Boston ... and a day off to see some of it

OK, so first, I'm only taking a break at the moment so it's far from a full day so far.

Anyway, woke up early (7:30am) after crashing during the Celtics' loss to Cleveland on the road (roll on Game 7 tomorrow in Boston!) and had a bit of a look through my expenses and where to go today. 

First priority was to get established as to what's around me.  So found that Cambridge Side Mall is just a 5 minute walk away and grabbed the best coffee so far for breakfast at Borders.  Funny enough the guy was all nervous that his "coffee guy" hadn't come in yet.

Anyway, hunted the mall and for the life of me couldn't find a grocer's.  Where for the love of all that is good and holy do you buy bread and milk in this country?!

Well, I wasn't get anywhere so headed off to the Science Museum under advisement of it being a must-see in Boston.  And it didn't disappoint; the lightning theatre and Tesla coils were pretty spectacular as was the Mathematica exhibit (at least for me).  You cannot help but have your thoughts stimulated in a place like that.

Back to the mall for lunch as the sun came out and I got to sit by the water's edge which was simply beautiful.  Continued shopping and got some of what I was looking in the drug store (thought the swimsuit was a bit unnecessary) before grabbing a strong coffee in (shudder) Starbucks.

Dare I say, that is now the best coffee I've had so far here in the US (btw, I really feel the urge to blog about how I became a coffee snob).  I really miss exceptional coffee which is part of the reason I know better understand why Americans love Starbuck's so much - it's not that it's the best coffee in the world, but it is the best that the vast majority of them would've drunk (and i guess I can get off my moral high-chair as well since Belfast isn't exactly renowned as a coffee mecca).

Anyway, now to work out what next? Any suggestions?

Definitely spinning out...

Wow, what a week!  It has been so, so, so good.

Monday night off to Wellington for a full day of work on Tuesday before almost getting lost on a 5 mile run as the sun set that evening.  Relaxed that evening before back-to-back meetings in Wellington in the morning and completing a tender in the afternoon before flying back to Sydney and spending the first bit of "just us" time with Naomi in ages.

Thursday was the last opportunity for me to see Mick and Mira before they go off to live in Germany.  Naomi and I had a fantastic meal with Eli, Ray and the pair at Mick's best friend's restaurant - The Terrace (167 George St.)

Friday night I was in work till late trying to get a piece of code working before heading off.  Got to Lana's leaving party around 9-ish (she's off to London in the next couple of weeks).  Then as we left at 11:30pm I finally managed to get confirmation to book my flights to Boston.

Saturday morning saw me off to get a haircut and then pack before meeting Cain for lunch at the Oyster Bar (he leaves for London in mid-June so it was probably the last time I'll see him for a while).  Finally Naomi and I quickly checked into the Amora Jamison as a last minute thing and had a fantastic night just together.  A really great hotel; definitely one of Sydney's finest.

Sunday, up, breakfast, off to airport and book a hotel for the first night at least, looked for a cheap digital camera (think I'll get one cheaper in the US) and got the all important travel adapter before getting on to the plane.  Which is not where the insanity stopped - I accidentally sat beside Mark Valley of Boston Legal fame (Brad) which was just a very odd experience for me...  anyway, the whole accident thing was that someone was sitting in my aisle seat and rather than check my boarding pass, I just assumed my new (and incorrect) aisle seat.  And honestly, I didn't just do some weird stalker thing - it actually took me ages to realise it was him because he was busy staring intently out of the window (probably to remain as incognito as possible).  Very nice guy though.

So that's the week that was and right now, I'm sitting in LAX, spinning out at my first real grasp of America (unbelievably, I've only ever been in transit through here before).

So far, I've noticed this friendliness from everyone which is so great .. but a little odd.  I wouldn't go as far as to say it's fake (which I know a lot of people tend to do) but it's certainly a little over-hyped; a little intense.  I mean, I guess it's different with Aussie's because they're so laid back about everything, even if you're the most exciting person they've ever met.  The only thing is though, at least Aussie's know I'm Irish...  I can see a lot of interesting discussions coming up :)