International Flights: March 2012

Tiburon

This small chic waterfront town has stunning views of Angel Island, San Francisco and the bay. And in the main street you can find fancy shops and restaurants housed in "arks", turn of the century houseboats that were puled ashore and now stand in what is called the Ark Row.

views of Angel Island...

... and San Francisco's skyline

Night Life

Giant aquariums, telescopes, music and drinks at the Academy of Sciences. Too bad the cocktails were so expensive because it really is fun to get drunk at the museum.

The pug

My advisor bought a pug for the lab. I've got to admit he looks very cute... but he's going to arrive in 5 weeks and nobody knows where he's going to live (the office it seems?!?) or who's going to be in charge of walking the dog. And I already heard people saying that "Mónica's the vet!!" :|

Some pictures, just a few days after he was born...

2 weeks old...

and 3 weeks old

Also, we need to name it... We already have a PI called Doris and a server called jesus so my favorites so far are Lucifer, Boris - for obvious reasons - and Charlesworth.

Pug's name?

The trizol incident

Late at night, in the lab...

"Hello. Is there an emergency?"
"Yes! My colleague spilled a hazardous chemical on her leg and needs medical assistance."
(pause)
"I'm sorry! Who am I speaking with?"
"M***** *****"
"Sir, why are you calling from the emergency elevator phone?"
"We... didn't know what number to call at this time of night...?"
(second pause)
"Ok. I will send an ambulance. Has the chemical been isolated?"

Yeah, I guess the lady thought we were crazy! Who runs to the elevator instead of calling 911 when there's an emergency?!? Anyway... half a dozen firemen, a gurney, an ambulance ride and 40 minutes later there I was in the emergency room with a first degree burn on my leg in the shape of a heart. How cool is THAT??

Two Birthday Partys

Apparently, someone got jealous of my two birthday cakes and had to have two birthday partys:

one in Portugal

and another in Venice ;)

Golden Gate Bridge

Enchanted Forest

The four old burgen Vorderburg, Mittelburg, Hinterburg and Schwalbennest and the Art Trail at the Neckarsteinach forest.

Heidelberg

And after a broken laptop and an eventful presentation for my PhD in Portugal it's time to head back to Berkeley. But before that, why not stop in Heidelberg for a quick visit and to help Dilly find a decent place to sleep for the next 3 months?
Finally, after a few incidents that may or may not have involved rats, construction workers in a deserted part of town and a night spent on a couch in Mannheim, we managed to find a place to crash, have a stroll around the Altstadt and take a look at the cool ruined castle. Not bad, I have to say...

Scenic views of the Altstadt and Heidelberger Schloss from Philosophenweg on a foggy day