It has been quite some time since I last wrote and I have been one busy guy. Truth be told there hasn’t been all that much dating action either. I am about one month late on an entry I should have wrote about then. At this point, recounting the detail is difficult. It was one month ago and I wasn’t crazy about her or anything. I can summarize everything in a few choice words: well-spoken, redhair, possible herpe, and “loved the gym but didn’t look like it.” Yes. Good times. I also went on a 4th date with Organic Yoga HJ chick. Why? Not quite sure but it wasn’t all that bad. We went to go see ‘Knocked Up,’ which was appropriate timing considering my adventures back at Cornell.

On to more exciting things... I am in Europe and this is now temporarily a travel blog. I have been here since last Saturday (6/30). I caught a red-eye out of New York to London. It was slightly stressful, as it was a work trip, and off the bat I left my laptop power cord under my desk as I rushed out of the office. I realized half way to the airport, and with all the luggage in tow I decided against turning around. Of course, I end up getting there early, and check-in is ridiculously easy. So I spent some time looking for a new adapter which ended up costing $150! That sucked but it was a sanity reliever, and I am sure I can find a way to expense it to work. Following that, I went to the bar and had some drinks to prepare for my trip. I met a cool couple, who recommended a restaurant in London, and later on helped point me in the right direction in the airport.

I popped some Ambien, slept the whole flight, and hit the ground running in the UK. Right away, I realized London was an expensive city. I had to take a £15 Heathrow Express ride, and £5 Tube ride, which was the equivalent of taking the subway to LIRR\Airtrain. Costs maybe $10 if that back home, and $40 in the UK and its probably half the time! Money aside it was totally awesome to take in the new surroundings. Taking public transit was a good introduction…

07.07.07 -- “Okay. That was annoying. Speaking of public transport, at the moment I am on TrenItalia, enroute to Bologna. I got on the train in Switzerland, and apparently you are supposed to get seat assignments, which I did not get. According, to a nice girl who has been helping me out with the language barrier the computers were not working in Lugano, so we did not get any. I found a random seat which which I got kicked out of at the Lake Como stop. After I just had to stand til we got to Milan, at which point I found another seat, which I was promptly booted from. Luckily, this girl is nice enough to help me find somewhere to sit. And all is back to normal. Now I must make sure I grab my bag from the old subway car.”

Getting from the airport to Nick & Marlene’s flat was a breeze. Everyone speaks English in the UK, so even if I am lost I can find my way. I took the tube to the Kensington Street High stop, and Nick met me there. Naturally, it is raining when I get out of the Underground, and I did not prepare at all for inclement weather, but it is all good, I am kind of on vacation and I tough it out. It is a short walk to the flat. They live in temporary housing, in an upscale neighborhood. There building is near a few foreign embassies and Kensington Gardens. When I arrive at the flat I get cleaned up and served a first class English Breakfast. English bacon is pretty tasty stuff.

Later that afternoon we go to meet Thomas and some friends. I have not seen Thomas in seven years, since he graduated college and had to sneak out of the country out of the country (long story). We meet him and a few of his mates from France in a cafe near Tottingham Road. We also went to another bar in the area, all in the span of an afternoon. People in England start drinking early! The neighborhood was a zoo, as there was some sort of gay pride event going on. In fact, at the second bar there was a huge tranny with a 5 o’clock shadow and I had a flashback to one the Austin Power’s movies when a woman comes up to Austin to seduce him, and in the blink of an eye it’s a man and Austin says, “That’s not a woman, that’s a man! A mad man! One of Dr. Evil’s henchman!”

In the evening, Nick, Marlene & I headed back home to change, and hit up Ffiona’s, the restaurant that couple recommended. I would classify it as upscale English food with an old school vintage décor. It was an enjoyable meal, and they even gave Nick & Marlene, a bottle of wine as a welcome-to-the-neighborhood present. We changed gears and went to Thomas and his roomates’ flat for a house party. It was a pretty chill scene. There was a DJ and I met new and interesting people from all over the world, not to mention there was a lot of booze. I spilled wine on my good shirt, ruining it, and threw up in a Dixie cup after a shot of tequila. Good times!

