west coast, Cabo is your best bet for the ideal Mexican vacation. I'd love to go back someday. There is a certain male masseuse who goes by the name of Guillermo, that I was told by all the female hotel guests I ran into, that I need to pay a visit to. This time around, Robert booked me a massage and I got Trisha instead :) I can't complain; it was still a very lovely gesture and a wonderful vacation.

The Blue Blue Sea in Cancun

Sat, 12 May 2007 00:37:05 GMT

"I have found eternity...It's the sun mixed with the sea." Arthur Rimbaud

When we visited Ireland a couple of years ago, one of the most beautiful aspects of the land was the various shades of green surrounding us. This past weekend in Cancun, we contemplated the many shades of blue from the grayish blue foam of the waves, to the turquoise blue heart of the sea, to the indigo blue waters meeting the sky far into the horizon.

Last weekend, we spent hours embracing the sun, sand and the sea in the warm and hospitable city of Cancun, Mexico thanks to Forbes.com. They had graciously invited Robert to speak at their Internet Marketing and Branding Strategy conference and I decided to take some vacation time and tag along. We couldn't think of a better way of celebrating Cinco de Mayo. Robert has posted some pictures on Flickr.

I can't begin to describe how refreshing this past weekend was for us. Late into the night, after all the party people had made it to their rooms, Robert and I would walk to the empty beach, sit on the sand and stare at dark and mysterious sea. We didn't talk very much in those couple of hours; we just held each other close and contemplated the waves, the moon, and the stars. I have a feeling we'll remember those nights by the sea in Cancun for many moons to come.

We almost ended up in Italy...

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 16:32:33 GMT

I say Geneva, you say Genoa. I say tomato, you say tomato...let's call the whole thing off. At the train station in Germany yesterday, I asked for two train tickets to Geneva and I got two train tickets to Genoa, Italy. Good thing, Robert's aunt was with us and checked our tickets before we got on. Otherwise, we would have become accidental tourists in Italy. I guess the Germans pronounce Geneva, Geneve.

Funny thing is I have been nagging Robert about a trip to Italy for years. It would have been nice to accidentally end up there, but on the other hand we would have missed most of LIFT conference. Laurent and team have worked very hard on this conference; they are gracious hosts and Geneva is beautiful. We are loving our time here and we'll get to Italy some other time soon. It would have made a great blog post though.

Basel, Colmar and Baden Baden

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 00:30:54 GMT

Staying on the border town of Bad Krozingen with Robert's aunt has its advantages. We have seen cities in three different countries in the last few days. On the first day we visited Basel, in Switzerland and Robert's friend, Martin Spedding, was kind enough to show us around. Walking along the Rhine and taking the fairy across was spectacular. We also visited the Tinguely musuem where they were showing the artistic works of Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely. Jean's work was amazing. It is the kind of works that kids and adults would love alike. He takes junk and discarded parts of machinery and wheels and puts them together and makes these pieces of art that move and make music and are just stuff out of fantasies. I loved his work. Niki's work not so much. It looked like she went through her garage and took some crap and stuck it together and threw some red, black and green paint at it. She is pretty good looking though or was at the sixties anyway. Robert's aunt said that her stuff was too sexual, but it didn't turn me on.

Speaking of Sexual, we knew we were in the French town of Colmar yesterday when at every corner we saw a lingerie shop. I kid you not. They had great names too, like Adrenaline and Lingerie fix and so on and so forth. me? I went straight for the French bakeries :) I don't remember their names, but the baked goods were wonderful.

And speaking of good names, tonight we had dinner at a German city name Baden Baden. It is a beautiful city with a famous casino and lots of expensive shops (Robert is lucky they were all closed by the time we got there). I think the same person who named Walla Walla named this city. I just love the name.

