Day 8:
Rachael heads out in the morning to take her 1st class flight back to YYZ. My ferry to Ikaria wasn't until 12 so I got a chance to sleep in! I got onto the ferry and enjoyed the journey the ride out to this remote island. Upon arrival, I took a taxi to the hotel. I showered quickly and went into the village for dinner. There's apparently only one place open when it's not peak season. I had a really nice dinner with some of the locals. Ikaria is an extremely quiet island and a place where you're supposed to disconnect from tv, internet etc. So, off to bed I went so that I could get up early and go to their famous beaches.
Day 9:
Breakfast was included and had some really yummy honey, apparently a big thing on the island. I then went off to the beach. It was a beautiful white sand beach with crystal clear turquoise and blue water. I enjoyed a really nice day on the beach with the ipod and a few random pics with me and the sea! I then walked back into town for a late lunch. I went back to "the restauraunt" and had fresh shrimp and a nice pitcher of local wine. All meals in Greece come from with fresh baked bread which I thoroughly enjoyed during each meal. After a two hour lunch, I went back to the hotel to shower up and relax while reading outside. After a while I decided that it was time to start planning the rest of the trip. I took people's advise and tried not to overplan so I did a bit of research on the hotel computer and decided that my next stop on Thursday was going to be Samos. Luckily the islands aren't too far away, so it should be an easy commute.
Day 10:
Very similar to day 9---sun, walk around, food, relax, bed.
Day 11:
I woke up to a disappointing cloudy day. It began to rain and really did not stop all day. Unfortunately, I was running very low on Euros and the nearest ATM was 20 min away. Seriously!!! Given how few places take credit, this started to become an issue. Anyhow, I spent the day inside reading and playing around online. Around 3:30, I went down to the port for some food before the boat ride. I had another really nice long lunch with some great pork and Ikarian wine. This version had a really interesting smell to it and was really strong! The locals said they basically only make enough for the island so don't export it. Probably for the best. Anyhow, I still needed to get a ticket for the boat but the office was closed when I first went by so decided, they must allow you to buy a ticket on the boat, right? Ummm..NO! The boat was going to leave in about 5 min and they said I had to get back to the ticket office and purchase a ticket. Some random port guy made me jump onto the back of his motor bike and he drove me to the office. The interesting part was the fact that I was in a skirt. I looked absolutely ridiculous for that plus the fact I was a bit too short to just throw my leg over. Yup, looked as insane as it sounds. Fast forward and I get onto the boat to soon realize I am gushing blood from the back of my leg so ended up in the infirmary. Let's just say that I was REALLY glad once that boat ride was over and I could shower and just jump into bed.
Monday, 30 May 2011
Saturday, 28 May 2011
Greece: week 1!
I clearly have been delinquent in my posting but felt it important to at least add a final entry on my latest and last trip. I just spent 17 days traveling most through Greece but also into Turkey. Here's a recap of the wonderful trip that I will never forget!
After a bit of a stressful commute to Heathrow, I settle in and begin to enjoy the fact that I have three weeks off work thanks to my gracious boss. I fly into Athens and land around 2:30 am so head straight to the airport hotel and get into bed. American Express, thanks for the points because there was no way I was paying that kind of money to stay at the Soifetel but cashing them in for this was well worth it!
Day 1:
Rachael arrives after a few mishaps with the plane in EWR so she was a couple of hours late. We get settled and agree upon a plan about getting into Athens and checking into our first hotel. We head into the city on the public bus which was a nice way to commute in so that we could see the sites. We finally get to the hotel which was really nice (and cheap!) and decide to head off to lunch since we hadn't really eaten yet. We made our way to the local square and found a really cute taverna that we could sit outside at. House wine- gotta love Europe for this- a couple of apps and main dishes later (2 hours to be exact) we finish lunch and head back to the hotel. Jet lag is finally catching up with us so we "sit down" and end up napping for two hours. Upon rising, we realize the day is killed so we just hang out in the room a bit before going back to sleep.