The next day (7/1), Nick, Marlene, & I went to Whole Foods for breakfast. I must say this was the best one I have ever been too. Supposedly, it is the biggest in the world. The food court was superb. Afterwards, we went for a walk in Kensington Gardens, and went to the Prince Albert Hall and monument. I think this was about as touristy as I got in London. Later that afternoon, we took the Tube over to Islington, where I checked into my hotel, the Hilton Islington. I chilled out for a little, watched the Princess Di concert on BBC, and did a little work. I also took a stroll around the neighborhood as well.

Nick and Marlene were out looking at apartments, so I venture out in to the city to find Thomas and crew. I am not sure exactly where I went but the final destination was Brick Lane, which I believe is essentially a “Little India’ or “Curry Hill.” I met them at one of the local restaurants for some dinner. I am a fan of Indian cuisine and this place was pretty good. I guess the food in the UK is so bad some people refer to curry as the “National Dish.” After dinner, we went on a bar crawl. Every single bar we went to was hopping on Sunday night! We went to some pretty interesting places too. The Vibe bar was this huge complex with a beer garden, brewery, multiple bars\rooms, and live music. We also went to this artsy joint called the Foundry, with live spoke word poetry and an art gallery downstairs. We went to few others less noteworthy and my hotel bar as well. All in all we were out until, 3AM, and at least Thomas and I had work the next day!

7/2. Needless to say I made it work on time and relatively speaking, decent condition. I blamed any fatigue on jet lag. Luckily, I found this awesome sandwich shop that made an awesome breakfast sandwich. The English love bacon and sausage. The AM was not too demanding, and I spent my time emailing people. Work was work, but it was certainly cool to meet people I had been speaking with regularly. That day randomly through the Facebook website, I randomly reconnected with a friend from college. She happened to have been living in London for 7 months. We made some spur of the moment plans to meet for dinner and drinks near my hotel.

A motley crew (Nick, Marlene, myself, facebook friend –Jina, and her friends Warren and Adelyn??) met up at Cuba Libre in Islington, a block from my hotel. I got there just in time for happy hour, and downed a few mojitos. One thing to note, being in Europe, makes me want to be a cigarette smoker. It is way more prevalent, and accepted, even though as of the day before this day cigarettes were finally banned in the bars. Needless to say I smoked many cigarettes in London. While out for a cigarette a strip-o-gram came to some guy in the bar. Nick and I missed it but watched the full replay on someones camera. After a while we mosied on to Le Mercurie, a French restaurant. I cannot say I’ve had much French cuisine in my life, but this place was very good.

The next day (7/3) was followed by more work, and I met my aunt and uncle for dinner in the Kensington area. The food was excellent. I’ve been drinking and dining quite a bit on this trip. I also managed to stain my work shirt with truffle oil, and sorbet. Thank god for those Tide-To-Go pens. I saved this one, but my other shirt is toast. Following, that I met my crew at the Devonshire Arms bar for last call. That about wraps up my initial jaunt to London. I went to work briefly the followng day (7/4), but lost the remainder of the day in transit. In one day, I took three trains (Northern Line, Hammersmith, Heathrow Express), a flight to Milan, and a bus to Lugano.

The airport was a wash. It sucked because I got there early at everyone’s recommendation, and again had to wait around til my plane departed, which happened to do so an hour late. Luckily, in London they give you free samples at Duty Free. I drank a whole bunch of Pimm’s, enough to make me sleep through the on-plane delay and most of the flight. Arriving in Milan was pleasant, as the passport control line was short, and my bags came off the carousel quickly. I was at the StarItalia bus stop in 20 minutes, just in time for my departure to Lugano. The ride up in to the mountains was beautiful. I was able to see the Lake Como area from above, and a similar view and descent into Lake Lugano. I happened to be the only person on the bus so the driver dropped me off within walking distance of the hotel. After all was said and done, I didn’t realize it was July 4th. No one stopped to acknowledge this in Europe, that is for sure…

My hotel, ended up being more of a hostel, in fact I ended up staying there a third night after my work was done. The lack of internet interfered with my ability to do other work stuff but I didn’t mind this so much. I was a little nervous about the work part (7/5-6), as I was now meeting with a client, as opposed to people within my actual company in London. Futhermore, I was anticipating a small language barrier, and problems with their data. It turned out to be a pretty pleasant experience though. In person, we are able to communicate fine, as opposed to choppy conversation via phone, and I was also able to assist in turning their database issues around.

