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| Our first taste of catfish! |
Tuesday 29 January 2013
Sunday 27 January 2013
The Gala
Well! What can I say? We got dressed up and arrived at the university for a Gala dinner to celebrate the inauguration of the Texas Institute of Advanced Study and to welcome the first 6 distinguished scholars. We crossed the red carpet and into a reception committee who whisked Peter away for an interview to camera, then a short rehearsal of the proceedings, He emerged with a beautiful lilly button hole and we were then ushered to a formal photograph of the pair of us! After drinks and conversation the group of distinguished scholars and their bemused significant others where marshalled into line in alphabetical order and we were then announced in our pairs and processed into the hall beneath the Governor of Texas's own honour guard with raised sabres! Much applause!
The people on our table, indeed all the people we met, were very friendly and welcoming. It's the Texan way, I guess!
At the end of the meal the distinguished schools went to the stage where they were introduced, photographed again with university dignitaries, signed a book and were presented with a bronze replica of Rodin's The Thinker on a granite base. Fortunately, the university is going to send it to UK for us, it would constitute significant excess baggage!
It was a very formal affair and the presence of so many young people in their officer training corp uniforms who acted as waiters added some military stiffness to the occasion, but there was also much humour and laughter! An interesting mix!
For a picture of our entry to the ball room click here!
The people on our table, indeed all the people we met, were very friendly and welcoming. It's the Texan way, I guess!
At the end of the meal the distinguished schools went to the stage where they were introduced, photographed again with university dignitaries, signed a book and were presented with a bronze replica of Rodin's The Thinker on a granite base. Fortunately, the university is going to send it to UK for us, it would constitute significant excess baggage!
It was a very formal affair and the presence of so many young people in their officer training corp uniforms who acted as waiters added some military stiffness to the occasion, but there was also much humour and laughter! An interesting mix!
For a picture of our entry to the ball room click here!
Friday 25 January 2013
College Station - the prequel
Well, here we are in College Station, Texas for 4 days at the Hilton Hotel. A quick preliminary visit. Up at an unreasonable time every morning due to jet lag! We flew business class courtesy of Texas A&M, for which we are very grateful, so we are in much better shape than we would normally be after a long flight.
On the first night here, Wednesday, we set off to find somewhere to eat. Having spotted restaurants on the other side of the road (6 lanes) we were pleased to find a controlled crossing at the lights on the corner by the hotel. Not so pleased to discover that you only just get enough time to step smartly across before the lights change again. Good job we aren't really old! The restaurant, Veritas, was a good find. We both had excellent steaks. Peter thought it looked familiar and wondered whether he had been taken there before. Turned out he had, and it was where we were taken for lunch on the following day by people from the university! Never mind, we had very good food again. Shrimp flatbread and salad for Peter, crab cakes and salad for me with spicy carrot soup.
Thursday Peter went into the department for a photo shoot! And to do some paperwork and talk to new colleagues. I visited the City of College Station keeper of historic documents in Central Park. I've volunteered to assist in putting together stories from people about College Station for the 75th anniversary celebrations in October. Should be an interesting way of meeting people and getting to know the city. I've been invited to attend the next 75th Anniversary Committee meeting at City Hall in March...they are really being very welcoming to a complete unknown!
Getting to Central Park was interesting. First time I've driven an automatic for years and only a very hard to read map. But I made it and only went through one stop sign by mistake!
I negotiated my way back uptown to the book shop Barnes and Noble where I found a few hiking in Texas books and a better street map of College Station. I was going to go to a drug store but I didn't have the nerve to turn left on to the highway at a junction with no lights! After the lunch at Veritas with two very interesting men from the university, Peter and I went to look at the house we will be renting. Delighted to say that it will suit us fine. Spacious and comfortable with a proper fully equipped kitchen and massive gas BBQ on the deck. Washing machine and dryer of industrial proportions, like-wise the refrigerator and a closet that could double as an extra bedroom! Absolutely charming mother of owner showed us round - a mine of information.
Then more driving around to find a drug store and a supermarket for peanut butter for son no. 2 and maple syrup for son no. 3. Back to the hotel and then a walk to see if we could find a way into a small park that appears to be nearby on the map but turns out to be only accessible after a very long walk round via main roads. Back to the hotel again and then out for dinner at a rather dowdy Italian restaurant where the novice waiter tried to take the top off a screw top bottle with a butler's knife!!!! Poor boy, it was his first day! Good spaghetti a la vongole though.
Tonight's the GALA dinner...the real purpose of the visit...to inaugurate the new Institute that Peter is joining. Apparently it's mainly a fund raiser - to 'gouge' money out of very rich people! Not my words! We appear to be sitting at the top table so I will have fun trying to identify the VERY rich.
Thoughts so far?
On the first night here, Wednesday, we set off to find somewhere to eat. Having spotted restaurants on the other side of the road (6 lanes) we were pleased to find a controlled crossing at the lights on the corner by the hotel. Not so pleased to discover that you only just get enough time to step smartly across before the lights change again. Good job we aren't really old! The restaurant, Veritas, was a good find. We both had excellent steaks. Peter thought it looked familiar and wondered whether he had been taken there before. Turned out he had, and it was where we were taken for lunch on the following day by people from the university! Never mind, we had very good food again. Shrimp flatbread and salad for Peter, crab cakes and salad for me with spicy carrot soup.
Thursday Peter went into the department for a photo shoot! And to do some paperwork and talk to new colleagues. I visited the City of College Station keeper of historic documents in Central Park. I've volunteered to assist in putting together stories from people about College Station for the 75th anniversary celebrations in October. Should be an interesting way of meeting people and getting to know the city. I've been invited to attend the next 75th Anniversary Committee meeting at City Hall in March...they are really being very welcoming to a complete unknown!
Getting to Central Park was interesting. First time I've driven an automatic for years and only a very hard to read map. But I made it and only went through one stop sign by mistake!
I negotiated my way back uptown to the book shop Barnes and Noble where I found a few hiking in Texas books and a better street map of College Station. I was going to go to a drug store but I didn't have the nerve to turn left on to the highway at a junction with no lights! After the lunch at Veritas with two very interesting men from the university, Peter and I went to look at the house we will be renting. Delighted to say that it will suit us fine. Spacious and comfortable with a proper fully equipped kitchen and massive gas BBQ on the deck. Washing machine and dryer of industrial proportions, like-wise the refrigerator and a closet that could double as an extra bedroom! Absolutely charming mother of owner showed us round - a mine of information.
Then more driving around to find a drug store and a supermarket for peanut butter for son no. 2 and maple syrup for son no. 3. Back to the hotel and then a walk to see if we could find a way into a small park that appears to be nearby on the map but turns out to be only accessible after a very long walk round via main roads. Back to the hotel again and then out for dinner at a rather dowdy Italian restaurant where the novice waiter tried to take the top off a screw top bottle with a butler's knife!!!! Poor boy, it was his first day! Good spaghetti a la vongole though.
Tonight's the GALA dinner...the real purpose of the visit...to inaugurate the new Institute that Peter is joining. Apparently it's mainly a fund raiser - to 'gouge' money out of very rich people! Not my words! We appear to be sitting at the top table so I will have fun trying to identify the VERY rich.
Thoughts so far?
- Very friendly, courteous and helpful people
- Forget Norwich and walking into the city and finding everything you need within a one mile radius
- Got to get used to driving everywhere...to this mall for this and to that mall for that
- Fantastic array of fruit and veg in the supermarkets, so shopping is going to be fun
- It's going to be HOT. Today, in January, the temperature will reach 75F. By May it will be in the 90s.
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