Day 2:
Acropolis day and the day we discover the general strike is coming! After breakfast, our really kind concierge informs us that there's going to be a national strike the next day given the economic conditions in Greece. Uggg..we were going to try and head to the islands the next day so this def throws a wrench into our plans. We decide it would be best to get down to the port and figure out when things would be running and where we were going to go before doing anything else. We got onto the subway and made it down there. After a bit of hassling, we book all of our ferries for the week (Piraeus, Santorini, Naxos and back to Piraeus). Comes to find out that the subway workers apparently take siesta or something like that so we had to cab it back to the main part of the city so that we could see the Acropolis. It's hard to explain the magnificence of the Acropolis unless you've been there. I can't urge everyone enough to make sure they go to Greece and spend time in Athens. You won't be disappointed. After some sight seeing and learning that the Acropolis has a million dogs, that like to sun tan, living there we decided it was lunch time. We found another nice Taverna not too far away from where we were that looked up at the ruins and allowed us to sit in the sun. We practiced a little Greek with the waiters and had a lovely meal. After lunch, we walked through the shopping district before heading over to Zeus' monument. Again, another really spectacular site. We go back to the hotel for a bit of a rest before heading out to dinner (there were a few hours in between lunch and dinner!). We found another nice place by the hotel and had a delicious meal. God, Greek food is amazing!
Day 3:
Since it was a strike day, our plans got pretty messed up. We wanted to go to the Archeological museum but apparently they went on strike as well. Arrgg..we ended up doing the hop on hop off bus so that we could see more of the sites and get some of the history behind it all. Before that though, we decided we should also spend some time getting our nails done ;) We found a nice little place and unlike most of Europe it was reasonably priced. The riot police were out and Rachael took a few pics of them marching- which they did not like and basically threatened to make sure she put the camera away. Fast forward and we head back to our neighborhood where a lot of the protests were happening and the concierge told us to avoid, we saw some of the destruction that the protesters caused during the day. It was unreal! They burned things, overturned trash bins, used spray and normal paint to destroy buildings. I don't think I have ever seen anything like that before. What Greece is going through right now is really sad and you can feel the pressure and despair in the air.
Day 4:
Off to Santorini! We had to wake up at the crack of dawn because our ferry was at 7am! So we got up and walked over to the port and got onto the boat and almost immediately fell back asleep. We had a decently long ride ahead of us and it was WINDY as all hell so the more we slept, the better! We arrived around noon and got into a taxi so that we could go to the hotel and check in. All went smoothly and Melissa did a nice job in finding us a hotel in Kamari beach called the Rose Bay Hotel. It was really nice as we had a porch of sorts and basically an apartment. Rachael and I decided that we wanted to see the volcano and take a boat ride that afternoon so that's what we did. Stupid me forgot sneakers so I climbed the volcano in reefs- not the best move. Volcano vs Jess, volcano kind of won. Despite the shockingly gusty winds, we climbed to the top and had amazing views of Santorini. We got back onto, what I called our Pirates of the Caribbean sail boat, and went over to the hot springs. We knew jumping into the water before the springs would be chilly but that's a massive understatement. Rachael and I braved it though and went in. You never know how fast you can swim until you are in freezing water like that. Once we got to the hot springs, it was lovely but brrr before that. We continued to cruise around and saw a spectacular sun set while eating some food and drinking wine. We even got a personal lesson on how to Zorba, music and all! The cruise was a lot of fun and am so glad we did it. Anyone thinking of going to Santorini, I highly recommend this Thalassa cruise---well worth the money! So we take the cable car back up- no donkey thank you- and go back to Kamari beach to grab food before going back to the hotel. We made our way into a gyro shop and made friends with the owners. We ended up staying until they closed and went with him and his cousin for a drink. We heard more about how the economy is changing the way of life in Greece and how tough things are for people. We also got our first taste of the Greek's dislike of the Albanian's. Eeeek!
Day 5:
Melissa arrived very early in the morning so the three of us continued to sleep a bit longer ;) After we got up we made our way over to the beach area to get some food. Despite some very strong wind, we had a really nice lunch. A little wine and a bit too much food. Yum! We then went down onto the beach to get some sun. This isn’t a normal beach though- it’s black rocks. Because the sun was reflecting off them it felt like it was the dead of summer in Florida when in reality it was about 70 degrees. We then spent a really nice afternoon sunning ourselves and relaxing before we went to one of the local wineries to see the sunset and try out some local wine. If you have not been to Santorini or not heard about their sunsets, it’s one of the things they are most known for. It really was an amazing site to see!
