Pro-Life

Weekend in San Jose y Francisco

Went to San Jose for Heidi and Haiwei's wedding (about time...).

Super-awesome camcorder pose!

Pouring sand.

Strange mural in San Mateo.

Finishing off Lobster Plate #3. It was sad to see so much lobster and abalone go uneaten at the tables with large non-Chinese populations. Michael and I tried our best to eat as much as we could, but after half a platter of abalone and three plates of lobster, we were done.

BBQ next day (was also Memorial Day weekend). I liked this grill as the wheel on the side lets you raise and lower the grill to adjust the distance to the fire/coals.

Dinner with my brother Nat in San Francisco at Shimo Sushi. I basically ordered everything on their specials menu which included several fishes that I had not had before (and some that I have had). included were herring roe, and walu/escolar.

Then we went to a Chinese dessert place. I got sago with durian smoothy and chunks of durian. It stinks! But I like it.

Next day, lunch at In-n-Out burgers.

Ischia back to Naples (then to Atlanta)

I think Bimbo must mean something else in Italian.

Back in Naples next to the hotel by the airport I was staying at overnight before my flight home. Pretty good pizza... it was all I could afford with the few remaining Euros that I had and I didn't want to go to the ATM and get more money (stupid place didn't place credit cards either).

Duty free shop in Rome (brief lay-over). I was very, very tempted to buy this balsamic vinegar. It's super-aged, so it's very thick and sweet. Goes really well with vanilla ice cream or gelato. Yes, it's 77 Euros. The reason I didn't buy it was that I wasn't checking in any baggage, and the Atlanta airport is retarded with respect to international arrivals. There's no way to exit from customs directly out of the airport... you have to go through the terminals again, which means you have to clear through security, which means no liquids (including vinegar) in your carry-on (or carry-through) baggage, which means I would have had to check in my bag, which would have cost me an extra 45 minutes to get out of the airport.

Ischia, Day 2

Happy Birthday to me!

Lunch selection was mostly the same as day one.

Different gelateria.

View by the seaside.

Dinner was at some restaurant on the north side of the island.

Squid salad.

Tuna pasta.

Fish again.

Crazy-heavy chocolate dessert.

Limoncello.

Absynth (someone else's).

Ischia, Day 1

For a relatively small conference (that's why I was in Ischia), they sure had some good food for lunch. Huge seafood selection (comes from being on the Mediteranean I suppose). Also the only conference I've been to so far that served wine at lunch as well.








(end of lunch pictures)

Afternoon Gelato break.

Pastry selection from same gelateria/bakery.

Some of the foods from the conference reception.

Saw this in a store... mmm, trout baby food.

Dinner that night was at a pizza/pasta place. The pizza oven shown above.

I ended up getting mussels with buccatini and sheep's cheese (or was it goat?).

Fred got an impressive looking seafood pizza.

Panna Cotta for dessert.

Arrival in Naples and Transfer to Ischia

Had to transfer from the Naples airport to the port (Molo Bellevero or something like that), and then take a ferry to Ischia.

Castle by the port.

View of port area from little snack shop.

Little snack (cheese, ham, peas wrapped in rice, then battered and fried).

View from ferry leaving Naples.

View along the way.

Snack selection on ferry... happy days.

Dinner that night by the seaside in Ischia. Seafood spaghetti.

Killing Time in the Venice Airport

On my way to Ischia for the ACM Computing Frontiers conference. Had a four-hour layover in Venice.

Gelato.

Kiwi on top, apricot on the bottom (both new flavors for me!)

Espresso... helps to adjust to the time zone change.