The weirdest thing so far? The shops in all three different cities are closed on Sundays. Some are closed on Monday too. And most of them take lunch breaks and are closed between 12:30 and 2:30. So basically if you need to buy something you better go out between 9-12:30 or 2:30-5, Tuesday through Saturday or you are SOL :)

Feeling right at home in Germany

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 00:12:48 GMT

Sometimes you can feel right at home, years and miles away from where you grew up. When we walked in to Robert's aunt's house on Saturday, I felt like I walked in to my house when I was a little girl growing up in Iran. The house is filled wall to wall with books. My Dad was an avid reader and you could find books just about anywhere around the house. The house is also filled with green plants and flowers. My mom loves plants and our house always looked like a green house. But what was most striking was the scent of some food that took me right back to my childhood winters. My Mom always made us rutabaga in the winter time. It's an acquired taste but I love it. For dinner that night, we had lamb, mashed potatoes, red cabbage with chestnuts, some kind of divine salad with Croutons and boiled rutabaga. It was heavenly!

Robert's aunt Perzel has been spoiling us to the point where neither one of us wants to leave. She is lavishing her love, baked goods and lots of yummy treats on us non-stop and giving us tours of the region. I really want to take her home with us :)

The Original London Sightseeing Tour

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 00:35:41 GMT

I love taking bus tours of the new cities that I go to when I find a chance and I truly enjoyed the Original Bus Tour of London. The price at least during the winter time was 18 pounds and it included two full days access as well as a ferry cruise. They stopped in all the major sightseeing areas and the guides were friendly and very funny. You could hop on and off the bus anytime and venture into the place of your own choice. I went to see the National Gallery which was free for admission and I spent a couple of hours seeing every imaginable picture of Christ and the Virgin and all the saints from 1200s through the 1700s. The paintings were rich and exquisite and beautiful. The more tortured the saint and the more they had lived the vow of poverty, the more the painting was covered in gold and jewels and rich colors. I thought that was an interesting contrast. I am not sure if it was a Christmas thing that they had tried to put out all religious pictures, and I have nothing against christianity, but for God's sake you think these people might have something other than Christ and Mary and the saints to draw for 500 years?
if you are in London, you should try and take the bus tour. I also definitely recommend seeing the National Gallery if you are in London. I am sure the collections change and even if they don't, it is truly a magnificent treasure. There was a picture of Salome holding the head of John the baptist that is still haunting me.

London in November

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 17:38:59 GMT

I expected London to be cold, gray and rainy this time of year, but you can easily walk out with a light jacket and enjoy London in November. I love this city and I have been in quite a few cities in my time. I am not a city girl mind you, but I would love to live in London someday even just for a little while. I love hearing the british accent in the conversations of passers by mixed in with all kinds of different accents and dialects from all over the world. The red double decker buses, the red telephone booths, and the ancient brick architecture take my breath away. I wanna get lost in the streets of this city and walk on for hours, stopping now and then for a cup of tea or a light sandwich. I want to visit the museums, go shopping, hop on a ferry for a tour on the river or just hop in a cab and ride to the heart of downtown. When it gets dark, I'll walk in to a pub and grab myself some savory meal and a glass of red wine. It must be the english major in me but I just can't get enough of London. I am so in love, I know I'll be back again and again and again.

Freezing my a** on Snoqualmie Pass

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 23:15:47 GMT

So we are stuck for three hours at the Snoqualmie pass because of a snowstorm, right after we stopped for coffee at Starbucks. Vicky and I are getting antsy looking around to see if the cars are making any move or if there are any exits up ahead, but no dice.

Finally, by the side of the road we see what looks like a small metal cabin or a giant metal box and we think it would be a good place to hide us from view while we go tinkle. Vicky braves the elements first and comes back assuring me that it's all ok. I run out and cross the stopping cars and walk into the bushes. As I squat down, I realize that some truck driver might still be able to see me if he arched his head just right and instintively I move back. this is when my bare bottom hits the metal box and for a very uncomfortable minute I am stuck in mid air.

Now I know what people mean when they say it was so cold, I was freezing my ass off :)

Seattle is the smartest city in US

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 21:23:35 GMT

I guess they were waiting for us to leave town, and take all the dumbness out with us before they announced on CNN that Seattle is a city full of smarties. So what are you waiting for? Visit Seattle, eat some good salmon and seafood, drink a nice cup of coffee and raise your IQ by a point or two.

Speaking of visiting Seattle and getting smarter, they just announced the sessions for Blog Business Summit in Seattle. Robert and I will be there to visit with some old friends, hang out at the conference and would love to see you there.