Day 6:
Another day of laying around on the beach and enjoying being on vacation. After a few hours of hanging around and enjoying the spectacular scenery, we got some lunch at our friends gyro shop before heading to the ferry. We left that afternoon for Naxos which was about two hours away. This island is known for it’s local produce, cheese, wine and just being a beautiful place to be. We got picked up by the dad who runs our hotel and before making to the hotel, we made a quick stop to pick up the oranges for the day. Our hotel room was basically an apartment and had a view of the beach. The family who ran the hotel could not have been more gracious and kind to us if they tried. At dinner, at their taverna, one of the brothers came over to chat with us. I am not sure if it was to see for himself how 3 girls could eat/drink so much or was just intrigued by 3 girls being on vacation and staying at their hotel. Melissa then made one of the funniest comments which then was followed by her saying how what she did was very similar to things her mom does J She said to the guy, “hey, there’s 3 of us girls and 4 of you and your brothers”. response, “alrighty then” HAHAHAHA. Nick then offered to drive us into town to go out for a bit while he went to visit a friend. Another bottle of wine later, we came back to the hotel to go to sleep. Quite a long day!
Day 7:
Today was another lay in the sun day and just enjoy the experience. We did as we normally did- sun, rotate, sun, rotate, lunch, sun. It was then time for Melissa to go and Rachael and I to head to the ferry to head back to Athens. You should have seen this airport. If you blinked, you would have missed it. The kicker was that they called it an international airport- I wanted to ask them if they’ve ever seen MIA or JFK? So, Melissa then was off and Rachael and I made our way to Athens.
After a bit of a stressful commute to Heathrow, I settle in and begin to enjoy the fact that I have three weeks off work thanks to my gracious boss. I fly into Athens and land around 2:30 am so head straight to the airport hotel and get into bed. American Express, thanks for the points because there was no way I was paying that kind of money to stay at the Soifetel but cashing them in for this was well worth it!
Day 1:
Rachael arrives after a few mishaps with the plane in EWR so she was a couple of hours late. We get settled and agree upon a plan about getting into Athens and checking into our first hotel. We head into the city on the public bus which was a nice way to commute in so that we could see the sites. We finally get to the hotel which was really nice (and cheap!) and decide to head off to lunch since we hadn't really eaten yet. We made our way to the local square and found a really cute taverna that we could sit outside at. House wine- gotta love Europe for this- a couple of apps and main dishes later (2 hours to be exact) we finish lunch and head back to the hotel. Jet lag is finally catching up with us so we "sit down" and end up napping for two hours. Upon rising, we realize the day is killed so we just hang out in the room a bit before going back to sleep.
Day 2:
Acropolis day and the day we discover the general strike is coming! After breakfast, our really kind concierge informs us that there's going to be a national strike the next day given the economic conditions in Greece. Uggg..we were going to try and head to the islands the next day so this def throws a wrench into our plans. We decide it would be best to get down to the port and figure out when things would be running and where we were going to go before doing anything else. We got onto the subway and made it down there. After a bit of hassling, we book all of our ferries for the week (Piraeus, Santorini, Naxos and back to Piraeus). Comes to find out that the subway workers apparently take siesta or something like that so we had to cab it back to the main part of the city so that we could see the Acropolis. It's hard to explain the magnificence of the Acropolis unless you've been there. I can't urge everyone enough to make sure they go to Greece and spend time in Athens. You won't be disappointed. After some sight seeing and learning that the Acropolis has a million dogs, that like to sun tan, living there we decided it was lunch time. We found another nice Taverna not too far away from where we were that looked up at the ruins and allowed us to sit in the sun. We practiced a little Greek with the waiters and had a lovely meal. After lunch, we walked through the shopping district before heading over to Zeus' monument. Again, another really spectacular site. We go back to the hotel for a bit of a rest before heading out to dinner (there were a few hours in between lunch and dinner!). We found another nice place by the hotel and had a delicious meal. God, Greek food is amazing!
Day 3:
Since it was a strike day, our plans got pretty messed up. We wanted to go to the Archeological museum but apparently they went on strike as well. Arrgg..we ended up doing the hop on hop off bus so that we could see more of the sites and get some of the history behind it all. Before that though, we decided we should also spend some time getting our nails done ;) We found a nice little place and unlike most of Europe it was reasonably priced. The riot police were out and Rachael took a few pics of them marching- which they did not like and basically threatened to make sure she put the camera away. Fast forward and we head back to our neighborhood where a lot of the protests were happening and the concierge told us to avoid, we saw some of the destruction that the protesters caused during the day. It was unreal! They burned things, overturned trash bins, used spray and normal paint to destroy buildings. I don't think I have ever seen anything like that before. What Greece is going through right now is really sad and you can feel the pressure and despair in the air.
