Category: Travel
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LoneStarCon 3, Featuring ME!!
I got my final schedule of events for LoneStarCon 3, this summer's World Science Fiction Convention held in lovely, blistering-hot San Antonio from August 29 to September 2. They've definitely found some ways to keep me busy. Here's where to find me: Autographing: Steve Brust, James L. Cambias, Gini Koch, Jay Lake (Friday, August 30,…
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The Perpetual Tourist
I recently got back from a trip, and of course there were lots of mundane errands to run as soon as I got home. The usual stuff — buying things, dropping kids off, mailing things, banking, all the business of middle-class life. But I found myself experiencing a sort of psychic jet-lag, as though my…
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The Barcelona Operation: Day 7 (and Afterthoughts)
How long does it take to get a cab in Barcelona at 4:45 a.m. on a Sunday morning? Fifteen seconds. It's that kind of a town. Of course, that meant that we got to the airport absurdly early, giving us time to drink one last bottle of European Fanta (it's not as sweet, which actually…
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The Barcelona Operation, Day 6
Over the years we've learned a useful trick for trip planning: leave an extra day. Having a free day means you have some time for overflow — if something's closed on the day you planned to see it, you can go in on the extra day; or if you find something you hadn't known about,…
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The Barcelona Operation, Day 5
Again we breakfasted in our flat on croissants from the local bakery, accompanied by what I thougt was orange juice but turned out to be an orange-soy "health" blend with the chalky taste of Tang. Once all of us were dressed and ready, we sortied toward the Museum of the History of Barcelona, located just…
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The Barcelona Operation, Day 4
By Thursday we were getting into the rhythms of the neighborhood. I got up at 7 and went out to buy breakfast. Seven o'clock on a weekday in Barcelona (at least in the old section) is like 6 a.m. in an American city: a handful of early workers are going to their jobs, delivery trucks…
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The Barcelona Operation, Day 3
We ventured into Barcelona's Metro system for a trip to the park complex at Montjuic, at the southwest corner of the city. The subway is modern and efficient (though of course my sample size is very small). From the Metro we transferred to a cable car which runs up the side of Montjuic (it's actually…
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The Barcelona Operation, Day 2
When we woke the air in the square below was full of swallows. Apparently they nest in the walls of the church and come out at dawn to snag bugs out of the air. We watched some of the neighbors playing with dogs down below. Barcelona has a lot of dogs, but no cats. I…
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The Barcelona Operation, Day 1
Dr. Kelly had a science conference in Barcelona this summer, so the rest of us invited ourselves along. The plan was for the four of us to fly over together, spend a week being tourists, then the three non-scientists would come home together leaving her to devote her time to papers and networking during the…
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Where I Do It
I do most of my writing in coffeeshops. Fortunately, I live in an area with a good assortment of places. In Greenfield I can go to Greenfield Coffee, which is a dedicated coffeehouse so I don't have to feel guilty about occupying a table during lunchtime. The chief drawback is that the town of Greenfield…
The Cambias Digression 