On the road again

After a short stop in Amsterdam (thanks to the ever-so-put together Travelocity team), I am in Padova, Italy ("Padua" to us Americans). Today is officially day 2 of the Berlin 5 conference (full title - Berlin 5 Open Access: From Practice to Impact, Consequences of Knowledge Dissemination). Due to my computer's lack of a battery (my fault, solely) I have been largely offline, but have plenty of handwritten notes I will post here as soon as I can.

Highlights of my travels (personal highlights, followed by conference tidbits):

- Was able to head into Amsterdam due to my 7 hour layover. Absolutely beautiful, even when it is 2 a.m. in my head (8 a.m. there). Thanks to SLD for giving me the insider's guide to navigating all of the "straats" and "grachts". Sidenote - the pancakes were fabulous. ;)
- As I was boarding my KLM transfer to Venice, struck up a conversation with a man on his way from Sweden, originally from the States. Actually, from Western, New York state, where I hail from. Our conversation about the area got the attention of two women in front of us, who were from my hometown ... remarkably about a 5 minute drive from my old house. Small world, I tell you.
- Was encouraged to take the bus instead of the rail system into Padova, which was a bit confusing (my Italian vocabulary is limited, to put it mildly). One other English speaker on the trip, though, who seemed as puzzled as I was. To my surprise, he was not only an attendee of this very conference but someone I was looking to introduce myself to - David Prosser of SPARC Europe.
- Stumbled on a wonderful cafe with free wireless spitting distance from Palazzo Bo ("il bo" / "the ox") where I am now. It's part of the University of Padova. The staff there were extremely helpful, even engaging in translation barrier pictionary and charades.

Yikes, will have to get to the conference tomorrow. The final session of the day is beginning.

Arrivederci,