Hummingbird Summer
Ever since summer started, I’ve been living my life as if a hummingbird. If I stop moving, I'll die.
Amanda and I plan for one trip abroad every summer, and as regular reads know, France is the usual suspect for the destination. However, this time we only remained in the country for a few days before flying out to uncharted territory in neighboring Italy.
We attended Fêtes Galantes at the Palace of Versailles for the second time, and Amanda debuted a stunning new red dress for the occasion. I had my same navy-blue outfit from last time, but with a twist: they now have pockets! The addition made holding cellphones and room keys much more bearable. It also helped that it wasn’t raining this time, although it was very windy and we had to fix Amanda’s ostrich feather in her hair multiple times.
Amanda was also quite popular this time because she’s been a part of the Fêtes Galantes Facebook group as a moderator for the past few years, and finally got to meet the other moderators and members of the group. People would stop her in the halls and introduce themselves to her, and she would embrace them as if old friends, laughing and smiling together as if a part of Marie Antoinette’s official posse.
“Who was that?” I would ask as we walked away.
“To be honest? I have no idea and I feel so bad about it!” she would reply.
It wasn’t like that for every interaction, but it did happen quite a few times much to my amusement. Like any meet-up with people you know only from online, it helps to go by screen names than actual names. “Oh, @LeGarconRoyaleXIV! I didn’t recognize you!”
We had the foresight to spend an extra day in Versailles this time around to relax and sleep in. Around noon we caught the RER C to Paris and spent a rainy half day running around and seeing the sights. That, and I flashed 20+ Invaders during our time there! Amanda purchased a perfume that had a (now modified) recipe that Marie Antoinette enjoyed back in the day, and I stopped by my favorite bookstore Shakespeare & Co. and purchased a few books. It’s not a proper vacation unless I’m lugging around books with me to every country! For lunch we went to Ladurée and dined in their upper-level restaurant. Amanda tried bread for the first time in years and almost died happy on the spot. This gave her the confidence to be a bit more daring with the food selections while abroad, because the Europeans don’t put unnecessary crap in their foods like we do (USA! USA! USA!). After walking around a bit more, we headed back to Versailles to pack and get ready to wake up early in the morning. We had a flight to Italy to catch.
The only time Amanda and I had visited Italy was over 6 years ago for my sister’s wedding in Sicily. While the ceremony was lovely, Amanda and I loathed the tiny island that seemed stuck in the 14th century. I’m surprised they had running water, let alone cars. They seemed to be a very proud people, convinced they were their own separate country and not a part of Italy. I’m sure the Italians have no problem with them ever seceding, because nothing of value would be lost. So in a nutshell, Amanda and I vowed to never again step foot on the island. The rest of Italy though? We were definitely interested in exploring more of the country proper.
We flew into Venice’s Marco Polo Airport and took a water bus to the city itself. The architecture was beautiful, and it was a surreal experience chugging along the iconic “streets” that have been made famous in so many books, films and shows. After settling in at our Bed & Breakfast, we took off to explore the town and get some gelato. We felt incredibly at ease walking the different streets and alley ways, glued to the GPS on our phones for any sense of direction. Someone later described Venice as Disneyland without the rides, and it was a very apt comparison in my opinion. The absence of cars was a big plus, and the buildings all packed together and on top of each other gave a sense of comfort and intimacy. I even got to visit the second most famous book shop in Europe, the Libreria Acqua Alta! They had books in bathtubs in case the store flooded (which has happened!). I of course got a few more books to add to my suitcase. Amanda had her first gelato and fell in love with the dessert. We made it a habit to get a gelato cone at least once a day, and referred to it as our daily dose of “Vitamin G.”
While we were based in Venice, we took day trips by train to both Florence and Verona. In Florence, we visited the Duomo first and hiked up all the way to the top for a spectacular view of the surrounding city. Were we out of breath? Yes! Was all that gelato to blame? How dare you suggest such an outrageous thing! There was also this amazing mural painted on the interior dome that depicted angels and devils and what happens to you when you arrive in Hell. Gotta keep your flock nice and scared!
