Halifornia

I went to Halifax last week.  It was a brief business trip - about 48 hours - and it was a really nice experience.

The trip started last Wednesday morning; I cabbed from my apartment to the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.  I rarely take cabs in the city but since I had luggage - albeit light - and since it was business, I thought I'd treat myself.  It's too expensive though.  I took the airport shuttle and subway back when I returned to Toronto.

I went to the airport much earlier than I needed to, as I had a conference call placed awkwardly in my day - too close to the flight to wait until after the call to head to the airport... too early to be at the airport to take the call there.  That said, I'm of the "early is never a bad thing" school of thought, plus I love the lounge at the island airport, so early I would be.

Porter refers to its service as Flying Refined, and it really is.  I sped through security and arrived in the lounge with time to spare - enough time to get a coffee, some almonds, and set up shop for my call.

The flight itself was lovely, too.  Tell me - why do I instinctively crave tomato juice on planes?

I got into Halifax around 3:00 pm and was at my hotel - the Westin Nova Scotian - in downtown Halifax by 4:00.  For the record, I am not an extremely experienced traveller and I haven't stayed in a lot of hotels, but I've stayed at the Westin Nova Scotian twice now, and it's the best hotel I've ever been to.  I feel special there.  It's fancy yet not too pricey.  During my stay, I had two delicious breakfasts at their restaurant, Elements; room service for a late dinner, which was a total treat; watched cable in bed on the big screen TV; had a bath; had two glorious sleeps... it was heavenly.  I highly recommend staying there if you get the chance.

The view from my hotel room of the Halifax harbour.

Earlier that day I tweeted that I was going to Halifax and asked the Twitterverse whether anyone had any recommendations for restaurants.  Though I'm not pretentious enough to call myself a foodie (nor do I think the label necessarily fits), y'all know I love food and good restaurants, so I wanted something great.  At least two people recommended The Five Fishermen, so I made a reservation online and around 6:45 pm I walked over.

 

My desire was t ohave a quiet, luxurious, and delicious evening out, and that desire was mostly fulfilled.  They had a table for one near the fireplace ready for me; there was no awkward removal of a second place setting.  Much appreciated.  The Five Fishermen nailed service and ambiance; it was quiet, had a great vibe, and no one made me feel like I was there too long (I was there for two hours).  I had a great time there.  I took my time, had a delicious glass of Nova Scotian wine, ate lots, started a new book (The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb), and deliberately kept iPhone use to a minimum.  However, the disappointing part?  The food!  I know!  Unexpected.  At the time I was totally satisfied, but I think I was full on great dining... not great food.  Maybe my mistake was that I didn't order a main.  I didn't want to spend too much, so I opted for wine + access to the mussel and salad bar ($25) + bread and butter + clam chowder.  The mussels got cold really fast and the cowder was very bland.  I finished with dessert, which was really delicious.  I had coffee and sticky toffee pudding (yum!) with their housemade icecream (YUM!!!).  All in all, it was decadent, but if the food had been better than the rest of the experience..... well, I might not have left Halifax.

Regardless, I was in a coma on the way back to the hotel.  After a bath and a dose of cable, I was out like a light.

My colleague and I met for breakfast at 9:00 and enjoyed delicious eggs Benedict (and he informed me that it was St. Benedict's Day... how about that!).  I then retreated to my hotel room for a few hours of peaceful and quiet work.

Business trips are great, for so many reasons.  I don't have to travel much, so they're still a novelty.  I keep busy enough these days that sometimes I forget I've got a trip coming up, but I really enjoy it.  It's paid travel and related expenses, a break from the routine, a chance to see a different city... but for me it's also an opportunity to slow down.  It's a chance to treat myself, a chance to catch up on emails, a chance to read, a chance to go for walks and see new things, a chance to do work that on any other day might seem tedious, but somehow in a hotel room feels therapeutic... the list goes on.....

I don't know if traveller's guilt has anything to do with Catholic guilt, but I have small cases of both.  I'm grateful for traveller's guilt when it's not too extreme though because despite how lovely a day spent in a hotel room might seem, TG kicks in and I know I've got to get out and do something.



