It had been over five years since my last visit to London and almost seven years since I spoke at an NDC conference (Oslo, 21018).
So when the NDC organizers invited me to speak at their London event, I jumped at the chance.
I planned a vacation around this 3-day conference, taking two weeks off work. We settled on a few days in London before the show and a flight to Spain afterward.
We arrived at Heathrow Airport Saturday morning and spent the afternoon walking around central London. Dishoom, the Covent Garden Indian restaurant where we ate dinner, was so good that it earned two return trips later in the week. With a free evening, we bought tickets to see "Tina" at the Aldwych Theatre. London's West End area is known for its world-class theater and is on par with the quality of New York's Broadway. The show was great, concluding with a pretend concert where the entire audience stood and sang along with the actress who played Tina Turner.
Before the trip, I made plans to meet my friend Jon for lunch and a show. Jon is a massive musical theater fan, so I accepted his recommendation to see Hadestown, a show he had already seen at least half a dozen times. He was right. The show was great, and our front-row seats were a treat.
While in London, we visited several great museums: The British Museum, the National Gallery, and the Tate Modern. Public museums in London are free and contain treasures from all over the world, collected when the British Empire stretched across the globe. Other touristy activities included lunch at Borough Market, a walk past the famed Globe Theater, where Shakespeare showcased his plays, and lots of walks through Covent Garden and along the Thames. We concluded our pre-conference activities by seeing "The Lion King," a live adaptation of the Disney classic featuring amazing costumes and puppetry.
The NDC London conference began Wednesday morning with a keynote by Scott Hanselman. You can read my thoughts on the conference here. What I love most about in-person events like this is connecting with and learning from people. I was able to catch up with many old friends I had not seen in years, and I met some new people that I found very likable and interesting. The Wednesday evening speaker dinner and Thursday evening attendee party provided opportunities to connect with others. I avoided the crowds and had some enjoyable one-on-one conversations. I scheduled some interviews for my show among the conference speakers. I will record these in the coming weeks, so they will be online soon. You can read more about the conference here.
I skipped out early from the last day of the conference to complete something that has long been on my bucket list. I now have a photograph of myself crossing Abbey Road in front of the Apple Studio building, just as pictured on the cover of the classic Beatles album.
Friday night, we flew to Madrid to enjoy a vacation without responsibility. We did little more than walk around our hotel's neighborhood (Atocha) before catching a Saturday morning train to Barcelona. I chose Madrid as a flight destination because of the many high-speed trains that depart from that city, and I chose our hotel based on its proximity to the train station. We liked the hotel (AC Atocha) and its staff enough that we booked it again a few days later.
Our Barcelona hotel (Hotel Miramar) appeared nice initially, but numerous problems dampened our enthusiasm for it. We had to change rooms late Saturday night because neither the shower nor the heater worked adequately. Our room lacked hot water for most of our stay, forcing us to either forego a shower or shower in cold water. It was a shame because, at first glance, the hotel seemed terrific. It sits atop a hill, and our balcony offered a spectacular view of the city and the Mediterranean Sea.
Despite the disappointing hotel, we enjoyed Barcelona.
We had enough time Saturday night to dine on seafood and gelato at La Nacional - a food court at the end of an arcade in the city's heart.
We spent hours Sunday morning at the Sagrada Familia - a large church designed by famed architect Antoni Gaudi. Construction began in 1882 and continues to this day. The large columns and the green and yellow glass of the interior give the building a feeling like a forest. After leaving the Sagrada Familia, we spent the rest of the day at the Park Güell - a set of parks, gardens, and buildings on a hill overlooking Barcelona. Colorful birds reside in the trees, and busking musicians appear around many corners of the path.
Monday, we walked around the Gothic Quarter, the city's oldest neighborhood, and stumbled upon the Barcelona Cathedral - an enormous gothic edifice with tributes to numerous saints inside. Before boarding a train back to Madrid, we walked for miles through Barcelona, visiting the Palaça de Catalunya, Casa Batlló, and Casa Amatller.
We returned to the AC Atocha in Madrid, where the staff again treated us well. Each morning after breakfast, we explored the capital city's parks, museums, squares, and markets.
We packed a lot into Monday, beginning with a visit to the Museo Nacional del Prado, home to many classic works by European painters, such as Goya and Breugel. Several painters had set up easels in the concourse and attempted to recreate the paintings on the walls. We walked through the Parque de El Retiro - a large park in the middle of Madrid. We exited at the Puerta de Alcala - a gate that initially led through the city's walls. On the way to the Gran Via shopping district, we stopped to use a public restroom at the Madrid City Hall. We discovered that the building features an observation deck on its top floor, offering beautiful vistas of the city center.
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We spent much of Tuesday at the Royal Palace of Madrid. This palace is the royal family's official residence, but its primary function is to be a museum that shows the history of the Spanish monarchy. In the afternoon, we walked city streets to large square Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol and ate a small lunch in the Mercado San Miguel, which houses numerous food stands. After hours on my feet, I ran out of gas and needed to recharge with a latte and some olives.
Wednesday was our final day in Madrid. We spent the morning at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. This museum features contemporary works of Spanish art. There are many works by Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso and by those influenced by their styles. A significant amount of the artwork focused on the Spanish Civil War. Numerous school groups crossed our paths as teachers explained the art to their young students.
We flew back to London Wednesday evening and spent a night near Heathrow before the long flight home.
In the two weeks we were gone, we walked countless miles, visited a dozen museums, explored many parks and buildings, and dined well.
In England, I enjoyed fish and chips and pints of beer at hundreds of years old pubs. In Barcelona, we drank wine and ate paella. In Madrid, the best restaurant we found was a tiny Cuban restaurant with excellent ropa vieja. Despite all this rich food, I managed not to gain any weight, thanks to all the walking.
I am still jet lagged from my journey and still processing all we saw. It took me days to sort through the photographs I took. As I ease back into my day job, I am considering when I can return to London, Madrid, and Barcelona.