Fun with Flight

Fri, 05 May 2006 20:25:12 GMT

Chris Pirillo is one of the funniest geeks I know. Chris and his lovely better half Ponzi, much like Robert and I, are frequent travelers and are well-versed in the art of flying through the blue skies nestled inside birds of steel. If you don't like flying or if you do, I strogly recommend watching this video to know how to fly safe Chris Pirillo style.

And if that wasn't enough here are some real life examples of the flight crew announcements to make flights more fun:

Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported:

1. On a Southwest flight (SW has no assigned seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, "People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!"

2. On a Continental Flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."

3. On landing, the stewardess said, "Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have.

4. "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane"

5. "Thank you for flying Delta Business Express. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."

6. As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Ronald Reagan, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella. WHOA!"

7. After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in Memphis, a flight attendant on a Northwest flight announced, "Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted."

8. >From a Southwest Airlines employee: "Welcome aboard Southwest Flight 245 to Tampa.. To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised."

9. "In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child, pick your favorite."

10. "Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Southwest Airlines."

11. "Your seat cushions can be used for flotation; and, in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments."

12. "As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses."

13. And from the pilot during his welcome message: "Delta Airlines is pleased to have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"

14. Heard on Southwest Airlines just after a very hard landing in Salt Lake City: The flight attendant came on the intercom and said, "That was quite a bump, and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault, it was the asphalt."

15. Overheard on an American Airlines flight into Amarillo, Texas, on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain was really having to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Amarillo. Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what's left of our airplane to the gate!"

16. Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing: "We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal."

17. An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the Passengers exited, smile, and give them a "Thanks for flying our airline." He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment. Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane. She said, "Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?" "Why, no, Ma'am," said the pilot. "What is it?" The little old lady said, "Did we land, or were we shot down?"

18. After a real crusher of a landing in Phoenix, the attendant came on with, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Capt. Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the wa rning bells are silenced, we'll open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal."

19. Part of a flight attendant's arrival announcement: "We'd like to thank you folks for flying with us today. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we hope you'll think of US Airways."

20. Heard on a Southwest Airline flight. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing and if you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em."

21. A plane was taking off from KennedyAirport. After it reached a comfortable cruising altitu de, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number 293, nonstop from New York to Los Angeles. The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax... OH, MY GOD!" Silence followed, and after a few minutes, the captain came back on the intercom and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier. While I was talking to you, the flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!" A passenger in Coach yelled, "That's nothing. You should see the back of mine!"

Safe travels!

Altitude Sickness in Colorado Mountains

Fri, 24 Feb 2006 18:44:12 GMT

The evil red digits on the alarm clock next to our bed read 2:38 a.m. All is cold and white and snow covered outside. I can’t hear a sound except my own heart beating faster than 100 times per minute and my shallow breathing. To my side Robert sleeps peacefully. There are times when I love to watch him sleep, caressing him with my eyes. I could stare at him with adoration for moments on and feel my heart fill with love. This is not one of those times. He is sound asleep and that irritates the hell out of me. I haven’t been able to sleep for the last hour, turning and tossing. I feel like I can’t breathe; my heart is beating as if I have ran for an hour and my chest hurts as if someone has been sitting on it. Worse of all, I have a pounding headache.

I nudge him on the side a bit to see if he’ll wake up. He just shifts a bit away from me, and so I shake his shoulder. Nothing. How can he sleep at a time like this? I ask myself as I poke him a few times on the ribs. He jumps. “What?” He asks half sitting up and startled.

“I can’t sleep. Can’t breathe. My chest hurts. I feel like I am gonna die.” I whine.

“It’s just altitude sickness. I am having a bit of a hard time myself. Just drink some water. Try to breathe deeply and relax.” He says as he is putting his head back down on the pillow.

“My head is going to explode. My chest hurts. What if I am having a heart attack?” I raise my voice. How could he want to go back to sleep while I am suffering here?

Robert turns around and looks at me and shakes his head. “You are not going to die for God’s sake. Just take a couple of aspirins and go back to sleep.”

“I don’t think you understand. I CAN’T SLEEP.” I yell at him.

