Stuck in Philly and Thinking of Greece

So here I am in Philly... unfortunately, Continental doesn't have any flights that return to Houston past five o'clock and I couldn't figure out how to connect to another city to head to Houston. Oh well, I'll be here overnight before catching an early one back home. I'm at the Renaissance by the airport - a far cry from other Renaissances like the one in Austin but it will do the trick. Besides, it was actually $70/night cheaper than the Courtyard. Baffling.

My meeting in Allentown went very well so I'm pleased with the outcome. We'll see where it leads . Otherwise, I'm just happy I made it to my hotel after taking the cab ride from hades - my driver apparently had a death wish and little regard for my life. I'll just be happy when I'm home tomorrow.

On a different note, I've decided Santorini is the place to visit in Greece. Since our trip will be short, we'll just focus on staying there rather than hopping from island to island like the original Milos / Santorini trip. Now we're trying to decide on a hotel. Give than the Euro is eating the Dollar's lunch, we're trimming back our budget a bit and have narrowed it down to the following hotels:

Golden Sunset Villas (Oia)
Aris Caves (Oia)
Chelidonia Villas (Oia)
Strogili Houses (Oia)
Afroessa (Imerovigli)
Delfini Studios (Oia)

It's tough to choose. I like Afroessa but wish it was in Oia. That makes me lean a little bit towards Strogili since it has a pool. Nefeli Homes looks like but the reviews aren't as good. I'm also tempted to include two nights at Amoudi Villas since it is right by the water in Amoud Bay - right at the base of the cliffs below Oia.

Threadless in Chicago

Threadless makes the coolest T-shirts... I somehow came across them - I honestly don't remember how - but I'm a big fan of their shirts. I typically order their shirts online (have picked up a design or two before) but if you happen to be in Chicago, they apparently have a retail storefront at 3011 North Broadway Avenue. Now, if you haven't ordered their shirts before, they are all issued in limited amounts - how many of each? Not sure but I do know that whenever I try to get a shirt in medium, I better do it shortly after it is released. Anyway, they'll release a few shirts each week so you can always check back to see what is in stock. Oh, and if you visit before December 16th, be it in person or online, you'll find most of their designs are only $10.00... and yes, that includes reprinted classics like We're Toast and Summer Wind.

Fall Foliage

So, I went to Nashville this past week for a quick trip to present to the executive team for one of my clients. I'd never been to Tennessee so that was one more pin I could add to my travel map. Anyway, despite falling into a baby-induced sleep on the flight, I woke up in time to see all the beautiful fall foliage as we landed in Nashville. What a gorgeous sight. Houston has so many evergreen pines and live oaks that you just don't get a chance to relish the colors of fall. If you want to know where to catch the tail end of fall color around the country, The Weather Channel always posts good foliage maps. Another place is the Foliage Network (not one of the big 3). The same site lists the top 10 places around the country to see fall foliage. Despite Pennsylvania being listed as number 9, I have a feeling I won't see any fall color when I make it to Allentown later this month. Probably too late. I will note that the icing on the cake for this past trip was being able to catch an earlier flight back home - always beautiful!

Houston Restaurant List

I'm going to start maintaining a list of Houston restaurants I like and would recommend via a constantly updated entry. When I think of something I want to add, I'll just bump this to the top. Expect this to start small and grow as we go along...

Downtown (and Nearby)
Azuma Sushi - 909 Texas - Downtown location of outstanding Rice Village area sushi bar. Great design and atmosphere.
Cabo - 419 Travis - Nice big menu - fish tacos always worth ordering. Great balcony seating (if you can find a spot)
Gravitas - 807 Taft - Scott Tycer and Jason Gould's brainchild - tasty food in a loud, frenetic environment.
Perbacco - 700 Milam - Italian-run and very authentic. Great before the theater.
Vincent's -2701 West Dallas - ...and Nino's and Grappino di Nino - all adjacent to each other. Take your pick - all three are excellent.

Galleria Area
Arco D'Oro - 5000 Westheimer - Sardinian cuisine. Grab a spot on the patio.
Berryhill - 1717 Post Oak - Multiple locations. Casual "baja-style" cuisine. Great fish tacos!
Bice - 5175 Westheimer - Elegant Houston-location of Italian-run chain. Pricey. Great for client dinners.
Cafe Lili - 5757 Westheimer - Family-run Lebanese food. Complimentary coffee a nice touch.
Thai Restaurant - 5757 Westheimer - Excellent family-run Thai restaurant with good service.
Uptown Sushi - 1131 Uptown Park - Delicious upscale sushi restaurant. Place to be seen.