Day 4:
Off to Santorini! We had to wake up at the crack of dawn because our ferry was at 7am! So we got up and walked over to the port and got onto the boat and almost immediately fell back asleep. We had a decently long ride ahead of us and it was WINDY as all hell so the more we slept, the better! We arrived around noon and got into a taxi so that we could go to the hotel and check in. All went smoothly and Melissa did a nice job in finding us a hotel in Kamari beach called the Rose Bay Hotel. It was really nice as we had a porch of sorts and basically an apartment. Rachael and I decided that we wanted to see the volcano and take a boat ride that afternoon so that's what we did. Stupid me forgot sneakers so I climbed the volcano in reefs- not the best move. Volcano vs Jess, volcano kind of won. Despite the shockingly gusty winds, we climbed to the top and had amazing views of Santorini. We got back onto, what I called our Pirates of the Caribbean sail boat, and went over to the hot springs. We knew jumping into the water before the springs would be chilly but that's a massive understatement. Rachael and I braved it though and went in. You never know how fast you can swim until you are in freezing water like that. Once we got to the hot springs, it was lovely but brrr before that. We continued to cruise around and saw a spectacular sun set while eating some food and drinking wine. We even got a personal lesson on how to Zorba, music and all! The cruise was a lot of fun and am so glad we did it. Anyone thinking of going to Santorini, I highly recommend this Thalassa cruise---well worth the money! So we take the cable car back up- no donkey thank you- and go back to Kamari beach to grab food before going back to the hotel. We made our way into a gyro shop and made friends with the owners. We ended up staying until they closed and went with him and his cousin for a drink. We heard more about how the economy is changing the way of life in Greece and how tough things are for people. We also got our first taste of the Greek's dislike of the Albanian's. Eeeek!
Day 5:
Melissa arrived very early in the morning so the three of us continued to sleep a bit longer ;) After we got up we made our way over to the beach area to get some food. Despite some very strong wind, we had a really nice lunch. A little wine and a bit too much food. Yum! We then went down onto the beach to get some sun. This isn’t a normal beach though- it’s black rocks. Because the sun was reflecting off them it felt like it was the dead of summer in Florida when in reality it was about 70 degrees. We then spent a really nice afternoon sunning ourselves and relaxing before we went to one of the local wineries to see the sunset and try out some local wine. If you have not been to Santorini or not heard about their sunsets, it’s one of the things they are most known for. It really was an amazing site to see!
Day 6:
Another day of laying around on the beach and enjoying being on vacation. After a few hours of hanging around and enjoying the spectacular scenery, we got some lunch at our friends gyro shop before heading to the ferry. We left that afternoon for Naxos which was about two hours away. This island is known for it’s local produce, cheese, wine and just being a beautiful place to be. We got picked up by the dad who runs our hotel and before making to the hotel, we made a quick stop to pick up the oranges for the day. Our hotel room was basically an apartment and had a view of the beach. The family who ran the hotel could not have been more gracious and kind to us if they tried. At dinner, at their taverna, one of the brothers came over to chat with us. I am not sure if it was to see for himself how 3 girls could eat/drink so much or was just intrigued by 3 girls being on vacation and staying at their hotel. Melissa then made one of the funniest comments which then was followed by her saying how what she did was very similar to things her mom does J She said to the guy, “hey, there’s 3 of us girls and 4 of you and your brothers”. response, “alrighty then” HAHAHAHA. Nick then offered to drive us into town to go out for a bit while he went to visit a friend. Another bottle of wine later, we came back to the hotel to go to sleep. Quite a long day!
Day 7:
Today was another lay in the sun day and just enjoy the experience. We did as we normally did- sun, rotate, sun, rotate, lunch, sun. It was then time for Melissa to go and Rachael and I to head to the ferry to head back to Athens. You should have seen this airport. If you blinked, you would have missed it. The kicker was that they called it an international airport- I wanted to ask them if they’ve ever seen MIA or JFK? So, Melissa then was off and Rachael and I made our way to Athens.
