Boston, you're no Philadelphia . . .yet
So one night and part of two days so far in Boston.
One the upside: the panel I chaired last night had better than expected attendance and some really good Q&A afterward.
This morning's first panel was also very good.
There's an Au Bon Pain in the adjacent shopping mall so I can eat at a reasonable price. And eat healthy.
Which brings me to some downside:
All the restaurants within walking distance of the hotel (and, when the wind chill is in the teens and there's snow and sleet one doubts the locals' claim that "Boston is a great walking city") are fancy-schmancy places where a meal costs more than my plane fare (round trip.)
Seafood? Don't think so. Not anywhere around here.
Oh, sorry, there is a sushi bar in the hotel, but sushi isn't food anyhow.
And since we're at the Marriott, where their motto is "No amenity is too small to charge extra for" the beds are absolutely horrible. I'm seriously considering sleeping on the floor tonight. You sit on the edge of the bed to put on shoes and you sink into the bed. Deeply. They've got one of those #%@$ mattresses with the overly cushioned top section. Great. If you're someone with no spine. I've taken my second dose of ibuprofen today just to deal with back pain from the horrible bed.
Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be nicer and I'll try to slip away to get over to Cambridge via the local mass transit. Maybe tomorrow I'll appreciate this historic city.
But today, Boston, you're still no Philadelphia. Or San Francisco. Or New Orleans. You're not even San Antonio and all that place has is the Alamo and Riverwalk.
As of today, you're just cold, your people are distant and unsmiling and your lack of cultural diversity is boring.
Maybe tomorrow.
One the upside: the panel I chaired last night had better than expected attendance and some really good Q&A afterward.
This morning's first panel was also very good.
There's an Au Bon Pain in the adjacent shopping mall so I can eat at a reasonable price. And eat healthy.
Which brings me to some downside:
All the restaurants within walking distance of the hotel (and, when the wind chill is in the teens and there's snow and sleet one doubts the locals' claim that "Boston is a great walking city") are fancy-schmancy places where a meal costs more than my plane fare (round trip.)
Seafood? Don't think so. Not anywhere around here.
Oh, sorry, there is a sushi bar in the hotel, but sushi isn't food anyhow.
And since we're at the Marriott, where their motto is "No amenity is too small to charge extra for" the beds are absolutely horrible. I'm seriously considering sleeping on the floor tonight. You sit on the edge of the bed to put on shoes and you sink into the bed. Deeply. They've got one of those #%@$ mattresses with the overly cushioned top section. Great. If you're someone with no spine. I've taken my second dose of ibuprofen today just to deal with back pain from the horrible bed.
Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be nicer and I'll try to slip away to get over to Cambridge via the local mass transit. Maybe tomorrow I'll appreciate this historic city.
But today, Boston, you're still no Philadelphia. Or San Francisco. Or New Orleans. You're not even San Antonio and all that place has is the Alamo and Riverwalk.
As of today, you're just cold, your people are distant and unsmiling and your lack of cultural diversity is boring.
Maybe tomorrow.