September 19-20, 2008 – Bermuda, London, Rome

After dinner at the airport and a relaxing wait in the lounge, we boarded BA for London. We commented to each other how nice it was to fly on a larger plane. We settled in for the night to a movie (Kung Fu Panda for Aidan and the Helen Hunt/Colin Firth movie for me). Dinner wasn’t as good as it could have been but since we ate before hand it wasn’t that bad. Thankfully we did sleep for a few hours because before you knew it we were landing in London. Since we landed at 6.20am and our flight to Rome was at 8pm, we were able to rest a bit and pick up some stuff at Boots. The Rome flight was packed. We left late due to the fog at the airport earlier, which had delayed everything by about 40 minutes. We ate cheese sandwiches and ended up napping until we landed. The airport was a madhouse. We managed to get our bags easily though because the baggage claim area was timed – it told us when the bags would be loaded onto the carousel and when it would stop. And you know what, that’s exactly how it happened. Finding an ATM and our driver was more difficult. Eventually we were loaded into our private car and headed into Rome.The drive in was crazy because the drivers were… well, crazy. There were many times when we were surprised that we weren’t hit by other drivers. Even in the midst of this we enjoyed the mix of eclectic architecture and old ruins as we neared the city. And then we entered Rome and were not disappointed by what we saw. Perhaps the most amazing site was the Colosseum. It was breathtaking as we approached and drove past it. We decided then that we must visit it in person!Our hotel is located in a small residential area. We have a spacious room by European standards. We freshened up before catching a taxi to Vatican City. Our tour was to begin on the steps outside of the Vatican Museum. I grabbed us some lunch while Aidan waited in line to check us in. Our guide was an Italian historian who had a passion for Michelangelo and Raphael. He took us through the Vatican Museum and gave us detailed descriptions of many of the frescos and artifacts. We were really impressed by Raphael’s frescos in the Papal apartments. We got to the Sistine Chapel about 2 hours into the tour. Talk about blown away! We sat in a corner and just marveled at the magnitude of what Michelangelo created. We then went to St. Peter’s Basilica. I don’t even have words for the beauty and artistry of the place. We wandered in awe and witnessed a portion of the mass. We didn’t stay long as we wanted to send some post cards from Vatican City before heading back to the hotel.We dined at a little restaurant around the corner from our hotel. We started with fresh made pasta – I had spaghetti and Aidan had lasagna – and it was unlike anything we’ve had before. Aidan then had roast chicken and potatoes and I had scaloppini in wine sauce. We didn’t stay out long as the last few days caught up with us. I think we were asleep by 9.30pm.

June 23, 2008

We had a late morning as the only thing that we knew that we had to do was to be ready for the shuttle at 1.15pm. We had breakfast at the Park Café on 55th & 7th after running into Graham Henderson on the street. We then walked to Times Square to get a few things off of Aidan’s to-do list. We then decided to visit the NY Public Library. It was so beautiful inside and hard to believe that it was only 100 years old. We came out to pouring rain and it rained off and on for most of our morning walk. We took out our umbrellas and just walked along 5th Avenue to about 38th St and turned around and walked along Park Avenue to 56th. It was closing in on lunchtime so we chose a Japanese Restaurant next to the Shoreham Hotel. We both had noodle bowls that were excellent.The shuttle adventure began about 1.30 and ended around 3pm. This time we did not visit Laguardia but we did see a number of Manhattan hotels. We ended up being the last to be dropped off so it was a very long ride (I doubt we’ll be shuttling it in the future). Anyhow, we then did the self check-in which was a breeze but I was selected to be searched at the security area which was a pain. On the up side, we got through security much faster that way! We then had two hours to kill before the flight was scheduled to leave. We had a snack and then relaxed at the gate until boarding. Aidan picked up some dinner to carry on to the plane – which was great since the plane took off an hour late. It was an uneventful flight through and we landed only 30 minutes behind schedule.

June 22, 2008

With the expectation of thunderstorms, we didn't plan to do much on Sunday. We took the opportunity to sleep in and then we walked down 5th avenue because we knew it would be less crowded. We went back to Joe's Pizzeria for lunch since it was so good when we were there on Saturday. We then walked around Times Square until it was time to go to see 'In The Heights'. The show was both innovative and engaging. You really got to know the characters and care about them. For me, some parts reminded me of summers in Brooklyn. It was a memorable show.After the show we walked down towards 34th since the weather was still good (it had only been raining off and on). I needed shoes for the night's dinner and we wanted to get a few things for Veronica's shower. By the time we did that, the skies opened with a vengence. Needless to say, we caught a cab back to the hotel.The highpoint of the day was dinner. We dressed up and walked through Central Park to the Tavern on the Green. It was ecletically decorated and the service was excellent. We sat near a group who were celebrating a lady's 101st - they were a fun group. Our meal started with soup. I had crab bisque and Aidan had onion. The main was beef, potatoes and asparagus for Aidan and salmon with pureed cauliflower for me - complemented beautifully with an Argentinean red wine.I got the best surprise after dinner. We had a horse and carriage ride through Central Park and back to 55th Street. It was great to see NY at a slower pace as the sun went down. It allowed us to observe people jogging, walking, rollerskating and walking dogs. We got to also see Cargenie Hall and could see the lights at Times Square as we travelled down 7th Avenue.