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Leona's birthday celebration
Good times on Saturday as I met up with Leona and some of her friends at Gordon's wine bar. This is one of the oldest places in London and always has a great crowd. It's basically in a cave so has a great feel to it and has yummy food and wine. After having met the group, we begin to play some random game that one of the guys swears is the best tool to pick women up....aside from being entertaining it was quite lame and we spent a solid hour explaining to him why that was. Needless to say, he does not plan on giving it up. Anyhow, the best part of the night came when we left the place. We were going to get food so we're walking down the street when about 5 girls walk up to me and ask if I am American. Ummm, yes, why? You sound American..ok... they proceed to ask me to speak like an American. What would you like for me to say? Anything...ok..umm aren't you cold out here in those little dresses and no jackets? Naaah they respond..we're going to the club so it doesn't matter. Ok but you're not there yet. They continue down the route of speak like an American when I ask them where they're from. I get this garbled answer, so ask Essex? Now for my NY friends, people from Essex are basically like people from Jersey. They get a lot of shit for it, people make fun of them, their voices can be a killer...one of the girls got really excited because I figured out where they were from (OMG) but her friend realized that I wasn't being as nice as I could have been ;) and that I was probably making fun of them...hehe. She dragged her off and our group from Leona's party nearly died because they were laughing so hard. Yes, shame on me for being rude---but it was kind of funny. Lesson: wear coats when it's cold and wear a dress that's meant to be a dress, not a t shirt!!
Work travels
So now the work traveling really begins! I may get fun of for starting too many sentences with, you know it's recruiting season when ...but it's very true. I have begun the new job supporting the front office so my event schedule is looking pretty different.
Trip 1- St Gallen, Switzerland
I fly out to Zurich and hop a train to St Gallen. Not to self once again, learn German. I get to the hotel and upon arrival into my room, I find that I have the world's smallest bed. I am not even exaggerating! At 5, 3 barely I hardly fit into the bed length wise. I had dinner in the hotel restaurant, watched some bad British tv and then went to bed. In the morning, we had a presentation, networking reception and then interviews before heading off to the airport. Luckily, I was with a guy who went to the university and knew the good places to eat (obv a priority) and we had an amazing sausage and bread before leaving.
I knew this was going to be my first lesson on the difference between my old job and the new one but it really did make me laugh. Rule 1 on trains, book economy. Rule 1 of the front office, book first class. I walk to the train to get into my seat and the sales guy and trader ask why I am going that way. Response? Umm...that's the car I'm supposed to be in. Without trying I made them feel so bad that they joined the common folk in second class. Rule 2 on planes, book economy unless you are flying a long distance (flight from LN to Zurich might be 90 min). We get to the airport...question comes again, where's your seat? To their horror, economoy. After a failed attempt at paying to move me and asking them to move me once we got onto the plane, I got champagne from the flight attendent bc she felt bad that she couldn't upgrade me.
Trip 2- Vienna
I leave for Vienna on a Friday afternoon for a nighttime event. The event went well but had one of those, I feel old moments when I could not wait to get back to the hotel to rest, eat, sleep and the analysts on the trip were planning their big night out in Vienna. Worked out for me though...some dinner, a little wine, an amazing shower, cold air conditioning and then I slept for 12 hours. Amazing! I wanted to steal the bed. I was interested to figure out who was staying at this place because there was heavy security all over the lobby and on my floor.
Trip 3- Back to St Gallen
I get on the flight to Zurich, which couldn't be more of a business flight if you tried...London city (which is by the financial district) to Zurich. Upon boarding, we all realized that about 10 very interesting characters were joining us. 8am flight and they are yelling, laughing, drinking and carrying on. I nearly had enough when they began discussing why they were traveling. They were flying through Zurich to Milan where they were going to see the Tottenham football team play Milan. All I can say is omg...grown men acting like frat guys...awesome. The event went well and enjoyed meeting another one of my new clients. Parted ways later in the day and flew back to London. It was a really long day but was happy that the event worked out well.
Trip 4- Warwick
Nothing that exciting about this trip other then the fact that I went north in England and saw a lot of sheep and grass. It's amazing how college towns around the world all have the same feel- nothingness, backpacks, kids looking to steal food ;)
Trip 5- Madrid
Obviously, I was very excited for this one. It was a Monday night event, so Drew and I flew out there late am and headed off to the hotel. We were delayed out of Heathrow so only had enough time to quickly change, grab a snack and head down to the event. I heart the Spanish but god do they not care about time. I am 100% sure they hated me for acting american and reminding them that we needed to get started but cmon..it's already 8pm! We kicked off and finally wrapped up around 10:45. I can chalk this one up to practicing my espanol because the business insisted in doing the presentation in spanish- alrighty then! Synopsis of this trip- plane, taxi, hotel, taxi, plane....I am ok with it though because it was significantly warmer and the sun was out :-)
Trip 1- St Gallen, Switzerland
I fly out to Zurich and hop a train to St Gallen. Not to self once again, learn German. I get to the hotel and upon arrival into my room, I find that I have the world's smallest bed. I am not even exaggerating! At 5, 3 barely I hardly fit into the bed length wise. I had dinner in the hotel restaurant, watched some bad British tv and then went to bed. In the morning, we had a presentation, networking reception and then interviews before heading off to the airport. Luckily, I was with a guy who went to the university and knew the good places to eat (obv a priority) and we had an amazing sausage and bread before leaving.
