I left the Palace Hotel at 10 a.m. I stopped at the Longs Drug behind Visa International in Foster City and used my Citibank cash card to buy pain relievers (Naproxen Sodium/200 cap/$8.99), cough medicine (Robitussin/Dextromethorphan HBr/20 cap/$7.59), antihistamines (Longs Allergy/Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride/100 tabs/$10.59), caffeine (NoDoze/Ceffein), wine (Beauleu Vinyard, Napa Valley Merlot 2003/$18.99->11.99), a prepaid mobile phone (TracFone/Nokia 1100/$24.99), Walnut Creek Water (350cc x 24/3.88), and Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider ($1.50).
After that, I went to the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay. As always, the mountain scenery along the road there was beautiful. I had the chef’s-choice lunch with wine at the main restaurant ($40+$23). The appetizer was mozzarella, and the main course was grilled lamb. I forgot which wines they were: one from Chile, one from Napa, and an ice wine. Our waiter, Nick, said he had just returned from Japan the previous week. Apparently he had stayed in Yokohama. I always think the Ritz-Carlton staff are genuinely pleasant. Even at valet parking, they run to retrieve your car. It is completely different from the Starwoods hotels I normally use. Well, the price is double or triple, so perhaps that is inevitable. I hope I can soon reach a position where the Ritz-Carlton can be my regular hotel.
After lunch, I tried to go for a walk, but it was so cold that I retreated after 5 minutes. I should have brought my coat.
After that, I moved to the Sheraton Palo Alto ($129/night). After configuring the TracFone—which was quite troublesome and took nearly an hour—I went to Stanford University. The last time was when President Akagi of Magokoro.com showed me around, so it may have been 10 years. At the Apple Store in the Stanford Shopping Center, I timed the startup of the latest Intel Mac (1 minutes, slower than expected). I had dinner at Babbo’s Pizzeria there. The portions were small, but the paella, full of shrimp and chicken, was fluffy and delicious. The floor staff were rather unfriendly, though. The portions were small and the prices surprisingly high, perhaps because the Palo Alto area has many wealthy people with sophisticated tastes.
After returning to the hotel, I planned the days from Monday onward. Nothing is final yet, but on Monday I am scheduled to dine with Bill, Geoffrey, and Owen, all XDI.ORG directors. Depending on the dinner location, I may stay afterward at Owen’s house in Berkeley. After much indecision, I chose the Fairmont Sonoma ($299/night) for Tuesday and Wednesday. It is a little extravagant, but perhaps that is fine. There are many things I want to forget. (Though I surely will not be able to.) The Napa Valley Lodge ($249), a sister hotel of Stanford Park, was also tempting, but I chose the former because its customer reviews were good. Word-of-mouth information matters.
And now, at 2:19AM, I am writing this while drinking BV. This is complete jet lag.
Well, perhaps I will take some Ternelin and Loxonin and go to sleep!
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