A night of magic

Accompanied by the Editors of one of my journals, the EER, we saw Die Zauberflöte at the Met www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/season/production.aspx?id=8885&detect=yes, something that turned out to be absolutely unforgettable, in every way! We started the night at Gabriel's, a modern Italian Restaurant www.gabrielsbarandrest.com/, that knows how to cook its venison just right, and that managed to surprise us all, from the excellent pumpkin risotto, to a beautiful octopus salad.

No one could have prepared me for the sensational stage, the grandeur of the theater - quite a size larger than the ones I've been to - and ultimately the quality of the music. But the Queen of the Night, Anna-KLristiina Kaappola, proved to be the show-stealer. Her soprano voice was one that I shall not forget any time soon...

It's up to you, New York, New York!

The flight over was not exactly pleasant. It seems that a passenger on a previous flight had a case of anti-peristaltic movements and had failed to tell KLM staff that this should be cleaned up... Poor Jenny was sitting right next to that particular seat, I was right behind her. Though the serwardess did her best cleaning it up, the smell lingered throughout the flight. Needless to say, we were glad to get off the plain!

I stayed the first night at the Hotel Roger Williams www.hotelrogerwilliams.com and made my way to the Hotel Chandler www.hotelchandler.com for the remainder of my stay in the Big Apple. Both are "boutique" hotels, and staff is certainly helpfull. Getting the temperature of the room and the water, does seem to be a problem, in both hotels...

Lucky me, got to spend all of Saturday to stroll through the streets of this huge village! First stop was the Saturday farmer's market on Union Square. The produce looked terrific and people were stocking up on apple or pear cider, wild mushrooms, and an extensive array of vegetables and fruits.

Though the weather changed on Friday afternoon, I managed to catch a sunny spell on Thursday. And hating to have an overpriced breakfast at the hotel, picking up some good bites is absolutely easy in NY. Having your brecky's in a window seat, allows you to observe the eclectic array of humans on the streets. Quite a treat!

But the ultimate in great food, I experienced on Thursday evening at The Tasting Room www.thetastingroomnyc.com. Great location, comfortable decor (though the A/C could have been turned down a little), and surprising and tantalizing dishes. The idea is to share things with your table mates, and so we did. Amongst the five of us, we had 7 starters and 5 entrées - that proved to be a good choice. Portions are American, and therefore we had ample to eat, especially sharing the two 16 oz (!) ribeyes. Ingredients, presentation and cooking techniques were all surprising and refreshing. The dish that impressed me most, was the root vegetable side. Absolutely great! And certainly well worth another visit.

Prison break

When I say: "Oxford Castle", does that immediately conjure pictures of jail cells, various forms of torture equipment, fine dining and an elegant but overexpensive hotel? Thought not. Yet, this is what I discovered, on the SS&E (Social Sciences and Economics) field trip, during our strategy meeting.

After the hot and stuffy Athena room, the tour around the castle made for a nice change. Our "warden", brought us up the tower, allowed us to admire the spectacular views of Oxford (see pic below) and then led us through the catacomb and cell complex. Apparently, the Castle has a rather lively history and has been "operational" since 1040, with the last prisoners leaving the grounds in the 1990s.

Quite a few ghost stories were told - these did not seem to impress the group in the slightest.

After wandering around, viewing the various modes of torture and the claustrophobically small cells (this would never be acceptable in a Dutch prison - no Playstations, DVD-recordables or mini-bars were to be found on the premises), we crossed the courtyard and entered the beautifully restorated Malmaison Hotel (www.malmaison-oxford.com/).

Had a good dinner - especially the dipping olive oil and cheese were memorable - and didn't take pics of this part of the day, just too busy eating good food and tasting nice wine in a relaxed atmosphere.

The long and winding road

The long and straight road, I should say.

How boring - driving from Orlando to Miami takes you straight through the Sunshine state on a toll road. On your left - flat land with some shrubs, on your right - more flat land with shrubs, and an occasional grove of orange trees (got me excited!).

But upon arrival at the hotel, my mood lifted and I was pleasantly surprised to find a Tiger-proof (as in Tiger Woods...) golf course on the same premises as the the conference hotel! Rooms were big, clean and had a colonial feel to them. A nice change from the jungle print... Had a nice walk around the extensive grounds and made it to the Health Spa. It was a quick visit, as the prices made me move on to admire the 3 outdoor pools instead.

Reason for traveling this way: an Editor's conference. The way to exposé what Elsevier does and is developing for a mixed group of Journal Editors. Admittedly, it was a lot of fun!

The last night found us on a custom-built boat, the "Venetian Lady", that made me think of Miami Vice - a big, white sleek thing. The thing was pretty steady, allowing all guests to enjoy their meal - just the once. Someone insisted on taking a picture of Ursula, Jeroen and I.

Wolfgang's at Walts

After finally tearing ourselves away from Editors and the mammoth conference hotel, Jagna, Scott and I made our retreat and headed for the Magic Kingdom once again.

Finding a place to eat proved to be a challenge... We headed for Capt'n Jack's, found that the place was fully booked for the remainder of the night, and decided to take a steamboat towards Pleasure Island (as suggested by the friendly girl-pirate, argh, argh).

Ended up passing by House of Blues (the line was simply not worth it) and finally got a seat at Wolfgang Puck's exclusive upstairs seating. Now I can finally associate the Disney parks with good food - the filet mignon was really worth mentioning, as were the beautiful starters and great service! Proved to be a very enjoyable dinner in a memorable setting.

In the jungle...

(The title was suggested by a good friend of mine.) Here I am, in Orlando, FL. Officially for a conference, but it hasn't started yet. Seems that the program read that sessions wouldn't start until the Thursday, NOT the Wednesday...

I managed to get lost in the Magic Kingdom yesterday night. Trying to get back to the hotel, I took one wrong turn and had to take a quick spin through the acres of Walt Disney's land (pardon the pun).

And then there's the hotel: granted it's called the Sheraton Safari, and so the title should speak for itself... I shall let the photo speak on behalf of me. Just a piece of trivia: the hotel boasts the longest python water slide in the World (I read the sign wrong the first time, and got a little scared, as you can imagine).

What immediately made my day, was my chance to play Dr. Doolittle once again. I met a very pretty little green bird on my way to the car, which just sat on the sidewalk looking at me. I could pick it up, hold it, unfold its wings, everything. Being an avid viewer of shows on Animal Planet, I checked it for injuries, carried it over to a piece of grass and set it down. When returning to the hotel this afternoon, the bird was gone. It must have flown off, after being carefully tended to by moi (or eaten by a rhodent, cat, etc. - but let's not think about that!)