June 21, 2008

We had a great breakfast of pancakes, omlette, toast etc. We headed out after breakfast and walked to a post office to send gifts to Alegna and Aliyah. Across the road was an art store, so we went to find some paper for my Mom. Next was Syms for some bargain discounts. After dropping off the stuff at the hotel, we walked to 47th to the diamond district to have a look around. We met Carrie and Peter for lunch at John's Pizzeria. It was very enjoyable. We skipped two doors down for Xanadu. It was a fun show a real feel good production. After this we split up for a while so that I could do some secret shopping. Next it was off to Central Park, which looked very different from how it did in December. We went to dinner at Benihana, and were again not disappointed (although having a Japanese chef called Brian was different). A quick dash down to 45th and we were off to see another show, this time Curtains, a musical murder mystery. Another good choice. We stopped off at the Virgin megastore at Times Square on the way back to the hotel.

June 20, 2008

We have arrived safely in New York. US customs was a pain in Bermuda since I do not have a Bermuda passport - Aidan was through in seconds on his. I guess I have to get another passport when we get back. The flight was calm. I managed to get through the newspapers, a magazine and a comic while Aidan did the MENSA puzzles in the American Airlines magazine. Terminal 8 is large and modern looking but we had a long walk to baggage claim and then a longer wait for the shuttle into the City. Still, the weather is great for late June and we can't wait to go to Central Park.

The shuttle from JFK into the City was a horrible experience. After waiting for 30 minutes for it to show up, we then picked up passengers from JFK and Laguardia! With Friday traffic we didn't arrive at the Shoreham until 12noon. Talk about painful. We were both hungry and irritated. Seeing the hotel began to turn the day around. The lobby looks like a modern ard museum. Actually, with the employees in smart black outfits, it was like an art museum meets a fashion show. Aidan checked us in but the room wasn't available until 3pm).The hotel is on 55th between 5th and 6th so we began our visit by walking down to 45th to see if we could pick up the theatre tickets. The tickets hadn't been delivered yet so we decided to do a little shopping. First we ate at the McDonalds near Times Square - which was amazing. 3 levels, concert clips and broadway show previews while you ate. We then headed to 34th and went to the Manhattan Mall, etc. We ended. Up not shopping much but we saw a lot of different places vs. the regular Macys, etc.We headed back to the hotet to check in. The room is fabulous. It is larger than the one we had at the Tudor - very sleek yet functional. We rested for the rest of the afternoon and then headed out to Beacon for dinner. We had a voucher for the theatre menu and it was one block over on 56th street. Talk about excellent food! I started with oysters roasted on the half shell in a wood burning oven and Aidan ate a large salad (and he ate the whole thing). We then both had the sirloin with fresh mushrooms and creamed spinach. This was enhanced with a lovely red wine from Spain. Dessert was a trio of homemade ice creams for Aidan and a chocolate chocolate chip souffle for me.We then walked to 44th for the show. And what a show it was. The opening announcement had us nervous at first - Patty Lupone had hurt her foot.... so she was going to do the show in her isotoner slippers. Talk about a collective sigh of relief. Gypsy was amazing. The three main characters (who all won Tonys last week) were phenomenal but the rest of the cast was excellent as well. Patty Lupone was Rose! Her acting was her strength as both of us are not that in love with her regular singing voice (she runs words into each other). However when she sing/acts or blasts a song she was unmatched. I walked out stunned at the power behind the final number!We walked back to the hotel through the crowds. I still can't belive how crowded NYC is at night - I never seem to get used to it.

Christmas 2007 Letter

It has been a very eventful year for us, with some highs and very low lows. We flew to the UK in January for a quick visit in order to attend the wedding of one of my university friends, Roz Harvey who married one Alan Sermons. The wedding took place at a small church in Hemel Hempstead. It was great to see the people there, some of whom I hadn’t spoken to in about 12 years.

I also decided to resign and leave my job of 12 years at BAC to pursue an opportunity made available to me to become my own boss. It was something that I felt that I was unable to give up and so I left BAC on 15th February. It took a couple of months to set things up and get established, but I am now able to keep a steady flow of work in and out, with quite a few major projects on the horizon.

