ISDCI Conference – Day 3

Today was a short day conference-wise. We only had breakfast, the plenary speaker, and one session of talks, then we had the afternoon off to do whatever we wanted.

When we registered, there were four tours we could sign up for (for a fee, of course). One tour that would take you around the city (which is the one I signed up for), one tour of the Jewish center, one short cruise on the Vltava River, and one longer cruise. Everyone else in my group decided to go on the longer cruise on the river, but I really wanted to see the city. I’m happy I chose that tour, because we went to quite a few places, and I took a ton of pictures.

I had to grab lunch, though, before I left, so I just grabbed something at the hotel. So nothing interesting to report there.

All of us on this tour hopped on a bus and rode it to Prague Castle (the same castle we ate at last night). We toured the grounds around the castle. Even though it’s called a castle, it’s not a castle. It’s an old village, and it’s where the President of the Czech Republic lives and holds his office. There’s also a cathedral there that we toured, and it was incredible.

We had a little coffee break, where I splurged on an apple strudel, which was really good. Also, we were entertained by a little red squirrel taking nuts from one of the waiters. Eventually he started running around our chairs looking for food. Okay, at least we were entertained. When we set off again, we finished the rest of the tour on foot. We saw the changing of the guards at the castle, then found the best panoramic views of the city. From there, we walked through Old Town, the Jewish Center, and New Town. Of course, it decided to start raining just before we hit the Jewish Center, so picture taking slowed down a bit (it’s a little hard using my camera when one hand’s holding an umbrella), but I still took a lot overall. I can’t quite remember what all we stopped at, but hopefully looking at the pictures will remind me. I’ll post another blog entry at a later time if I can remember what all we saw.

After the tour, we had to get our own way back to the hotel. Luckily we were at a metro stop, so getting back was really easy. I know that I was supposed to go out to eat with my boss, her daughter, and Laura, but they didn't know when they'd be back. I got back at 7PM, but they didn't until 8PM. So I spent that time flipping through the TV channels. I could have watched a CSI episode in German, but I didn't.

We decided to indulge Laura for dinner out by going to a sushi place. I'm not a big fan of sushi, but they had other things to eat. I got chicken skewers with yakitori sauce and a side of udon noodles. I've never had yakitori sauce before, but I really liked it. Now, since we've indulged my boss and her daughter (last night) and Laura (tonight), it'll be my turn to be indulged. Italian food, here we come!

Back to another long day at the conference tomorrow. Oh joy! At least it's the last long day...

Before I end, I noticed how people bring their pets into restaurants with them here in Europe, and no one seems to care. People would have a cow back in America. Just another interesting cultural difference I've noticed.

(This post was actually posted at 10:25PM Prague time.)