Robert gets up from the bed and walks to the desk across the room saying: “If you are not going to let me sleep, I am gonna check email and at least get some work done.”

I continue to shout: “How can you check email when your wife is dying right in front of your eyes. I can’t believe you.” Of course yelling has made it harder for me to breathe and my head is hurting more. I am beginning to believe that I may have a heart attack just now. I imagine myself lying on the bed dead and Robert not finding out until hours later as he is deep in his computer world. I don’t want to die this way, I decide.

“You are not going to die. It’s just altitude sickness. Stop making such a big deal out of it.” Robert shouts back at me.

The people on our floor must really love us I think to myself. Some ski vacation for them. Well, at least we didn’t wake them with the sounds of hard breathing and beds pounding that you hear in other hotels sometimes late at night. We are breathing hard, but not in a fun way.

“Ok, so can you go to WebMD and check about this altitude sickness at least? Read me the signs and what needs to be done about it. Make yourself useful.” I sigh.

“It says that you can experience shortness of breath, headaches, fatigue and nausea.” Robert reads out loud. “See, I told you.” He adds.

“It doesn’t say anything about heart pounding fast and chest cavity hurting? Does it? I tell you I am having a heart attack.” I protest sitting up on the bed. “So what can I do?”

“Not much. You should have gone to the gym before we came here. Like I said just drink some water and try and breathe deeper and relax.” He says looking down on the computer.

Deciding that Robert is of no use whatsoever, I ignore him and get up. I get the advice nurse number from my insurance card out of my purse and dial for help. The advice nurse asks me about all my conditions and then tells me that my heart pounding for the last 36 hours is not a usual symptom of altitude sickness. Obviously my heart is trying to compensate for something that is wrong and having that pressure on it is not healthy. I should see a doctor right away. She suggests calling 911 and going to the ER. She says I should have done something about it earlier. She asks to talk to Robert and explains the same things to him. Robert nods and hangs up the phone finally.

While he has been talking, I have drank some water, taken a couple of advils and put some pillows under my head so I can breathe better and have crawled under the blanket. I am feeling a bit more relaxed. Robert hangs up the phone and starts to get dressed.

“what are you doing?” I ask curiously.

“I am getting dressed. We need to call 911 and get you to the emergency room like the nurse said.” Robert grumbles.

“I don’t want to go to ER. Every time I have gone there I ended up worse than when I walked in. I think I am feeling better anyway.” I say calmly.

“Why would you call an advice nurse if you don’t want to listen to her advice?” Robert asks in disbelief.

“I thought she might have some idea how to make me feel better, but I ain’t going to ER. No way. Plus, I wanted you to acknowledge that my condition is serious and that you should pay more attentions to me.” I respond with utter calm.

“Uh huh,” Robert says as he shakes his head and gets back to bed.

Next night we go out drinking and when we come back to the suite, Robert passes out on the couch next to the fire place. I spend half an hour yelling and screaming until I get Robert to come and sleep on the bed next to me. I claim that he will catch a cold sleeping on the couch. As soon as he is in bed, I shake his shoulder. “What?” He mumbles.

“I can’t sleep. I can’t breathe.” I whine.

“Oh God. Not this again.” He cries into his pillow. Then he gets up and goes out of the bedroom. I am about to tell him that he can’t sleep on the couch when he comes back to the room handing me a blue pill and a bottle of water.

“What is it?” I ask as I take them from him.

“Sleeping pill, Tylenol PM, complements of Buzz. I told him you couldn’t sleep today and he told me these would help.”

I take the pill, gulp down some water and lay back down. Robert comes back to bed and holds me. The next thing I hear is the alarm clock waking us up so we can pack and get ready for our flight out. Well, I hope Robert learned his lesson. If your wife wakes you up in the middle of the night telling you she can’t sleep, don’t go and check email. Call Buzz to the rescue before she calls the advice nurse.

