Got to Rome today. Was without Wi-Fi in Florence, so pictures and postings to come. Merry Christmas!

* WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 3276 *Of the many things that take getting used to in a foreign country, among my favorites is not the language, nor the food, not even the time-old exercise of figuring out if something is expensive or not based on the conversion rate. It’s not even that an downward-facing arrow means go forward. No, no…my favorite is figuring out what to press and what not to press, as far as buttons go. Take the elevator button for instance. Normally, in the USA, I press the up arrow to call the elevator to go up. The down, to go down. Here at the hotel, however, neither of those are actually buttons. Instead, to call the elevator you press the threatening looking red button below the arrows. All instinct from years of red buttons meaning bad things kept me from even thinking about pressing the red button. So my friend Kim did it for me.

Similarly, I searched high-and-low in semi-darkness in the bathroom to find the light switch. I know sometimes they’re sneaky, hiding the switches by the mirrors or under the shelving or something. What I didn’t expect was to find the switch out by the front door. After several minutes of searching in vain, I finally managed to break past the barriers of prejudice in logic and tried the switches elsewhere in the room. And voila! Or whatever the Italian equivalent to that French interjection.

More pictures

More pictures are now posted of my first night wanderings in Milan: click here.

Luggage Update

Luggage arrived safe and sound last night around 10:30pm. *Whew*

Ahhh…I’ve arrived in Milan finally, and was greeted by lost luggage after sitting staring at the carousel for 45 minutes wondering if it was coming. Turns out my luggage didn’t make the transfer in Paris and will be arriving this evening (in fact, I think the reception desk just called). So all is well. I took a nap (I know, but I needed it), and am about to stroll out for some shopping. I’ve successfully navigated the ATM so I’m Euro-d up. The exchange rate blows!

Anyway, more with some pics next time, hopefully.

Just to catch up a little bit…Sunday night wrapped late with another journey out to the clubs of New York. This time I wandered up to Hell’s Kitchen to a place called Therapy (officially with a little t). I chatted with a German for a bit, who worked in the film industry at a US rep, then wandered over to Posh around 1:30am, only to find it totally dead. It was cold and I was still very tired from traveling, so I called it a night.

Monday was another sleep in day. The first real order of business was my spa day at Ohm. For 4 hours, I was massaged, given a mani-pedi, and a facial, during which I believe I fell asleep despite all my best efforts not to do so. I highly recommend the concept of a facial. I was so relaxed and my skin so soft afterwards!

Evening brought a trip to Macy’s followed by a dinner with Tommy and his girlfriend at Jane. No going out this evening.

And finally, today was some last minute shopping. I finally found some thermals and good gloves at a place called Dave’s (thanks to Citysearch). So I’m set. Ready for the Ice Hotel!

The NYC leg done, I’ve now posted all the pictures I gathered along the way. You can see them by clicking here.

Here are a few of my favorites…

* WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 3230 ** WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 3194 ** WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 3186 *

* WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 3166 ** WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 3202 *

…as always, click on the pictures to see larger versions.

Yawn!!

What a long day! I started things off this morning with a complimentary breakfast delivered to the room from the hotel. I did have to get up to answer the door, but I soon thereafter placed the tray on the bed and enjoyed a hot cup of coffee, croissant, and some apple juice with my feet tucked in under the covers. Maybe some day I’ll get someone to let me skip the getting the door part.

* WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 3120 *Today was also Wicked day. I’ve long wanted to see Wicked, and steadfastly refused every other opportunity, pledging to see the musical on Broadway. My friend Tommy and I hit the 3pm showing. Amazingly, it was his first Broadway musical — amazing because he’s lived in New York for 20 years. As hoped, we had great seats, row Q, on the aisle with seats 115 and 116. The performance was fantastic! And apparently we got to see the final performance by Sebastian Arcelus, today’s Fiyero. My favorite character was Glinda (or perhaps better said, Gaaa-Linda), a character exploring the complexities of right and wrong behind a veneer of plain, simple trust.

The evening rounded out with dinner at a cute French restaurant right around the corner from the hotel – Cercle Rouge (or here again for the Citysearch link). The best part of the meal was this Tarte aux Oignons et Chèvre, made of carmelized onions, black olives, and goat cheese in a tart crust. I was a little worried the olives would overwhelm, but I didn’t even taste them. Delicious!

* WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 3114 * * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 3117 * It’s 3am and I’m a little tired, but for some reason my body still thinks it’s midnight. Regardless, it’s time for bed so I can slow start adjusting my sleep cycle. Today was mostly a travel day. The plane landed pretty much on time at JFK. I learned about the SkyTrain and connections to the main subway system, which saved me about $40 in cab fares. And crazy enough, the train I connected to from the airport dropped me off about one block from my hotel, which happens to be the Tribeca Grand (or here for the obligatory Citysearch link). I love any city that puts a train right to the airport terminals. It blows my mind that LA still doesn’t have that.

Anyway, after getting to the hotel, I napped then just bummed around before grabbing dinner at a local hole-in-the-wall taco place.

The late evening brought a trip to Splash, one of my favorite NYC nightlife haunts. Always worth it, if not for the go-go dancers alone.

And now…off to bed!

Authored at 8:22AM PST, somewhere over Colorado

* WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 3106 * 5B, or not 5B, that was the question. And I stuck with 5B. I’m sitting in a jetBlue A320, and for aviation aficionados, you already know what 5B means – the dreaded middle seat. I vaguely recall getting stuck with a middle seat a while back during the reservation session, but I couldn’t recall which leg of my trip it was (indeed, I might end up with more). Like it or not, I arrived at the airport and got my reminder while standing at the self check-in station.

Up came the question: “Assigned seat 5B. Would you like to change seats?” A thought fluttered through my mind. “Hey, this is jetBlue, maybe they have small airplanes with only two seats on each side.” And if not, I could tell by the line that the plane was full. So I answered “No” and figured I’d take my chances. Turns out, it’s three seats on each side of the plane after all. But it’s actually not that big of a deal. jetBlue – note that this is my first time flying with them – really has great legroom. And the folks on either side are keeping to their spaces. No armrest warfare – at least not yet. So I’m comfortable. 5B and all.

Authored at 6:16AM PST, Burbank, Bob Hope Airport

Rising at 4:25am after a night of fitful sleep with dreams of Lisa C stealing my credit cards, dragging my roommate out of bed at 5:05am for the drive to the airport, seeing my kitty looking at me in bewilderment as I close the door on him in the weirdest of human-food-guy hours at 5:08am, and realizing I’ve forgotten my camera’s USB adapter while sitting drinking a quite wonderful latte and tasty airport blueberry muffin at 6:11am. This is the beginning. I’m anxious because I’ve never ever been on a trip of this length before, and I’m excited because I’ve never ever been on a trip of this length before.

Hi folks. So the appointed date more than a year in the making has finally arrived. I will very soon be departing the Los Angeles scene and heading off to New York City for the first leg of my trip. Keep watch here in the coming days and weeks for updates on my whereabouts and goings-on. I’ll attempt to share in the fun and make you feel like it’s your vacation too (a little bit…maybe…ok, as if, but still, tis a nice thought).

Bon Voyage!