Travel and Lodging

May brings a lot of traveling.  Planned so far are New York City, San Diego, and London.  There’s a week in-between San Diego and London that I need to fill… whether it’s a road trip up Highway 101 or a short exploration of Chile, who knows.  Likely the former with the cost and time constraints.

I used airbnb.com for the first time to book places to stay.  I’ve been skeptical about it but find myself now fascinated.  The site encourages you to have a lot of communication with the “host” and the social aspect is interesting.  Hopefully the rooms I’ve booked live up to their photographs and reviews!

Since I can’t sleep tonight I’m going to go search for airbnb horror stories just to freak myself out.

Tartar

Randomly I sit here browsing through photos of past trips to Europe.  Primarily Paris and Belgium.  What I think about is how I ate steak tartar every day.

I love steak tartar.

This would be better if I actually had pictures of steak tartar.  I will have more soon.  Opening a raw bar on Orchard Road in a month or so.  Steak tartar, raw oysters, sashimi and more.  My dream of eating a meal of raw food is near complete!

Lisbon

Thanks to Yu-Mei for pointing out this New York Times article.

How I Fell for Lisbon

I spent a few days wandering the city back in September 2008.  I remember thinking that the endless steps kept all the Lisbonites (I don’t know what the locals call themselves) in tremendous shape.  No matter where I walked, it was always uphill.  But beautiful.

German bar

One of the memorable dining experiences for me this year was in Frankfurt, Germany.  I had a 24 hour layover on the way to New York, and since I had been to the city before I didn’t feel any pressure to see the traditional tourist sights.

I strolled around and eventually wandered into a bar by the hotel. It was 4 PM and there were three 60-some year olds having beers and chatting inside.

It was a simple place; you could choose to drink a Pilsner or… nothing else.  Which was great, sometimes we’re tired of making choices.  The food on offer was a small list of sausages.  Again, great.

There was no music, no TV.  I read on my Nook, drank my beer, and enjoyed currywurst.

Why the ‘Authentic’ Travel Experience Is a Myth

Good column on why the authentic travel experience that people build up in their head is a myth.

It’s always amusing to hear tourists mutter, “This place is too developed!”

Learnings from JFK Airport

Two things I have learned about JFK Airport:

1) If you have enough time to leave JFK Airport during a transit, you should.  They don’t have enough seats for all the passengers here and the air conditioner is weak.  On top of that there are flies buzzing around everywhere.  It is an unpleasant experience. (Terminal 4)

2) If you are heading into Manhattan from JFK airport I would suggest you take either public transportation (subway) or a taxi.  By no means take the Super Shuttle. It is a terrible option.  It costs $20 and is a shared-ride van.  You have to wait for the driver at the terminal, you then have to wait for your fellow passengers, then you drive to each terminal to pick up passengers, and then it’s up to the driver who gets dropped off first.  If you’re the last person dropped off, it may take you 3 hours to get to your destination.  A taxi costs $45 (plus tip) and you can leave right away and be dropped off at your exact destination.  Subway costs around $7.50 and takes an hour.

You have been warned.

The Suburbs

It’s surprising how quickly time has passed here in Florida.  I arrived on Sunday afternoon and in the blink of an eye it’s almost the end of Thursday.  I had big plans for this week… lots of brainstorming, emailing, blogging, etc.  In the end I’ve eaten, read, and slept a lot.  Which feels pretty great!

If I lived back here again I would never go out.  The idea of getting into a car and driving for awhile makes me think it’s just easier to stay in.  There’s the internet, books, and TV all waiting to whittle my time away with.

My dad talks to me about how there are lots of opportunities in the US, and in Florida.  I think in big cities like New York or San Francisco, sure, there would be opportunities.  In a spread out place like Orlando?  No way.  You need a saturation of people to bounce ideas off of and to work with.

24 hours

Next week I leave for another trip.  It kicks off with 24 hours in Frankfurt, 24 hours in New York City, and 24 hours in New Jersey.  Then a week of quiet and rejuvenation in Florida.

I wonder if there’s an archive of all the “24 hours in <city name>” articles that I’ve read in the airline magazines.  I think it’s United Airlines.

Flying

I was commenting to a friend earlier today how I would be in an airplane, joining the other people up in the sky at that time… one of the few people not touching the ground.  Like we’re in an exclusive club for that short period in the air.  It seems like a marvel, something to be celebrated and talked about with fellow passengers.

I guess we’re all used to it though, and we stay strangers even while seated next to each other for 14 hours.

Sleep

It has been more than a week since I’ve had at least 5 hours of unbroken sleep. This jet lag thing is driving me crazy. One might think I’d be used to it by now.

How I miss the sleep I had in Tokyo.  Over 7 hours each night, I woke up on the 3rd day feeling refreshed for the first time in literally years.

In Tulalip I’m a jittery, caffeine and sugar seeking mess.

Good thing there is a box of twinkies and a half-eaten pot roast sandwich next to me.