Winter Paradise in Copper Mountain, Colorado

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 22:48:50 GMT

I am not a skier. Not much for cold weather either. I spent most of my life in California for God’s sake. It was with trepidation last week, that I accepted to accompany Robert, Byron, Buzz, Steve and Mie for a Blog Business Summit retreat and a meeting with the Colorado Ski Country Resort folks to Colorado. It turned out to be one of the best vacations I have been to. I loved the snow, was thrilled by snowmobiling and everyone treated us so nice. I felt as if I was in a winter paradise. But I am not a skier, nor the sporty kind of sorts, so while everyone was skiing or tubing or enjoying the great outdoors, I opted for getting a massage at the Copper Mountain Spa and a quick dive in the heated in-door pool followed by tubbing in the Jacuzzi. And that is where it happened.

I was recovering from the massage coma and getting my head slowly back together at the pool, swimming like a happy fat tadpole from one end to another as I saw them walk in. You have to try and picture this as I saw it and as it was. This giant, heated, blue indoor swimming pool was located 10, 000 feet above the ground in the heart of the snowy mountains. While the temperature inside was warm and cozy, all you could see through the glass walls all around was white powdery snow falling down and in heaps covering everything. The only other color you saw was the green of the forest trees and the red and blue caps of skiers walking to the lifts. There were a few little kids in the pool splashing around. A couple of parents sat dressed up on the chairs watching the kids with bored expressions and a few teenage boys sat around the pool as well. They looked like they had just come out of the athletic center and wanted to relax. It was a lazy snowy afternoon at the spa. The sun was slowly fading behind the white mountains. Then we all saw them walk in.

There must have been five young girls, in their sweet 16 or 17. They were holding hands, giggling and bouncing, with tanned slim bodies covered in bright colored bikinis. One was a blonde beauty with a florescent pink bikini. Holding her hand was a slightly shorter brunette with a cherry red two-piece on. The other three followed suit, as if they all belonged to the same tribe or were made by the same talented doll maker. They had lavender and blue and green bikinis with poke dots and flowers and paisley patterns on. They were all beautiful, young and so full of life. They headed to the Jacuzzi and stepped right in. The teenage boys looked around, fidgeted a bit, and then followed them into the Jacuzzi without much delay. The kids started to splash around the pool again and the parents still had the face that read, I rather be skiing. But the atmosphere in the spa had changed. There was laughter and happy voices coming from the Jacuzzi. Somehow these young vibrant girls had pierced the cold heart of winter and I could smell summer days right around the corner. I looked around me and felt as if I was in the twilight zone. How did these eternal summer girls manage to take over our winter paradise?

Quick, what’s better than sex? Snowmobiling in Keystone, Colorado

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 21:26:13 GMT

I didn’t think you would guess that. I wouldn’t have thought it in a million years until last week. In fact, if it wasn’t for the gentle persuasion of our host Katie Osborne at Keystone, I would have never tried it and then I would have missed out on one of the best experiences of my life.

I am not a thrill seeker per say. I am one of those drivers who always gets stuck at a corner and slows everyone else down in the bumper car ride. You get the picture J Robert is a Dare Devil when it comes to speed and adventures. All the way there, I begged him to let me ride in the back of his snowmobile. He wouldn’t have anything to do with it though. “You’ll ruin my experience, by yelling at me to slow down. No way!”

I am so glad he didn’t let me ride with him. I had a great time driving my little steel ride on the snowy tracks up high in the mountains deep in the forest. I did go off track a couple of times when I got too confident and tried to turn too quickly. Our guide, Matt, was always looking out for us though and he came back and pulled my snowmobile out of the snow and back on track. Mie has some great pictures of the adventure. Robert had a great time too. He is just telling me to stop saying snowmobiling was better than sex. You all know, it’s just a saying right?

You have to try snowmobiling before you die. You will have a great time. This is an experience you will never forget. And don’t be scared. If I could do it, you can too.

Many thanks to Katie, Keli, Jason, Lauren, and Molly and the all the other wonderful folks at Keystone lodge, Copper Mountain and Colorado Ski Country for having us. We’ll definitely be back!

Hotels in Dublin and Cork

Fri, 02 Dec 2005 05:14:16 GMT

If you are ever in Cork, I recommend staying in Rochestown Park Hotel. It is simply lovely. If you are ever in Dublin, I recommend staying away from the Burlington hotel. We had to change our rooms three times when we got here today. This means we had to move our luggage three times and go down each time to get new keys.

