Tania Fersenheim wrote:
> Born & raised in Ithaca, went to college there (Go Big Red!) and I love it
> there.  BUT I have to agree that February in Ithaca can be dreary.  They
> have a decent restaurant and pub scene but one of the key attractions for
> Ithaca is the outdoor activities.
>
>
> Though we could do a wine tour!  
>
> And visit Wegmans.  And eat good bagels. And half moon cookies. And drink
> Ithaca beers.
>
> I've changed my mind - I'm all over Ithaca for C4L11.
>
> I have some very strong opinions on venue though. :-)
>   
Please share your opinions on the venue.  The campus hotel that Edward 
mentioned (Statler) would almost certainly be able to accommodate 
attendees and provide meeting space but, if it were up to me, I would 
probably prefer the Hilton Garden Inn downtown.  There is just a lot 
more going on downtown, especially the restaurant and pub scene.  
Cornell has a big hotel school and it seems that a lot of graduates end 
up coming back and opening restaurants.  As a result there are a *lot* 
of very good restaurants in town, and only in the last few years have a 
few of the chains started to open up shop. 

As you said, winery tours would be easy to arrange.  There are over 200 
wineries in the Finger Lakes area and the quality has significantly 
improved in the 15 years or so I've lived her.  The area produces some 
of the best Riesling you'll find anywhere as well as some outstanding 
Ice wines.

For outdoor activities, things would be somewhat limited in February 
(many of the gorge trails are closed in winter).  When the water warms 
though, a very good friend of mine opens his kayak shop for rentals 
where one can paddle onto Cayuga lake. 

I remember when I attended the Code4Lib in Providence the weather was as 
good or better here then it was in Providence.  Still, scheduling a 
conference in February *could* mean significant snowfalls (we got about 
2' of snow about a week ago).

Ithaca has a regional airport with direct flights from Philadelphia, 
Detroit, La Guardia, and Newark.  Binghamton and Elmira airports are 
30-40 miles away and Syracuse airport is about 50 miles away (an 
expensive shuttle bus is available for transport to/from Ithaca).  
Syracuse is also on an Amtrak line.

> Tania
>
>   


-- 
John Fereira
Cornell University
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