Beautiful Halifax buildings that I saw on my walk to the Citadel.

I did a little searching online and learned about the noontime cannon at the Halifax Citadel.  For at least 100 years they've been firing a cannon at noon to set the city clock by?  Sounds pretty cool to me.  At 11:30 I left my room and walked the very inclined route to Citadel Hill.  I got to the Citadel and it was really cool and quiet; nothing was really open, but a nice staffperson told me a great spot to watch the firing from.  See the video below to see what it was like.  Definitely a good excuse to leave the hotel, and a neat touristy thing to do.  I also learned my iPhone is on perfect GMT.

I walked from there to Pizza Corner (another Twitter recommendation).  I'm not sure if that's the actual name of the joint or if it's just called that because it's a pizza place on the corner.  I was told to try the donair... it was delicious.  Next time I'd like to try a big slice of donair pizza.  Yum!

I walked back to the hotel to rest, work, and get ready for the whole point of my trip - an event on Thursday night.  More work, more TV, more relaxing, a shower, and off I went to the event.

I held the event at the Split Crow.  That's where I held the event last year; it's a popular spot among Dalhousie students and it worked well for what I'm trying to do.  It was a good event this year, too, but I don't think I'll hold it at the SC next year.  The staff was okay but not very accommodating, and sometimes even aggressive.  It was well worth the trip though; it was a great event!

I left the pub earlyish and walked back to the hotel.  Wanna know a secret?  I've never gotten room service!  I have one memory of getting it as a kid - I think - but no vivid memories, and I've definitely never ordered it myself.  Or, at least, I hadn't before... I have now!  I got back from the event and after getting into PJs, I ordered myself a pulled pork sandwich with sweet potato fries and a pop!  Absolutely divine!  It came on a tray which I sat right on my bed and enjoyed while watching an episode of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon".  Again, heavenly.

Another delicious sleep, and back to Elements for breakfast.  This time, I had eggs, sausage, and homefries.  Then I booked a cab with the concierge, went to my room to pack up, and off I went to the airport.

All in all, a great trip.

Viva México!!!

As I mentioned in my last post, I was just in Mexico City for my first international business trip.  I spent just barely 48 hours there, which I guess is the first thing of note.  What?!  Who spends 48 hours in Mexico City?!  I know.  I guess that's the thing about travelling on business: you go for the business and when it "runs dry", so to speak, you go home.  No dilly-dallying; just business. 

[SIDE NOTE: I don't think I've ever actually written the word "dilly-dallying".  Now I've written it twice.] 

That being said, it was a wonderful and successful trip, both professionally and personally.

We flew from Toronto to Mexico City direct on Air Canada.  The flight was nice n' easy: I finished What the Dog Saw, read some Toronto Life, did a little work, and watched some on-demand TV: "Portlandia".

[SIDE NOTE #2: I had seen a clip from this show, and had heard great things from my girl Sains, but had never seen it.  I've now seen all the episodes Air Canada has to offer (which I now realize is the entirety of season 1) and I can now say that this show is AMAZING!!!  Seriously.  Brilliant and extremely clever television.  Love it!]

Anyway, t'was a great flight! 

We arrived to a very clean and organized Mexico City airport.  Customs was quick n' easy, and guess what?!  We saw the one and only Margaret Atwood in line at customs.  Seriously.  She was looking very snazzy in a pink jacket. 

We then hopped into a cab to go to our hotel to check in, freshen up, and have our first meeting of the trip.  We stayed at the Hotel Galería Plaza in the Juárez district in Mexico City.  We stayed in the executive suites, and my experience at the hotel was really fantastic from beginning to end.  The staff were attentive, professional, hospitable, and all spoke fantastic English.  My room was great albeit a slightly firm bed (not my taste); clean, well-kept, and comfortable.  Since we stayed in the executive suites we had use of the executive lounge for a complimentary breakfast as well as wine and canapes in the evening.  I never had the wine and canapes but the continental breakfast was pretty good.  I say "pretty good" because continental breakfasts never fully satisfy me.  That being said, the woman who oversaw the breakfast made me a delicious coffee, so I was just fine.  The executive lounge itself was nice, too; there was the breakfast area and then a more loungey area where you could use the computer.  I was able to print some documents I really needed there, too, which was great.  The hotel also had a rooftop pool with a great view of the city, and an exercise room close by.  On my third and final morning I went for a quick dip early in the day and enjoyed the view.  That was a nice little touch.  In fact, there were lots of nice little touches -- fresh fruit and a card waiting in my room when I arrived, chocolates waiting on the bed and the sheets turned in the evening... that stuff definitely enhances my experience.  Finally, on our second night there we held a reception in one of the event rooms at the hotel.  Once again, fantastic service, great spot for a reception, good food, good wine, and a good experience.  Thank you, Galería Plaza!!!  