I knew this was going to be my first lesson on the difference between my old job and the new one but it really did make me laugh. Rule 1 on trains, book economy. Rule 1 of the front office, book first class. I walk to the train to get into my seat and the sales guy and trader ask why I am going that way. Response? Umm...that's the car I'm supposed to be in. Without trying I made them feel so bad that they joined the common folk in second class. Rule 2 on planes, book economy unless you are flying a long distance (flight from LN to Zurich might be 90 min). We get to the airport...question comes again, where's your seat? To their horror, economoy. After a failed attempt at paying to move me and asking them to move me once we got onto the plane, I got champagne from the flight attendent bc she felt bad that she couldn't upgrade me.
Trip 2- Vienna
I leave for Vienna on a Friday afternoon for a nighttime event. The event went well but had one of those, I feel old moments when I could not wait to get back to the hotel to rest, eat, sleep and the analysts on the trip were planning their big night out in Vienna. Worked out for me though...some dinner, a little wine, an amazing shower, cold air conditioning and then I slept for 12 hours. Amazing! I wanted to steal the bed. I was interested to figure out who was staying at this place because there was heavy security all over the lobby and on my floor.
Trip 3- Back to St Gallen
I get on the flight to Zurich, which couldn't be more of a business flight if you tried...London city (which is by the financial district) to Zurich. Upon boarding, we all realized that about 10 very interesting characters were joining us. 8am flight and they are yelling, laughing, drinking and carrying on. I nearly had enough when they began discussing why they were traveling. They were flying through Zurich to Milan where they were going to see the Tottenham football team play Milan. All I can say is omg...grown men acting like frat guys...awesome. The event went well and enjoyed meeting another one of my new clients. Parted ways later in the day and flew back to London. It was a really long day but was happy that the event worked out well.
Trip 4- Warwick
Nothing that exciting about this trip other then the fact that I went north in England and saw a lot of sheep and grass. It's amazing how college towns around the world all have the same feel- nothingness, backpacks, kids looking to steal food ;)
Trip 5- Madrid
Obviously, I was very excited for this one. It was a Monday night event, so Drew and I flew out there late am and headed off to the hotel. We were delayed out of Heathrow so only had enough time to quickly change, grab a snack and head down to the event. I heart the Spanish but god do they not care about time. I am 100% sure they hated me for acting american and reminding them that we needed to get started but cmon..it's already 8pm! We kicked off and finally wrapped up around 10:45. I can chalk this one up to practicing my espanol because the business insisted in doing the presentation in spanish- alrighty then! Synopsis of this trip- plane, taxi, hotel, taxi, plane....I am ok with it though because it was significantly warmer and the sun was out :-)
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Barcelona
Melissa and I decided that we'd head to Barcelona for a little birthday celebration! Upon arrival on Thursday night, we went straight to the hotel to check in and get ready for dinner. We went to this tapas place which had been recommended but we clearly did not go on the right night because it was pretty empty- which is unheard of there! Anyhow, we had some yummy food, wine and then crashed in bed!
On Friday, I had to work so Melissa decided to sleep in. Upon awaking, around 1, we decided to get ready so that we could go out for a nice lunch. We had been recommended a great lunch spot which wasn't too far from the hotel, so we took a walk. As we were walking I got a bday phone call from my good friend Oms and then went in for lunch. There were only smoking section options (man Spain, you still smoke so much!!) so we decided to head back to this nail salon we had just passed :) Melissa and I both decided on mani/pedis which felt amazing...oh, nail salons of ny...how do i miss you! We then went back for lunch and had one of those meals you invision Spaniards having...wine, yummy food, not rushed and chatting. We had such a nice meal and really enjoyed this wonderful local spot!! We went back to the hotel so that I could finish some work and Melissa could nap. As she got up, we began to get ready for our big night out. We went down to the old section of town for tapas and drinks---all of which were yummy. Began with some champagne (ok, celebration evening), wine (ok, you're in spain..red wine is yummy), mojitos (ok, not so necessary) a beer (budweiser none the less) and maybe 3-4 vodka sodas. Clearly, going out dancing that night ended up being fun, esp since there was an amazing dj on stage that night. Seriously though, probably the best dj I've ever seen. We danced the night away with random stray Spainiards and then went home around 4:30. Man were we hungry.