After a delicious lunch of cured meats and cheeses, we made our way to the famous Uffizi Gallery, home to many iconic Renaissance paintings and more. The ceiling in the main hallway on the second floor had every inch covered with paintings, paired with an army of different sculpted figures. I could have easily have spent the weekend there and still not have seen everything. The painting that almost moved me to tears was Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus”. It was incredible to see it in person, and it was so big! By far the highlight of the Gallery, if not all of Florence. They also hyped Caravaggio throughout, and by the time we got to his section, it was only two pieces. I found that funny, but the painting of Medusa’s severed head on a shield was pretty cool.
We ended the day waiting in line for Michelangelo’s Statue of David. Only reason we were miserable was because it started pouring rain while standing in line, and by the time we got into the museum we were soaked to the bone. Still, that didn’t prevent us from witnessing David in all his naked glory. The amount of detail on his body was simply incredible, and you have the opportunity to walk around him and see every inch. Truly magnificent to see in person, and was the perfect end to our day in Florence.
The following day was spent back in Venice, then the day after on a train again, but this time to Verona. I had planned on reciting the opening line from Romeo & Juliet (“Two households! Both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene…”), but alas Verona didn’t have any big signs saying “Welcome to Verona!” or any similar branding. In hindsight I could have probably done it in front of Juliet’s Balcony, but that was packed with tourists. The whole city seemed packed, for protests and street fairs and live music were happening all throughout the city the day we visited. While we came primarily for Juliet’s Balcony, we also attended their very own Colosseum, which while smaller and fully intact compared to its more famous counterpart in Rome, had been retrofitted inside the arena to hold live events. So while a bit jarring to see a mash-up of ancient architecture and modern day performance equipment, it was still a very cool experience to walk around something so old.
Juliet’s Balcony was the most popular attraction by far in the city. You had to get a reserved ticket ahead of time to enter the building and stand on the balcony itself, but the inner courtyard was free to the public. There’s a bronze statue of Juliet under the balcony, and everyone posed with it and touched her breast “for luck.” Bunch of perverts looking for an excuse, if you ask me. And yes, I did also touch her breast. For luck though, obviously. I’m not like the rest of those sex-crazed savages! When we entered the building it was much more spacious with only a few other tourists, so the energy had leveled out a bit from the frantic throngs outside. Amanda and I posed for a picture on the balcony, and I rushed outside to take a picture from the ground of Amanda overlooking the courtyard. She was very happy we got to visit such a well-known attraction associated with romance. We took a brief walk around a local art museum, grabbed a bite to eat, then made our way back to Venice to pack. In the morning we were headed to Rome via train, our final Italian destination of the trip.
I enjoyed Italy’s rail system. It was always a smooth trip, comfortable, and WiFi was provided. I read when traveling, so I was snug as a bug with my book while Amanda scrolled TikTok. If only the United States had such convenient railways. Hell, if Los Angeles had a metro system like Paris I would never have to drive again!
Upon arriving in Rome, it felt much busier and gloomier than any city we had visited at that point. Immediately after leaving the train station the atmosphere shifted, as we came across hordes of homeless people packed together like sardines in their sleeping bags on the sidewalks. I even saw a rat that looked unwell with a chunk missing from its hindquarters. These omens did not bode well. Our next Bed & Breakfast was only a few blocks away, so we wheeled our luggage in the sweltering heat and checked in, immediately turning on the AC. After settling for a little bit, we made our way to the Trevi Fountain, followed by more gelato. This gelato place by the fountain had gluten-free cones, so Amanda was of course very happy.
Throughout our stay in Rome, we both had our missions: Amanda compiled footage of herself lip-syncing the Lizzie McGuire song from the movie that takes place in Rome, and I of course was looking to flash Invaders and unlock a new city. She ultimately was able to splice a video together, while I got all the Invaders I wanted except one little bugger who wouldn’t flash because there was a shadow from a nearby cactus that was distorting the image on the app. Amanda flashed it no problem, but because my Samsung is finicky at times, it did not. It was my biggest defeat to date, and makes me consider finally switching over to the iPhone.
I won’t bore you with our day-to-day, but we saw all the iconic sites and ate some good pasta dishes, but ultimately that’s all Rome had to offer. In my opinion, they’ve been resting on their laurels since the fall of their ancient empire. In modern day Rome, it’s all about nickel-and-diming you for every little thing, and seeing how much they can shakedown from tourists. Amanda and I bought bus and metro tickets, and when we got on one of the buses we were immediately fined by metro police for not properly validating our ticket. It was a whole scam, for they only harassed the tourists on the bus and left the locals alone. A 50 euro fine each. That was the last straw, and like with Sicily, there’s no desire to ever visit again. We had a much better time in Venice, and Rome was definitely our least favorite. However, we did end on a slightly better note and dined at a Michelin Star restaurant on our final night there. What a feast!
