Extravagant Travelers

Shall I go in chronological order? I guess so...

Portland

Last weekend Risa and I took our Prius (name drop) on its first road trip. Our destination was the lovely city of Portland, Oregon and the purpose of the trip was to see my long time friend, Wayne Reed, and his special lady friend, Sheila Modi, both visiting from Galveston, Texas. Sheila, being the bright young gal she is, is due to graduate from medical school in May and is canvassing the country in hopes of landing a residency in a desirable locale. We explored the town as best we could in about thirty-six hours, making two book related stops. The first was the world-famous Powell's City of Books which was nice and lived up to its name and the second, and only place I made a purchase, was a small bookstore about a block away called Reading Frenzy where I picked up a hardback copy of Charles Burns' graphic novel Black Hole. Risa and I were introduced to him at Bumbershoot this year when he did a reading with Chuck Palahniuk and you may know him as the resident cover artist for The Believer. The graphic novel is somewhat twisted but in a healthy way. Our visit also included some late night Cajun dining, a French breakfast, and an indie arts fair at the lovely Crystal Ballroom. Thumbs up on all three counts.

Hotel Mark Twain

This summer while visiting Risa in San Francisco I was taking an early morning walk and laid eyes upon a gem in the city: The Hotel Mark Twain. Sure, we were staying across the street at the Hilton but this charming early 20th century boutique hotel captured my heart. Now, as we are planning a return trip to visit two of Risa's best friends and their daughter, that currently reside in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, I have had the "pleasure" of making a reservation there for a two-night stay. According to tripadvisor.com, it could be a mistake (review titles: "Oh Dear. Dear, oh dear" and "Don't stay here") but I'm going with my gut on this one. Plus, for $80 a night, why wouldn't I give it a try? I already have visions of it being like the apartment building in Naked Lunch, but in a good way.