We woke up on Saturday and I was shocked that I felt fine. Yeah, that was until I sat up.....fast forward, we're hung over through some food and then went back to sleep. Fast forward, we miss our biked tour....fast forward, we wander through Las Ramblas, see the marina area, go to the market for some cheese and bread and then go back to the hotel for another nap. We end up a dinner spot that was recommended to us from someone at work. We knew there'd be a wait, so we grabbed a drink and hung out. Upon getting seated, after chatting with our new found friend at the door, we order tapas and have a little bit of wine. Yes, we still felt like shit. We both decided that we were tired, looking worse then tired and would only be going out to go out so we decided to go home. Before we did, a guy (about our age) wonder over to chat. He asks if we're going out and if we'd like to join him and his friend. God knows if it was the right decision but we said thanks but no thanks because we both just couldn't be bothered to worry about our attire and get motivated to go clubbing again. Welcome to 28, 2 big party nights in a row is wayyyy too hard!
Sunday we get up and wonder about before we had to leave for the airport. We hit some of the architecural sites and just enjoyed wondering about.
It ended up being such a great weekend and really appreciate the chance I've had to travel to such a cool place and attempt to recoup some of the language skills I used to have. It made me want to go back to Spain ASAP and enjoy their wonderful culture. Te amo Espana!!!
On Friday, I had to work so Melissa decided to sleep in. Upon awaking, around 1, we decided to get ready so that we could go out for a nice lunch. We had been recommended a great lunch spot which wasn't too far from the hotel, so we took a walk. As we were walking I got a bday phone call from my good friend Oms and then went in for lunch. There were only smoking section options (man Spain, you still smoke so much!!) so we decided to head back to this nail salon we had just passed :) Melissa and I both decided on mani/pedis which felt amazing...oh, nail salons of ny...how do i miss you! We then went back for lunch and had one of those meals you invision Spaniards having...wine, yummy food, not rushed and chatting. We had such a nice meal and really enjoyed this wonderful local spot!! We went back to the hotel so that I could finish some work and Melissa could nap. As she got up, we began to get ready for our big night out. We went down to the old section of town for tapas and drinks---all of which were yummy. Began with some champagne (ok, celebration evening), wine (ok, you're in spain..red wine is yummy), mojitos (ok, not so necessary) a beer (budweiser none the less) and maybe 3-4 vodka sodas. Clearly, going out dancing that night ended up being fun, esp since there was an amazing dj on stage that night. Seriously though, probably the best dj I've ever seen. We danced the night away with random stray Spainiards and then went home around 4:30. Man were we hungry.
We woke up on Saturday and I was shocked that I felt fine. Yeah, that was until I sat up.....fast forward, we're hung over through some food and then went back to sleep. Fast forward, we miss our biked tour....fast forward, we wander through Las Ramblas, see the marina area, go to the market for some cheese and bread and then go back to the hotel for another nap. We end up a dinner spot that was recommended to us from someone at work. We knew there'd be a wait, so we grabbed a drink and hung out. Upon getting seated, after chatting with our new found friend at the door, we order tapas and have a little bit of wine. Yes, we still felt like shit. We both decided that we were tired, looking worse then tired and would only be going out to go out so we decided to go home. Before we did, a guy (about our age) wonder over to chat. He asks if we're going out and if we'd like to join him and his friend. God knows if it was the right decision but we said thanks but no thanks because we both just couldn't be bothered to worry about our attire and get motivated to go clubbing again. Welcome to 28, 2 big party nights in a row is wayyyy too hard!
Sunday we get up and wonder about before we had to leave for the airport. We hit some of the architecural sites and just enjoyed wondering about.
It ended up being such a great weekend and really appreciate the chance I've had to travel to such a cool place and attempt to recoup some of the language skills I used to have. It made me want to go back to Spain ASAP and enjoy their wonderful culture. Te amo Espana!!!
Monday, 27 September 2010
The Boys in London
Alex and Frankie made their way to the UK a week ago ...yay! Not that any of us are the best planners but we had very little on the agenda aside from, pub lunch, maybe a "football" match, Sunday football and hang. Clearly, we ended up doing much more then that!