When we were just settling back into our daily routine, a week later I started feeling sick. Sure enough, I caught Covid for a second time. I blame the crowded buses we were on. Surprisingly though, Amanda managed to avoid catching it from me, and we slept in separate rooms for a week while I recovered. It wasn’t as bad as the first time catching it in Scotland. My main symptom is fucked-up dreams and tossing and turning the first night. After that, it’s all about staying hydrated and taking a lot of DayQuil and NyQuil.
So that was our Italian vacation. There are still several other cities in Italy we would like to visit someday, but it seems we enjoy Northern Italy more than southern so we’ll probably stick to those regions instead. Returning to Venice for Carnival is also being planned. Rankings of our favorite Italian cities:
1) Venice
2) Florence
3) Verona
4) Rome
5) Sicily (as a whole)
As soon as I recovered from Covid, we were off traveling to Palm Springs to celebrate Amanda's birthday weekend. I booked us a room at the Trixie Motel, and Amanda was super excited when I finally revealed to her the destination. We're both huge fans of RuPaul's Drag Race and the skinny legend Trixie Mattel, so it only seemed like the logical choice for the birthday venue. The drive out from Los Angeles was horrible that Friday afternoon, and almost 4 hours later we finally arrived. It was over 100 degrees all weekend, so we primarily lounged by the pool and stayed in our air conditioned room. The room I booked? The Queen of Hearts room! If you haven't watched Trixie Motel, she and her partner David buy this beat-up old motel and breathe new life into it. Each room gets a different fun theme, and of the rooms that were available that weekend I knew Amanda would love the Hearts one the most.
I full-on relaxed that entire weekend. The pool was fantastic, and the motel itself was absolutely superb. The staff went above and beyond to make us feel like VIPs, and Amanda had an amazing time. You can check out my review of it here. The only snafu that weekend was the special order macaroons I arranged with a local bakery who did gluten-free and dairy-free options. The macaroons ended up not being dairy-free, and Amanda ultimately couldn't enjoy them. We got a full refund, so it wasn't the worst thing in the world (just disappointing). On our way back to Los Angeles we stopped by the Cabazon Dinosaurs as seen in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and we paid our respects to Paul Reubens.
One event I had been looking forward to since last year was G-FEST, a fan run convention celebrating Godzilla and all-things kaiju. It takes place every year in Chicago next to the O’Hare Airport, and myself being a fan of the Tokusatsu genre, I was really interested in attending. It took place the second weekend of July, and I flew out that Friday. Upon arriving at the Hyatt Regency, I immediately felt like I had made a big mistake in coming. Nerds packed every square inch of the property, and these weren’t your standard nerds who can behave themselves in social settings; these were fucking nerds. I get it, I’m the pot calling the kettle “nerd”, but these nerds were chanting, singing, and shouting monster noises all around me. I was frankly embarrassed to be seen at the event after encountering the mob of attendees.
I checked in a little later in the day, so the main exhibit hall (mainly vinyl toys and shirts) had closed. Undeterred and wanting to get the hell out of there, I Ubered over to Uno’s Pizzeria for some authentic Chicago deep dish pizza. And it did not disappoint! I even had some spumoni for dessert, a classic I haven’t had since I was a youth. By the time I returned to the convention, they had the Opening Ceremony in the main ballroom. They proceeded to celebrate 70 years of Godzilla, followed by introducing all their special guests for the convention and allowing each of them to say a few words. I was mainly interested in James Groman, but it was interesting seeing who else was in attendance.
