Folks, I’ve been here for a little more than five hours, and already I’m tempted to stay forever. I [heart] New Orleans. This is one hell of a town, and Tales is one hell of a festival. I’ve met up with about 70% of the people I had really hoped to run into, and I’ve already had too much to eat and drink. Just prior to this, I was sitting at the Carousel Bar, the only carousel that you have to be 21 to ride. (I stole that joke from Kevin, the eponymous Fat Man from Chef and the Fat Man; I’m sure he stole it from someone else.) I’ve made some new friends from the SF area too. That in itself may be the best part of Tales: there are so many people here, they all love booze, and they’re all very friendly.
Notable things so far:
*Since arriving, I’ve acquired two new followers on Twitter. Not a huge thing, but it’s my largest increase ever, and I only recognize one of the names. This place is great for networking.
*I just had a chat with Chris McMillan, the man behind that great mint julep video I told you about a few newsletters back. This is the kind of thing I live for: sharing a drink with a cocktail luminary.
*Benedictine tossed a wonderful reception in a great venue just down the street, replete with living statues, robed monks, and an intervention from the fates. They set the bar high for production quality, though one of the monks started dancing to a hip-hop beat, which was kind of odd. As far as a spectacle though, can’t say it took away.
*Found out Chef and the Fat Man is now available on iTunes. These guys are a blast to listen to, and I recommend that you all go there immediately head to that program and sign up for their podcast.
*Bloggers reception sponsored by Martin Millers’ gin. Some great cocktails there, though I’m totally unaware of what they contained. Gin, I suppose.
Anyway, this is shaping up to be an amazing week. I’m going to hope to have this posted by midday Wednesday as it will make less and less sense to post it as time goes on.
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