In mid-February, we added a little dog to our menagerie, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Deaglan Balthazaar. He was a happy little fellow, always wagging his tail and loved everyone he met. Unfortunately, after we had had him for about three weeks, he started to show signs of disorientation and confusion. He was diagnosed with a porto-systemic shunt of the liver, but despite many visits to the vet we were unable to fix him as the problem was found to be untreatable during exploratory surgery. We also lost Loreley to an attack, we think from a feral cat in the area a week before Deaglan, so it was a very sad time for us both.

We have recovered from our losses however, and have acquired another cat, who is all white this time, named Artemis Penelope, who like her first name implies is the goddess of hunting – anything and everything. Despite her rather rotund demeanour, she is very active. In October Bronwyn Anastacia arrived on British Airways from England, another Cavalier, and she is fitting very well into the family. She and Artemis spend many hours running around the house and garden. Mathias is well, but tends to be more sedate these days.

In April, a contingent from Bermuda travelled to Virginia to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the colonisation of Jamestown (1607). The Bermuda Regiment Band and Bermuda Islands Pipe Band played for the Virginia International Tattoo in Norfolk. It was an exhausting visit with not a lot of down time and seven shows crammed into 4 days, with rehearsals for about 4 days before that, private engagements and the like. We rushed from one place to another and even changed uniforms part way through the show. Unfortunately, we never got to Jamestown.
Another trip to the UK in May for Brendan’s wedding to Suzie at a little church overlooking the North Sea in East Anglia. It was a rather chilly day with a NE breeze, but my father, Pete and myself still managed to wear Bermuda shorts as is customary. Brendan wasn’t so brave and settled for a more traditional English look. The day following, Marisa and I travelled to Dublin, Ireland and spent a week driving, bicycling and exploring Dublin and its environs. We drove up into Wicklow and Valleymount where my grandfather was from. It is a reservoir now of course, but the hill tops are probably quite similar. We also made contact with our Irish cousins and had dinner on our last evening with Dermot and his three children, Hugh, Alexandra and Rory at Thalius and Alexandra’s house. On our way back through London we met Roz and Alan for tea at the Savoy and saw Wicked for the second time.

The summer began and Marisa began rehearsals for Dreamgirls in July. The show opened in early October and I was tricked into becoming the crew boss. The stage manager was borrowed from the West End in London and did his utmost to make himself thoroughly unpopular with the crew. Unfortunately when you are working with volunteers you can’t treat them the way you do employees, and especially not in Bermuda. The show went very well and by the weekend of the first week was completely sold out.

In late September, we jetted off to Boston for our anniversary and had an enjoyable time seeing the sights and traveling around Marisa’s old post-graduate stomping ground. We even visited Babson College and met some of Marisa’s former colleagues in the Admin offices. For our anniversary evening, we took a gondola ride on the Charles River, complete with champagne and a basket of cheese and biscuits.

More recently, we travelled to New York to see the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes Christmas Show, which was absolutely fabulous and also a Chorus Line on Broadway. Fortunately, the stagehands strike was over. Marisa and I went ice skating at Bryant Park. Marisa did very well for her first time, in fact she looked like a pro at the end. I was still trying to find my balance. We also went for a walking photograph tour with a local guide who had us stand in the middle of the road in Times Square for photos, a walk through Central Park and on the Brooklyn Bridge, ending up at Rockerfeller Center.

All in all, it has been an eventful year. We have a general election coming up next week and then it’s full speed ahead into the Christmas and New Year season. We wish you all the very best for a Happy and prosperous 2008.

December 9, 2007

Our final day started a bit cooler. We watched a bit of CBS Sunday Morning beforeb heading up 42nd Street to have breakfast. Most cafes were crowded so we happened upon a deli that had a few combos. We both had eggs, french toast and freshly squeezed OJ.After breakfast we added to our suitcase collection and did a bit of window shopping. We had a 12 noon check out so we finished packing, checked out and left our bags with the bellman. We spent the afternoon between Times Square and Fifth Avenue. The temperature was dropping but it didn't stop the crowds. Even the Naked Cowboy was out playing his guitar and taking pictures with people.We split up to do some shopping and met at Ray's Pizza at 49th and 7th for late lunch. The slices were huge. We then returned to the Tudor Hotel to get our bags and a taxi. The trip to JFK was accented with snow. At the terminal, we were sent to use the self check-in. It was such a waste of time. We ended up having to go to the resolution desk to get our boarding passes and check our bags. Getting to the gate and to the plane was uneventful. Taking off proved the problem. We got onto the runway and then turned around and went back to the gate due to an electrical problem. I magaged to read through 4 magazines before we left. I was sob irritated with AA - no earphones, 3 dollars for snacks and no pillows or blankets...