BEA: It’s a Wrap

I promise, this is my last post about BEA and on Monday I’ll be back to book reviews—providing  I can get my brain to work again. Today I just wanted to share photos of some of the other aspects of the trip.

 

In case you think going to conferences is all glamour and fun, it may be fun but there is nothing glamorous about walking…and walking…and walking. My pal April was wearing a Fitbit and so I can say without hyperbole that I walked over 16,000 steps every day. While hauling books and bags. And if you’re not walking, you’re standing and waiting

I packed an entire box of Band-Aids because working from home means I live in socks or bare feet so I was fully prepared for a blister extravaganza in the name of books. Then I heard about this:

and decided to try it. You put it on any part of your foot you think might rub against your shoe and it supposedly protects the skin by stopping the friction. I thought ‘yeah, right’ but after 3 days I had no pain and no blisters. This product may be old news to the rest of you, but sign me up to endorse it. I have no idea how it works, but it does and I’ll never wear high heels again without it.

Back to the fun—and by that I mean food (which after books is my next big idea of fun). Friday night April and I ended our BEA adventure by going to Atwood, a restaurant at the Hotel Burnham. We were so tired that it was tempting to bail on this, but I am so glad we didn’t. Every aspect of this restaurant gets 5 stars from me. From the host, who was nice about us being 30 minutes early and continued to be nice even after our meal when he took our picture and gave us a history of the hotel (which is gorgeous) to our server to the food. I chose it because of the literary name (are you surprised?!) but it was an amazing dining experience.

 

So many yummy things to choose from, but yes, I will start with a raspberry liquor/prosecco cocktail!

 

 

Lemon parmesan risotto and scallops with bacon crisps

 

Why have one dessert when you can share two?! Strawberry shortcake with mascarpone and a dark chocolate espresso pudding with candied lemon on top. Decadent? You bet!

 

That, my dears, wraps up the merriment that was BEA. I’ll close with the mayhem of getting home. The only way to keep my plane tickets at a reasonable cost was to book my flights for the ungodly hours before 7am. On the way to Chicago this was no problem because I was so excited that getting up at 4am was not a big deal. Sadly, I can’t say the same about getting up at the same time for the trip home. By that point my poor introverted nature was so done in by 4 days of non-stop chatting, walking, exploring, and fangirling that after I fell out of bed (I’m not kidding), I ran into the bathroom door and spilled a full glass of water on the floor. How I managed to make it out of the hotel and into the airport is a medical mystery. That I was then confronted by a TSA line that stretched past 4 airlines check-in counters at 5am on a Sunday was more than my befuddled brain could handle. Forty-five minutes later I was at my gate and on my plane where I promptly fell asleep and not in that ladylike head-tipped-to-the-side way but in head-back-mouth-gaping-count-my-fillings style. Charming. Thankfully, I was not the only one. My seat mates were contorted into positions I’ve never seen on a plane before and woke up only long enough to groan, shift their weight and apologize for drooling on my shoulder.

What an adventure! I got to meet fantabulous bloggers, authors I admire and all while getting new books to read and review. Short of not having enough time to talk to everyone I wanted to talk to it was a great trip, even down to the hotels, food, ubers, and airlines. I am one lucky blogger…

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