The Magic of Trains

Boston MA, 2014-12-14

The whole reason we flew in to Newark was so that we could catch the Amtrak to Boston. We rose early to catch the start of breakfast at our hotel1 and I was bemused by the fact that all the crockery, cutlery, etc was all disposable. Heavy duty cardboard plates, plastic cutlery and drinking cups and foam coffee cups (with the plastic lids, for full takeaway goodness). I guess that's one way to save on cleanup costs, but I can't say it strikes me as particularly environmentally friendly. After breakfast we jumped on to the hotel shuttle back to the airport to wait for the Amtrak.

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24 Hour Layover

Newark NJ, 2014-12-13

It's been a busy 36 (or so) hours across two cities in two different continents. First a whirlwind stop in Zurich, and then finally reaching the US (about 2 years after our original plans).

warning: quite a few pictures in this one

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Pre-Flight Brain

LX1885 OTP -> ZHR, 2014-12-12

So it's a bit of a thing with me that I get to airports early when I fly, especially when travelling internationally. Part of it is the relaxation of being through security and just sitting down and plane/people-watching. Most of it though is that I'm a nervous knot of stress and anxiety before I'm through security. It's not at all related to the "flying" part, I actually really enjoy being in a tin can hurtling through the air at 900 km/h. What gets me really nervous is the prospect of not making it through all the steps of the dance that lead to the actual flying.

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The Artist

Bucharest, 2014-12-11

For our last night in Bucharest, we met up with some friends and went to Bucharest's top-rated restaurant. "The Artist" is another "fusion" restaurant, but has a sense of playfulness in its menu and presentation.

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A Bit of Culture

Bucharest, 2014-12-10

SNOW! After a night of mostly rain, we woke to large white flakes swirling around our window. Unfortunately it had stopped snowing by the time we finished breakfast, and didn't leave enough cover to last the morning, but we've seen our first snowfall of the trip and that makes me happy.

Today was the first "planned" day on our trip. The morning was to be some "admin": double checking finances to make sure we had all the money we've been spending, doing a bit of laundry1 and then lunch. After lunch, the plan was for Andy and I to head to Muzeul Național de Artă Contemporană (MNAC) and the come back to pick up Andy's grandparents and take them out to a restaurant for dinner.

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