eBay Live 2007 Boston - Part 6 - Last minute tips & tricks

Heading to eBay Live?  Here are some last minute tips and tricks on getting the most out of your trip to Boston…

Weather
Some of you flying in Tuesday and Wednesday may be in for some thunderstorms, just fyi.  Rest of the week looks fabulous (especially if you are going to see the Red Sox play).  Here is the weather link so you can keep tabs: http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USMA0046?from=36hr_fcst10DayLink_undeclared

Tips

Bring an extra suitcase - trust me on this one.  The airlines always look at me like I am a lunatic for checking an empty bag to Live…but with all of the stuff you get, plus the stuff you'll buy, you'll need one.  (& it's cheaper than buying one there).  Remember, you can only have 50 lbs in each checked bag before they'll start charging you…
 

Download the OSI classes you missed - The plane is a great time to catch up on the remarkable podcasts you might have missed.  Go to the Online Success Institute and click on Podcast under Categories to pull up all of the podcasts.  You can then download them into your ipod or other mp3 player (or your computer if you are taking one).
 

Save the toiletries from the room - I never go through a whole bottle of those little shampoos each day…so I save them in one of the dry cleaning bags from the hotel room's closet, throw them in my suitcase, and when I get home donate them to a shelter.
 

My Favorite Tip on getting a great room at your hotel - Walk up to the agent with a smile on your face.  "Ahhh, I see your name is Phil.  Hi Phil.  I'm writing a blog on traveling…you know, good service, bad service, fabulous rooms, rooms you should never stay in.  So I thought I would ask you which room you would recommend for me to stay in."  Write something down as he does this.  Then look up and say, "I just want to make sure I get your name spelled write when I talk about how helpful you have been."
1.  Yes, I can say this with a straight face and have numerous times
2.  Yes, it has worked 100% of the time
3.  Yes, I really do have a travel blog
4.  If you use my favorite tip I SO want to hear the story!
 

If you are traveling on Alaska Airlines… - when you check in at the kiosk, in the bottom right hand corner it says Upgrade to First Class - click it.  If there are seats available for First Class they will allow you to upgrade for as little as $50.  The warm nuts are well worth it!!

Still picking a seat? - my favorite site for getting the best one - www.seatguru.com (thanks Michael!)

 

Afraid to fly?

At The Show Itself Tips
·        Comfortable shoes are a must
·        So are your business cards at the very least
·        Bring your camera
·        I have a backpack to carry all of my stuff around (& you'll be handed a lot of STUFF)
·        Remember, after talking to someone, stop for a moment and write a few notes on the back of their bc.
·        Get to the classes I told you about early - fair warning
·        Keep to your goal sheet - make sure you are accomplishing what you want to get out of Live
·        Bring in your travel suitcase power bars, nuts, fruit roll-ups and other things like this…you'll love having them during the show when you see the long food lines.
·        Include in your backpack each day water.  Pick this up at a convenience store - don't use the $5 ones from your room.  (yep, they charge for that too now)
·        If you are first timer at Live…pins are the things - collectible pins (more details below)…you will be stopped constantly to 'trade' pins.  You don't have to if you don't want to - especially if you have one of the limited edition ones!  Plus, if you have pins for your business, bring them to hand out.  People collect not just the eBay Live pins, but many of the vendors will have them as well.
·        Most important HAVE FUN!!

PINS

Special pins and offers from the Hard Rock Café
eBay has worked with the Hard Rock Café, and co-branded Hard Rock Café and eBay Live! pins will be available for purchase at the Hard Rock in Boston. Quantities will be limited, so grab yours while you can! The Hard Rock Café will also be offering free sodas (regardless of whether you purchase anything) and free dessert with two meals purchased just for showing them your eBay Live! badge.
Can you spell B-O-S-T-O-N?
This year, eBay will also be giving away a series of coins minted especially for this event. Each one features a letter, and put together they spell "BOSTON." They'll be given out throughout the event along with the other pins, so try to collect them all!
Listen
Every year the eBay staff has a lot of fun with secret 'hand out pin' locations…listen for where these will be this year!

