Yesterday was girly day. I had my second ever pedicure (first was right before my wedding ~ 7 years ago). I was... fairly embarrassed to go upstairs to the in-hotel beauty salon to have it done, as my feet are extremely ugly, but the girl was very kind and extremely patient. She used this bottle-opener-looking device to peel off my hobbit skin, then proceeded to work on my nails and file my feet down. When she was done, my feet looked feminine! And they still do! They're so soft and smooth! I should do this more often!

Steve and I decided to go downtown for some dinner and wanderings. We had a couple of people we were dragging along. If you're wondering if this sounds familiar, I had my concerns of history repeating itself as well. So, I stood there with Lars waiting for Steve to get done talking to our host guide. A couple of guys noticed us waiting there with jackets on and asked if they could join us. Naturally, we respond, Lars with a smirk on his face. Don Armstrong noticed a group gathering near the staircase (us) and asked if he could tag along. Of course! There's always room for Don! So, he ran off to deposit his laptop in his room and get his jacket. While he was gone, a few more joined us, at which point I started getting fidgety, and Lars getting more amused. One of the guys asked what was so amusing, so he shared the story of the above-linked Daytrip planning. Steve made his way over, noticed the group that had gathered around Lars and me and gave me a look. I blinked back innocently at him and said, "I didn't do it. At least it's not 240 people." Don arrived and we headed down the stairs, picking up a couple more people as we went. All told, it was only 14 (phew), so it wasn't that hard to keep us together, but damn, it was funny.

We ended up at this *amazing* little pub. Ugh, I wish I could remember the name of it. The food was... oh my god. There is no way to describe the yum that I enjoyed last night. After some drinks and food, we wandered to St. Wencelas Square, looked at the astronomical clock tower, saw some amazing buildings and I finally ordered some ice cream in Czech! The server was immensely proud of my attempt and the other lady in line told me I did *very* well. Steve was way too amused. I have used my phrase. And, well, truth be told, it was gelato, but, shhhh. It was good.

I have pictures from last night, but unfortunately, I don't have my card reader. Steve has loaned that to another developer to get it working correctly under Intrepid. So, I suppose I'll just have to wait to upload those pics. Don taught me some tricks with our camera so I can take night photos, so I'm excited to see if they turned out well!

Today, I'm not sure what's on the books. I think I might wander out in the afternoon to maybe get some Czech glass for some of my favorite people, but I haven't decided yet. I'm getting braver about wandering out on my own, but still like to stick close to the hotel where I know people.

One thing that's nice. Steve and I wandered down for breakfast after loading up our laundry to be cleaned for today. I had a lovely conversation with a friend after Steve left, then got some postage stamps, sent out my postcards, and wandered back up to my room. Housekeeping's been here. The room is clean! They even organized the desks where Steve and I had just thrown things! How very sweet. I think I like hotel living. ;)

So, we made it safely to Prague sometime yesterday.Thanks to time zone fun, I've missed *all* of Saturday evening/night and most of Sunday morning. It was around 5pm local time when we got to the hotel after 15 hours of travel (it's currently 9:30 local time Monday morning) and I crashed for a couple of hours. Woke up in the same position I crashed in (which, for me, says a LOT since I tend to toss and turn when I sleep), got up, showered, got some dinner, then crashed again. Jet lag, being the bitch it is, had me up at 5:30 this morning. But, all worked out well. Steve and I got up, got breakfast, then wandered down to a nearby castle (ugh - can't remember the name) for a quick walk around. I got some pictures, which I will post later.

In the process of the walk, I discovered that the jacket I wear around Portland all the time and stay perfectly dry in is in fact not waterproof. Upon returning to the hotel, I *peeled* off the jacket, and my clothing, hopped into dry pajamas and found slippers (!!!) in the closet. I think I'm going to hang around the hotel for the rest of the day (or until it stops raining), so might go for a swim or some such a bit later.

This hotel is... swank. Steve's getting annoyed with me using that word, but there's no other word to really describe our room. I'll have to take pictures of this as well - including the bathroom. The thing is, I'm not sure I can get a picture of the bathroom without getting a picture of a picture of me taking a picture of the bathroom (so many mirrors!).

Steve's currently conferencing while I get to dry off however I want. Thing is, I have no snacks up here and am limited to hot tea and water for drink (yes, there's a mini bar, no, I'm not invading it). I'm still fairly soaked, so have no inclination to wander out to find a store to purchase snacks, but then again, I'm not sure that sounds like a great idea for after I dry out, either. Well, we'll see, I suppose. There *are* gummi bears in the mini bar and I'm so very tempted... But, no, I'm not invading it.

Pictures to follow when I figure out where Steve packed the memory stick reader.

I found one of the bad things about being in a red state is that the only way to get to a red state is *through* other red states. But, my time in Texas was limited, so it's all good.

I'm currently in Tennessee. It's not *nearly* as bad as I thought it would be. The hospitality I've been offered rivals what I grew up with in Iowa, and the food simply can't be beat. We had barbeque today and.. holy shit. I've never had ribs as good as what I had today.

So, CurryConf is underway. I've had 2 "traditional" Indian meals, and have enjoyed both. And haven't had to dip into my Pepto yet. I got close, but fortunately, there was naan nearby. It has not been a vegan trip, so, Erinn, it's probably good you didn't make it. We went to the ... uhm, not Jack Daniels... George Dickel distillery today and have a few bottles of whiskey to pass around.

Oh. And dogs. I've had dogs to play with at this house. That always makes it good.

Manoj and Judy have a house full of books. I had to be dragged out of the library where there was a comfy, round whicker chair and books. Lots and lots of sci fi and fantasy books.

I like it here. But, shhhh. Don't tell Manoj. Judy is wonderful. I adore her. If we were a couple of states closer, I could so see her being my academic mentor.

More drinking.