Memorial Area
Bistro Provence - 13616 Memorial Drive - Delicious French cuisine. Nice homey interior, excellent patio seating.
Ciro's - 9755 Katy Freeway - Expanded location with a nice outside patio (despite the noise)
Collina's - 12311 Kingsride - One of four locations. Food is decent but a good casual restaurant for families. BYOB. Tasty pizza.

Rice Village Area
Crossaint Brioche - 2435 Rice Blvd - Nice spot for an afternoon cappucino and tarte
Patu Thai - 2420 Rice Blvd - Tiny Thai restaurant short on space but big on quality.
Prego - 2520 Amherst - Great Italian restaurant. Always buzzing... expect a wait.

Upper Kirby
El Tiempo Cantina - 3130 Richmond - Extremely popular spot with delicious Tex-Mex

Upper Westheimer Area
713 Restaurant.Lounge - 10001 Westheimer - Great sushi on an eclectic menu with reasonable prices.
Fadi's Grill - 8383 Westheimer - Original Fadi's location has outstanding mediterranean food.
La Trattoria - 6500 Westheimer - Italian run restaurant with Northern Italian cuisine.
Rioja - 11920 Westheimer - Very good tapas, nice patio with live music on weekend

Other
Achille Express - 1127 Eldridge - Casual Italian-run eatery. Great pizza margherita.
Marine's Empanadas - 3227 Hillcroft - 47 types of Colombian style empanadas made fresh. Delicious.
Rattan Pan-Asian Bistro - 1396 Eldridge - Nice variety of Asian food - well-designed restaurant, attractive patio.

Saudi Blogs

One of my largest clients is a well-known international organization in Saudi Arabia. Given that I now work with this Saudi firm, I occasionally do a little bit of digging around a very complex but fascinating culture. It looks as if Saudi Arabia is going through some interesting boom times thanks to the sky high prices of oil. However, if you want to get the opinions of two "regular folks" who live in Saudi Arabia, I'm adding two blogs to my page - Saudi Jeans, written by a Saudi youth, and American Bedu, written by a former diplomat married to a Saudi. I hope you find them enlightening.

Three Zurich Hotels (and two bites)

One of our favorite cities in Europe is Zurich... clean, historic and situated along the banks of the Limmat and the picturesque Lake Zurich. I enjoyed my business travel there so much that when we booked our honeymoon trip, Zurich was our first stop.

Personally, I've always felt the altstadt or old town makes a great base. Admittedly, I've never stayed in famed hotels like the Baur Au Lac or the Dolder Grand but I would gladly recommend the three I've frequented...

Sofitel Zurich - A highly regarded hotel that often receives rave reviews for the level of service and its convenient location. While not located in the altstadt, it's a mere five minute walk from the Bahnhofstrasse, about as far from Niederdorfstrasse and just up the block from the Limmat. Some of the 134 rooms can be a bit spare but are all comfortable.

Hotel Altstadt - Just like it's namesake, the Hotel Altstadt is located in the old town, tucked between the Limmat Quai and Oberdorfstrasse. The location is literally in the shadow of the Grossmunster church. Accommodations are more basic but comfortable for a three-star hotel. Rates range from 160 CHF to 230 CHF. A small bar is attached to the hotel.

Bar Hotel Rossli - Somewhere between the Sofitel and the Altstadt - comfort and price-wise - is the Bar Hotel Rossli. Having stayed there on business, we chose the hotel for our honeymoon stop in Zurich. The hotel is about a block away from the Hotel Altstadt on Rossligasse. Rooms are nice and comfortable but, if you have the funds, splurge on the Junior Suite... the room is spacious but the clincher is the private rooftop terrace overlooking Lake Zurich - by far the highlight of staying at the Rossli. Rates start at 270 CHF for a double and 380 for the junior suite.

While I've never stayed there, some other well known hotels are the Hotel zum Storchen (my dad's favorite) and the Hotel Adler. While Zurich is by no means cheap, you'll always get what you paid. The same goes for food. Zurich may not be renowned for its cuisine but the food is generally good and sampling Swiss specialities at restaurants like Zunfthaus zur Zimmerleuten and Haus zum Ruden is always worthwhile. Leaving Zurich without eating zurigschnatzlets (veal and mushrooms in a cream sauce) with rosti would be a crime.

Hampton Court on Display

If you're in Houston, be sure to stop by the Starbucks at the corner of Voss and San Felipe on November 9th to see one of my photos displayed at a small local art show. Titled "Hampton Court Carousel", the photograph is a close-up of the horse depicted at the right. Given my love for travel photography, this is a small opportunity to show off a little bit of my work.

A local map will help you find the Starbucks where the show will be taking place.