So, that's the hotel.  What else?!  Meeting #1 went very well, and when it was over my colleague asked the person we were meeting with where we should eat for dinner.  He suggested a restaurant called Anderson's.  We thought, that doesn't sound very Mexican, but as it turns out it's been around since the 1960s and has really authentic and delicious Mexican food, so we went for it!  [SIDE NOTE #3: Grupo Anderson also owns the very popular Senor Frog's restaurants and bars, that are located all over Mexico and elsewhere.]  Once again, the service was top-notch, and the food was delicious.  I can't remember exactly what I had, but there was lots of yummy spiciness, a little guacamole on the side, and the margaritas were delicious... and very strong.  I highly recommend. 

After our wonderful dinner, we headed out in search of drinks on a rooftop outside somewhere.  We tried the Four Seasons first but they didn't have what we were looking for, so someone recommended we go to the St. Regis hotel.  It was there that we found a beautiful 3rd floor patio where we could enjoy all the margaritas we wanted.  It was a slightly chilly night, but we stayed there until we were too tired to talk, and then headed back to the Galería Plaza. 

The next morning was a lazy one.  I enjoyed my breakfast with a side of Toronto Life, and then around 11:30am joined my colleagues for a walk along the Reforma (main street) for some sun and souvenir shopping.  We wandered around, stopped at a place called La Pescaderia (that's the only link I could find) for some fish tacos and a cervesa, and then searched for some authentic-looking sombreros for my colleague to bring back.  We found them, and I bought a few magnets for friends. 

Back to the hotel we went to freshen up again before meeting #2.  We held this meeting at a wonderful restaurant in the Polanco district (think Mexico City’s Yorkville) called Casa Anis.  It was on the second floor above another restaurant and was half outside, which made for a great (and breezy!) atmosphere.  I enjoyed a red snapper and it was absolutely delicious.  We also had an amazing Mexican wine there, which I was told was a mix of a chardonnay and something else... it was amazing! 

Then, once again, back to the hotel where we held our big reception, which as I said, was great!  It was about double the turn-out I'd expected, which was great news for me!  There was a wonderful vibe in the air, and it made it feel even more successful than the trip had already been. 

I was exhausted after the reception, went straight to sleep, woke up for a dip in the pool, tidied up, checked out, and headed to the airport.  There we had 2 last cervesas, and then were on our way!  YYZ followed by ZZZ. 

And that was Mexico City!!!

Then, of course, is the obligatory... 

10 things I learned while in Mexico City:

1. I've never been to the Southern United States, so I haven't experienced the famous "southern hospitality", but I have to say that Mexico has hospitality of its own.  Everyone we crossed paths with was helpful, kind, polite, and friendly; not an ounce of snarkiness.  Most people spoke fantastic English, and always made us feel comfortable and at home.  A delight!
2. The rumours I heard about Mexico City traffic were not a myth.  Something that could take 5 minutes to drive in Toronto (and 1.5 minutes in Port Hope) could take 20+ minutes in Mexico City.  Allow for lots of time to get from one place to another, and buckle up because the ride is often not smooth.
3. Being a wordsmith is fun.  My colleague and I played an unspoken game of figuring out what words meant by thinking critically (apparently I'm not the only geek in this way).  He figured out that "extranjero" meant "foreigner" because it looked like "stranger".  I figured out that the restaurant "La Pescaderia" was a fish restaurant, because people who eat no meat but fish are called "pescatarians".  POW!!!
4. Breakfast in Mexico might be at approximately the same time as we have it in North America, but lunch and dinner are a totally different story.  Lunch is usually eaten from/between 2:00-5:00pm, and dinner between 8:00-11:00pm.  We learned that this may have originally been inspired by the siesta style of living, where during the hottest part of the day workers would head inside for their biggest meal of the day, lunch, and then a rest because it was too hot to work.  Our friend told us that siestas don't happen now in quite the same way because most people work indoors, but the tradition continues.  Aside from the siesta, the other reason for meals being the way they are is the altitude of Mexico City (more on that in #4).  To eat your biggest meal of the day in the evening would be too much to digest overnight, so instead you have something light, later in the evening.  I'm sure that's not the most comprehensive explanation, but you get the idea...
5. The gentleman we met with on day 1, after mentioning the altitude in relation to meals, mentioned that we'd definitely feel the altitude change, and in particular on day 2.  I took this with a grain of salt, thinking: "how significant can the change be?"  Then on day 2 I felt nauseous all day - upset stomach and intense headache.  I figured it was because of the few too many margaritas I'd had the night before at the St. Regis, but it persisted in a way very different from a hangover.  My colleague reminded me of the altitude change and I thought, that's it!  Then again, I might be finding a scapegoat for my hangover...
6. This, as I said, was my first international business trip, and so therefore I learned a few non-specifically-Mexican-but-business-trip-related things.  One being this -- even as a woman, you don't have to pack heavily.  I made due on one shirt, a pashmina, a cardigan, a skirt with a matching blazer, a pair of casual shoes, a pair of heels, and a dress.  That being said, I would've done even better with the skirt and blazer, the dress (not mandatory, but necessary considering the reception we held), the cardigan, and three shirts.  I didn't mean to pack only one.  I improvised with the inclusion of the pashmina, but a shirt or two more would've done me good.  Anyway, what I'm saying is -- it's worth it to pack light so that you don't have to check a bag.
7. Margaritas are no joke in Mexico.  They're strong, tasty, and not to be taken lightly.
8. Green salsa is the hottest.  I have been slowly upping my tolerance for spice over the past 5 years or so since I met Waleed, so I can take quite a kick at this point in time, but I should refrain from telling less spice-tolerant colleagues that it's "not that spicy", because they'll hate me the next morning (TMI).
9. As ridiculous as this might sound, I'm going out for Mexican food in Toronto tonight at a great joint on Eglinton West called Frida.  I've been there once before, and this may sound like sacrilege, but after having visited Mexico, I still maintain that Frida serves the best guacamole I've ever had.  And I'll put this out there - I've had a lot of guacamole in my day, so I consider myself a bit of a pro.  Frida -- way to go!!!
10. Home is where the heart is.

What Sugar and Gravy Saw...

Greetings from Mexico City!  I'm here on business for barely 48 hours, but I'm loving what I've seen, including the inside of my beautiful hotel room.

I just finished reading my first book of 2012.  Not my speediest start, it's true, but it was a whopping 400 pages of some dense yet delightful Malcolm Gladwell: What The Dog Saw.  That's his fourth book and now I've read them all, and I loved every single one of them. 

What I love about Malcolm Gladwell is that he sparks two totally different notions in me: (1) That people are truly human.  That may sound stupid, but what I mean is that we're not just a skeleton and flesh.  We're individuals, we have personalities, we have strengths and weaknesses, quirks and edges... We're all different and in our own ways, wonderful. 

(2) That there is a science to us.  We are all those things I just mentioned, and there is a scientific reason why.  Whether physical or social science, there's a method to our madness so to speak.  When we make "snap judgments", as Gladwell discusses in Blink (and a story or two in WTDS, for that matter), there are in fact neurons firing, or whatever the case may be.  We may sift through our brain by using words that turn into thoughts that turn into ideas, but something is actually happening in our heads; something totally unbeknownst to us. 

If you've never read Gladwell, DO!  His books are so..... COOL!!! 


Next on the reading list -- When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris, as well as the February and March Issues of Toronto Life 

Posts to come -- my thoughts on the series "Sex and the City" in its entirety, my experience in Mexico City, and what manicures and high heels make me feel.