Stuff to Do

Boston Red Sox - they are in town when we are, here is their schedule

 - good luck getting tickets.  eBay is going to be your best bet…
Or StubHub (thanks Phil)

 

Boston's Complete Visitor's Guide

Touring Boston

Institute of Contemporary Art Boston (my favorite)

Music - check out June 22nd and 23rd
Copley Square's Farmers Market - on Friday
River Festival - June 16th, Noon to 6pm

Food
Incredible food abounds in Boston, so as long as you stay away from the touristy stuff, you'll dine like King and Queens (no patriotic pun intended).

Cheap Boston sites

And another blog on inexpensive food

and here are the hidden ones

Here are some favorites:
We Should Start with the Chawdah (that's the white type) 

Breakfast
Mike's City Diner
1714 Washington St
A United Nations of diners happily waits in line for the best breakfast in the South End.

Charlie's Sandwich Shoppe
429 Columbus Ave
A true Boston institution, serving one of the best, and greasiest, breakfasts around.

Fast Grabs

Chacarero

426 Washington St
Tucked inside an outdoor food court, Chacarero is the hands-down favorite of Downtown Crossing shoppers, tourists and business types eager to grab a reliably delicious, cheap bite on the run. A metal counter and a couple of grills are all this food stand has to offer, so customers take their food to go. During warmer months, happy patrons devour their sandwiches on nearby public benches.

The Food
The stand is named after a traditional Chilean sandwich, which the stand serves exclusively. The sandwich starts with light, puffy, cake-like bread, made fresh daily on premises and stuffed with tender grilled chicken or steak. It's completed with steamed green beans, jalapenos, Muenster cheese, tomatoes, avocado spread, salt and pepper and a secret hot sauce. Fans of the warm homemade bread often order it by itself. Soft drinks, water and juices round out the small menu.

Seafood

Zebra's Bistro and Wine Bar
21 North St , Medfield

Serves a varied menu that includes modern fare and sushi.

East Coast Grill
1271 Cambridge St , Cambridge

Inman Square's most popular dining destination offers award-winning surf and turf, exotic ingredients and eclectic atmosphere.

Neptune Oyster

63 Salem St

 Dinner

Grotto on Beacon Hill

37 Bowdoin St
- Huge portions

B&G Oysters

550 Tremont Street

Dessert
Deluxe Chocolate Bar Buffet at Café Fleuri - ok, whatever you do, DO NOT click on the Chocolate Bar Menu on the website.  I would make reservations for this one FAST. 617-956-8751 (& I thought this type of restaurant only existed in my bestest of dreams!)

Christina's Ice Cream - (from a review site)…Yeah, yeah, we all scream for ice cream, but we go nuts over the creativity and whimsy of Christina's. Owner Ray Ford draws inspiration from exotic spices, fruits, even vegetables, to come up with more than 45 flavors of ice cream. We get pleasure not only from eating it, but also from drooling over the selection—green tea, coconut, ginger-molasses—before finally settling on khulfi, a cardamom-infused pistachio ice cream. No, wait! Make that the blood peach sorbet.

1255 Cambridge St.
Cambridge

 Singles Scene

 

Harvard Gardens
316 Cambridge St
A lively bar scene and extensive, inviting menu of comforting faves make for an ideal all-purpose hangout on Beacon Hill.

Cactus Club
939 Boylston St

Fiery Mexican grub and an even hotter bar scene heat up the Back Bay's answer to Southwestern chic.

Hong Kong at Faneuil Hall
65 Chatham St
Popular nightlife destination provides Quincy Market with a lively, frenetic scene and sociable scorpion bowls.

Nightclubs

Rise

Saint

Mantra

Can't wait to see all of you at eBay Live…remember, you can check out the previous eBay Live tips & tricks posts by going to http://onlinesuccessinstitute.com/?cat=10