The following day I walked the exhibit hall a bit more before making my way to downtown Chicago to meet-up with CLUSTERFUX contributor Chad Cook for lunch. It was the highlight of my weekend! We ate some delicious Chicago hot dogs and chatted about comics, the industry, and life, and afterwards walked on over to Quimby’s Chicago, which had just received a shipment of my ULTRAFUGU VS MOTHUGU comics. It was surreal to finally be in the shop that I’ve seen so much of on social media, and meet Liz behind the counter. I bought a few comics, walked back to the metro stop with Chad, said our goodbyes, and headed back to G-FEST to catch James Groman’s panel. I had the pleasure of introducing myself to James earlier that morning and told him I was a big fan of his statues. I have a Bat Beast statue of his back when Amanda worked at DC Collectibles, and it’s my favorite vinyl figure I own. His panel was a look at the decades of his career in vinyl/toys/collectibles, and was so cool to see him grow as an artist. The only downside was this one noisy nerd who arrived late (out of breath from merely walking), and started shouting out comments throughout the panel as if he was having an intimate discussion just between him and Groman. You could see Groman getting annoyed with the guy, and eventually told him he would take all questions at the end. It was still a great look at a long and wonderful career of one of the best sculptures in the business!
That night I headed to the bar for some cocktails and food, and watched an MLS game and ongoing news coverage of Trump getting shot at (I had seen breaking news of it earlier that day while relaxing in my room). The convention’s signature drink was tasty, but the loudmouth next to me was not. He was talking for hours to the people seated next to him, about vinyl toys, his favorite anime, being a proud member of the Svengoolie fan club, and more. At first he was trying to impress this woman seated next to him, but after she quickly finished her drink he settled for the next guy who sat down in her place. I tried tuning him out, but when one person enjoys hearing the sound of their own voice, you simply can’t shut them up. By the time I arrived back at my room to retire for the evening, there were massive thunderstorms overheard, and lightning lit-up my room as if I didn’t have blackout curtains whatsoever! It was crazy.
So while I don’t think I’ll be attending G-FEST again in the future, it was interesting seeing how some of the smaller fan conventions operate. It’s clearly a success, for several attendees seemed to be coming for years. I was going to buy an official t-shirt at one point, but their merch booth seemed to operate at odd hours, and by the time I came back with cash (cash only, no credit cards or payment apps) they appeared done for the entire weekend. What I did enjoy about the flight to and from Chicago was I read a big chunk out of Fire & Blood. Such a great read.
The final trip of July (and of the summer) took place down in San Diego at Comic-Con. Amanda and I originally weren’t planning on attending this year, but as luck would have it, she had to work the convention and so I tagged along. A guardian angel got me a professional badge, and I spent all Saturday walking the convention floor and saying “hi” to both old and new friends. Highlights were definitely meeting the drag queen Cheddar Gorgeous (Drag Race UK) and Eisner Award winning Caroline Cash (again) and getting PeePee PooPoo #1 signed. Purchased a few items, but mainly spent my time wandering and observing. One thing I did notice was the small press and artist’s alley peeps slowly taking back over the convention. It definitely isn’t the same Hollywood-infused convention like days of old; the smaller creators have been gaining back floorspace, and it makes me feel hopeful for the future. Still an insane convention that I would never table at, but it’s beginning to feel more familiar to the Comic-Con I started attending back in 2002.
Another highlight was Amanda and I were both invited to IGN’s Comic-Con After Party on Friday night at the Hard Rock Hotel. It was sponsored by an upcoming video game I’ve never heard of (and most likely neither will you), but it promised live music and free drinks so we decided to check it out. We saw several people we both knew, from our personal lives and work, and I even ran into my old “boss” Franki Chan and had a little catch-up with him. I was also 5-feet away from Dan Harmon at one point, so that was pretty cool as well. A few hours into the party the free drinks ran out and it quickly transitioned into a cash bar, much to everyone’s chagrin. Even the bartender told us she’s been working the event for several years, and never had she ever seen the free drinks run dry before. The live music was loud and obnoxious per usual, but some of the outfits people were wearing were pretty complex. Two dudes dressed up as robots with LED lights and everything, and danced the entire time. I can’t even imagine how hot it was inside those suits!
That’s been my hectic life at the moment. I now reside to getting thumbnails for the fourth issue of FUGU COMIX sketched out, while watching the Paris Olympics. I’ve primarily been watching skateboarding, soccer, and gymnastics. I can’t wait for the onslaught of people when the Olympics arrive in Los Angeles in another 4 years! Surely all the freeways won’t be parking lots for weeks! I’ve also been trying to get back into exercising daily, because I feel like I’ve gained 20 pounds from pasta, gelato, and other tasty morsels consumed in my travels. My body is a temple, and I completely desecrated it.
Until next time!
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