Caliornia Odyssey Day 2

A couple of hours after CMNA 9 was the opening ceremony of the IJCAI conference so I had time to grab a quick shower before attending – another benefit of the conference hotel being so close to the conference venue.

After the opening ceremony was the opening reception at Caltech Athenaeum which is a really pleasent environment. The exterior architecture is a spanish inspired courtyard villa and gardens whilst the interior reminds me a little of an old-fashioned Oxbridge style college club with a flash american twist. Everybody got a free drinks voucher so it was of course an easy choice for me, Vodka Martini – straight up with a twist – the way Valerie introduced me to them last week. Until now I had always been a bit traditional with my Martinis.

After the reception buses took us all back to the Pasadena Conference Center where a group of us set off into the old town, about 5 minutes walk, to find a bar for a couple of drinks. Unfortunately we couldn’t find anywhere playing live music so ended up in a quiet spanish-themed bar/restaurant on Colorado Boulevard.