On Thursday night, I received an email from the manager of the B&B we'd booked asking me what time I'd be arriving in Stratford. I asked whether the bus or the train was more convenient to the B&B, and he recommended the bus, so I told him we'd be there after 5.15 ( Read more... )

We spent most of today at the V&A. Once again, we were enthralled by the netsuke (which I've decided will appear in the next short story I write), other Asian artworks including my old favourite, Tipu's Tiger, an array of protest posters, their exhibition of theatrical props and costumes, and an entirely unplanned encounter with that good and noble ( Read more... )

Arrived in London badly jetlagged, about 30 hours after leaving Perth - roughly ten hours of which was spent in Bangkok's airport. Next time I fly overseas, I won't just ask for the cheapest fare (excluding Garuda), I'll ask for three or four and take the location and duration of the stopover into account. Suvarnabhumi isn't the worst airport I've ( Read more... )

Tokyo is amazing. When I arrived, though, it was also hot and humid enough that there were no cosplayers in evidence in Akihabara on Saturday (maybe they were all at San Diego Comic Con) and very few in Harajuku on Sunday. I did a lot of browsing, but my suitcase and daypack were already quite full, so I turned down the chance to buy any ninja gear ( Read more... )

When last we left the Swinetrek Before heading to Readercon, I visited Boston's Museum of Science to see their exhibit on The Dead Sea Scrolls. I took a wrong turn en route and found myself at Edgar Allan Poe Square, conveniently across the street from a large map that sent me in the right direction. This didn't leave me much time to see the rest ( Read more... )

I survived the hike up to the Burgess Shale, and actually found fossils there, though the first thing I discovered was how hideously unfit I am (I blame the 2.3 km altitude rather than the 11km distance). Climbing the last few metres to a site that resembled nothing so much as an alien planet from an old episode of Doctor Who left me utterly ( Read more... )

While most of Calgary seems to have recovered from the recent floods, some areas are still considered uninhabitable, including the hostel where I'd planned to stay. This necessitated a quick scan of the various websites for last-minute accommodation, and for my first night in town, I was lucky enough to get a room at the Delta Bow Valley at a ( Read more... )

It's an odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco. It must be a delightful city and possess all the attractions of the next world. - Oscar Wilde

America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland. - Tennesee Williams ( Read more... )

Thursday, I caught the Greyhound from Dallas to Houston - a ride of about four hours, but at a fraction of the cost of the taxi from my hotel to the bus station. Spent a night at the hostel, a very pleasant place at the edge of the museum district, with very friendly and helpful staff. It was also dangerously close to another Half Price Books, but ( Read more... )

After my time in New Orleans's French Quarter, where everything of interest was in walking distance (at least by my standards) and you were about as likely to see a skateboarder or horse-drawn carriage using the road as you were a car, Dallas was something of a shock. I suspect I've visited countries smaller than the Dallas-Fort Worth sprawl, and I ( Read more... )