Travel statistics

Flights: 11 (range: 45 min-16 hours in the air, total ~62 hours) (link to see them here!)

Destinations: 14

Walking: 342K in 23 days (average ~15K steps/day = 12km/day, 275km total)

Trains/subways/monorail/funicular etc: >40

Taxis/Ubers: 10

N95 masks: several, plus a few negative RATs to be safe

Click here to view planes

Tuesday, 6 September 2022: Flight to Brisbane, 6 hour layover (work, lounge), flight to Singapore, 2.5 hour layover (wander airport in daze, lounge, shower, change), flight to London Heathrow

Wednesday, 7 September 2022: Arrive Heathrow, tube to Kings Cross, realise I booked the train to Cambridge on wrong dates (eventually got refunded), rebook using app, make the train with a minute to spare, check in at Selwyn College, spend the afternoon wandering Cambridge streets with Australian friends/colleagues, Colleges, Fitzwilliam Museum, River, dinner in the dining hall

8-10 September 2022: Conference

Saturday, 10 September 2022: Just make the express train to Kings Cross, check-in to hotel nearby (nice studio for the week), go to Piccadilly, Buckingham Palace (massive crowds), fancy shops (Fortnum & Mason, Harrods), groceries at Russell Square

Sunday, 11 September 2022: Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, walk the South Bank to Tate Modern, Borough Market lunch, cross Tower Bridge, St Katharine Docks, walk to St Pauls for evensong, British Library

Monday, 12 September 2022: Train from Paddington to Oxford, meet a friend/colleague in Oxford, insider tour of the Colleges (Nuffield, Magdalen, Christ Church) and Bodleian Library, climb St Mary’s spire, working lunch at Turf Tavern, covered market, souvenir shopping, supermarket dinner (always good value) by the castle, train back to London

Tuesday, 13 September 2022: Kensington Gardens, Albert Hall, a few hours in the V&A Museum, an hour at Tate Britain, quick dinner in Soho, Book of Mormon at the Prince of Wales Theatre

Wednesday, 14 September 2022: Train from Waterloo to Winchester, see the round table, walk through town, visit the cathedral, old water mill on the River Itchen, climb St Giles Hill lookout, walk the Keats Walk along the river to South Downs National Park, climb St Catherine’s Hill, walk back through town to Wolvesley Castle, supermarket lunch again, revisit the cathedral in sunlight, back to Waterloo on the evening train (record 32658 steps)

Thursday, 15 September 2022: Morning doing laundry and work (in addition to catching up on work other mornings and evenings), afternoon in Hampstead walking to the Heath and Parliament Hill (another supermarket lunch), then back to Tottenham Court Road and Regent Street for a bit of shopping, Piccadilly Circus again, Trafalgar Square and National Gallery

Friday, 16 September 2022: Early start on the tube and Docklands Light Rail to London City Airport (good choice – much easier than other London airports), flight to Frankfurt, check-in at airport hotel, rail to city in the rain, quick look at the Opera House, stop for plum cake for “lunch” and rain easing, wander the city and shops to the Altstadt (old town), churches and old-style buildings (mostly reconstructed post-1940s), cherry strudel and bretzel from the Kleinmarkthalle, walk along the Main River and Eiserner Steg (bridge), German wurst and potato salad for dinner, train back to hotel

Saturday, 17 September 2022: Another early start, although notified of a 60min flight delay (so fortunately time for hotel breakfast), flight to New York JFK, trains to city, visit the Vessel, walk the length of the High Line (suitcase in tow), taxi to Bryant Park, Times Square, slice of pizza, train to Newark and check into hotel

Sunday, 18 September 2022: lunchtime flight to Pittsburgh, check in, stroll around Oakland (Pittsburgh U and Carnegie Mellon)

19-21 September 2022: Conference (with time for a brief visit to the city for a walk, funicular ride and seeing lots of bridges)

Wednesday, 21 September 2022: Evening flight to Chicago O’Hare, dinner at Chicago, flight to Los Angeles arriving late in the evening, check in

Thursday, 22 September 2022: late breakfast with Australian friend, lunch at Airport In-N-Out, afternoon with LA friends, back to the airport to fly to Singapore

Saturday, 24 September 2022: Arrive Singapore (link here)

Wednesday, 28 September 2022: Evening flight to Sydney, morning flight to Canberra

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