My leisure time in Lugano was certainly well spent. I had a couple of long lunches where I sat out and sampled the local cuisine, and was able to take a walk in the local park on the lake. I ate some decent meals, and got a chance to explore the town. Truth-be-told it was small and quiet but relaxing. At night\things seem to get pretty rowdy though because of the entertainment going on that weekend. After work, I was wondering around, and stumbled into a music festival called “Estival Jazz.”

The opening act on Thursday was Martin, Medeski, Wood, and John Scofield. This is a band I would definitely go see at home, and it was awesome to see them while abroad, and for free! Unfortunately, I did not get to enjoy it with many other people. I went to the festival for two nights, and met one French girl who went to school in the states, and spoke American English. We talked for an hour or so the first night, and I even tried to get her number but got denied. I had to try though. I could tell she got the impression I was a typical American tourist which partially true. I certainly wish I knew even a little bit of Italian so I could attempt to blend in. At the festival, it was dark, and the music was loud, so it was difficult to find English speaking people. The next night I did a whole lot of people watching. The highlight of the night was Sean Kuti & the Egypt 80, an afro-beat jazz band.


7-08-07 – I am now departing from my first stop on the vacation. I spent the last 24 hours in Bologna. This time yesterday I got off the train and made my way to my “hotel.” I got lost many times over but I certainly did get to see the main sites in town, and figured out my way around… I finally found Hotel Centrale, which was located centrally. The client in Lugano actually helped me book it, but I wish he gave me better directions. Anyways, I finally made it to my hotel/hostel (the line here seems to blurry for the budget traveler). I got cleaned up and ventured out.

The center of old Bologna was pretty awesome. I am somewhat certain I caught all the major tourist spots. I went Piazza Maggliore andNattuno, some large church/basilica, went to the biggest park in the city, and climbed a 500 step tower for a view of the town. I also got to check out a dance competition and a film festival. I think that is pretty good considering I had not used a single guide book or map beforehand. I met a couple of Americans while eating lunch, but they seemed kind of lame. It was nice to hear a familiar voice though. I spent the remainder of the day alone.

Later that evening, I ventured out to sample some Bolognese cuisine. The guy at the reception suggested a place called Taverna de los Lords, a reasonable place with typical local cuisine that even locals eat at. My starter was simply amazing. It was a tomato, basil leaf, mussel salad with a corn\parmesan chip. I wish I had another right now. For dinner, I ordered Targliatelle de Ragu AKA Pasta Bolognese. This too was quite tasty. I also had a half carafe of wine after which I was feeling pretty nice. It was a little strange as I was dining alone, which I have done a few times now on this trip. A table full of Italians were definitely talking about me. I heard “amerincano” somewhere in their conversation. The funniest part was after dinner, I had paid and left the restaurant. A block away I realized I had left my AmEx card. As I walked by their table, I flashed my card, and said “Don’t leave home without it!”

After dinner, I went back to Piazza Maggliorre, and it was alive with people. There was a film festival going on, and they were in the middle of displaying Charlie Chaplin’s “GoldRush,” accompanied by a full orchestra. I think I missed the beginning but it was pretty easy to follow, as it was a silent film. It seems the Italians have a great appreciation for Mr. Chaplin, as there was a huge exhibit dedicated to him in one of the museums, Salsa Borga. I ventured earlier in but declined to pay the 8 euros to check it out. I can say though, that after wining and dining, feeling the cool Bolognese breeze on a starry nite, laughing along with thousands of Italians, I could feel the magic of Mr. Chaplin.

Now this is where my travel blog meets the dating blog. I have been in communication with Organic Yoga HJ girl. She happens to have been on vacation here in Italy. We made some tentative plans which I was inclined to bag. She is in Rome now, and I was up north, and there is some other stuff on the way I wanted to see. Well needless to say I am on my way right now. I guess I am a little anxious to hang out with people, and hopefully I will get some. I will circle back and hit the other spots in the following days.

To be contiuned...