The first one was not cleaned properly. I am not a picky person, but when I find hair on my pillow covers and yellow stains all over the bath tub, I have no choice but assume that the room was not cleaned. We asked for another room and they put us in a smoking room even though we had asked for a non-smoking one. Finally with the third try they gave us an acceptable room. Still, when we came back tonight and asked for another key as we had locked ourselves out of our room, they gave us the keys to someone else's room. We naturally had to go back down for the fourth time and ask for another set of keys.

I personally think they are aware that we have gained weight in our trip and want us to lose weight by going up and down. So if you want to get some exercise in the most annoying way, ponder the nature of mysterious yellow stains in your bath tub and stranded pieces of hair on your pillows and have a stranger walk into your room in the middle of the night, if you live for that kind of excitement then by all means come to the Burlington hotel. Otherwise stay as far away as possible.

Loving Irish Hospitality

Fri, 02 Dec 2005 04:52:56 GMT

Robert and I are simply floored by how wonderful the Irish have been treating us. We have had the honor and pleasure of meeting some really amazing people in Cork and Dublin.

Tom Raftery organized a great conference and one of the best geek dinners I have ever been at in Cork. His generosity, attention to detail and hospitality can’t be measured in words. As an event planner, I was so impressed by his skills and as his guest I appreciated all his affection.

Tom had arranged a full day for us on Tuesday and during the course of the day we met some great people.

Of course Tom, couldn’t have done all the work by himself and we were delighted to meet the lady who runs IT@Cork, Catherine Wall and her colleagues, when we visited her at IT@Cork offices.

In the morning, Donncha O Caoimh and his fiancé Jacintha met us in front of the Blarney Castle and we all climbed our way to the top of the two thousand year old castle. Donncha is a wonderful example of why I love being around geeks. He is super smart, completely unassuming with a child-like curiosity about everything around him. Like most geeks I know, he has a beautiful and lovely partner. We really enjoyed meeting this wholesome and affectionate couple and can’t wait to see their wedding pictures in May. They were flying the next day to Dublin to be part of the celebration for a book publishing that has eight of Donncha’s pictures in it.

Damien Mulley was kind enough to get us a copy of the sold out US book. It’s a great book with some amazing pictures.

Later that day, Tom arranged for a tour of the Heineken plant for us and there we met Donal Manning, IT Manager and Jerome Kenneally, Process Technologist who were kind enough to give us a tour of the entire plant and tell us about the process of making beer. I am not a beer drinker myself and I certainly can’t drink Guinness, but I found Murphy’s to be quite delightful actually. We were so happy when we got our Murphy’s caps and T-shirts and even a Murphy’s bag to take home with us. We wanted to sneak out a keg of beer with us too, but they were too smart for us J

At the conference the next day, I talked to Bernie Goldbach and Phil Bourke who teach at Tipperary Institute. Bernie gave me some good pointers on where to visit in Dublin and Phil and I had a nice chat about why there are so few women in the software industry as well as the good, bad and ugly things about children having access to the Internet.

At the geek dinner after the conference, I had the great pleasure of meeting Frank P, Mark Twomey and Clare Dillon as well as Uldis Bojars and Liga. Frank and mark had me laughing the whole night, while Clare and I discussed hot male movie stars as well as many other intriguing topics. Ilga and I talked about the reasons one starts blogging and Uldis told us that he might be traveling to San Francisco in January so Robert and I have to make sure and have a geek dinner there for him. If I didn’t mention it before, this was by far one of the best and most entertaining geek dinners I have ever attended.

Today has been another great day in Ireland while we visited Dublin. Paschal Leloup picked us up from the airport and showed us around town kindly pointing out great shopping areas for me J

Tonight we enjoyed meeting the members of the Irish .NET Developers Alliance in their user group meeting arranged by Paschal. I especially loved it when David Corbett told me that he knew me from listening to me introduce Joe Hummel at one of our MSDN webcasts. I had a great talk with him and another David about Ireland, Blogs and geeks among other interesting topics.

Tomorrow we’ll be checking out some of city sights as well as heading out to Microsoft offices where Ahmed Elshimi has promised to give us a tour.

The best thing about Ireland is its people. We are loving the Irish hospitality.