Thursday...
Upon arrival, the guys went to sleep since neither of them managed any real sleep on the plane. I left them several notes around the house since there are several...hmm, how the hell does that work things in this place? They napped, ate and then came to Canary Warf for happy hour...or happy hours as they like to say in London. We went to HA's for Ramesh's going away "do". Most of the HR team was out as was OpsRC for Melissa's welcome drinks. Good times had by all...the guys got to meet some of the cool people I work with and some of the odd ones ;) We definitely spent 15 minutes debating how to say aluminum. OMG silly but so funny. They also enjoyed Frankie's american accent...I kept hearing, "say that again!" After a few jokes re: pints vs half pints we decided we needed food and went with Claire, Meliss and the guys for Mexican. We heart Claire! Fast forward --->go home and attempt at sleep/hang out for a while.
Friday....
I leave for work which was brutal since I was tired, definitely had stayed up too late and probably had 1 too many drinks. Awesome! Unbenonst to them, I said goodbye and went to work. Fast forward---> they sleep in, have a pub lunch and then because of POETS, I got to come home a little early and hang out before we went to dinner/went out for the night. Not sure who I was pretending to be..oh yeah, I dont need a nap..lets go. Sure--a 30 min nap later we're ready to go to Brick Lane for dinner. This area is pretty cool because you can basically negiotiate free food/drinks etc just to get you into a place. Its a million times worse then walking around Little Italy when those guys stand outside and try to get you to come in. We ended up sitting next to this Canadian/Aussie group who had THE most annoying woman with them. She was listening to our convo and then striking up that topic in their convo. There is absolutely no chance that we were talking about cookie vs biscuit and then 5 min later you start discussing the same topic?!? After dinner, we meet up with Meliss and head to a couple of very random bars and into a club (of sorts). We basically ended up in a free style dj dance party (our scene obv) and hung for a while. It ended up being a lot of fun but we def stuck out a bit. Fast forward---> we get home and hung out (again, just what I/we needed...stay up later and drink some more). This was when Alex pulled an Alex. We're playing Scattegories and something comes up about a 4 letter word that begins with _....he enters a word and is trying to convince us that his word counts....yeah, until Frankie calls him out on the fact that the word had 4 letters. (Insert Homer Simpson noise).
Saturday.....
We wake up and go to Borough Market. Yum! I show the guys around and then we decide on meat on a stick on a roll. It was awesome. Pics to follow. Grabbed a glass of sangria and sat down in a mini park to hang out before we went to the football match. We had a lovely little morning. The next hour or so wasn't so nice as we got lost on the way to the Tottenham match but ended up having a great time while there. The chants and songs were amazing! They had one that literally said 1, nill you fu$@#ed it up! hahaha. We then went back in to central london and went to the pub for a couple of drinks. Fast forward through dinner, some drinks etc and then off to bed we went. We wanted to be fresh for Sunday...lots of plans.
Sunday.....
Thursday...
Upon arrival, the guys went to sleep since neither of them managed any real sleep on the plane. I left them several notes around the house since there are several...hmm, how the hell does that work things in this place? They napped, ate and then came to Canary Warf for happy hour...or happy hours as they like to say in London. We went to HA's for Ramesh's going away "do". Most of the HR team was out as was OpsRC for Melissa's welcome drinks. Good times had by all...the guys got to meet some of the cool people I work with and some of the odd ones ;) We definitely spent 15 minutes debating how to say aluminum. OMG silly but so funny. They also enjoyed Frankie's american accent...I kept hearing, "say that again!" After a few jokes re: pints vs half pints we decided we needed food and went with Claire, Meliss and the guys for Mexican. We heart Claire! Fast forward --->go home and attempt at sleep/hang out for a while.
Friday....
I leave for work which was brutal since I was tired, definitely had stayed up too late and probably had 1 too many drinks. Awesome! Unbenonst to them, I said goodbye and went to work. Fast forward---> they sleep in, have a pub lunch and then because of POETS, I got to come home a little early and hang out before we went to dinner/went out for the night. Not sure who I was pretending to be..oh yeah, I dont need a nap..lets go. Sure--a 30 min nap later we're ready to go to Brick Lane for dinner. This area is pretty cool because you can basically negiotiate free food/drinks etc just to get you into a place. Its a million times worse then walking around Little Italy when those guys stand outside and try to get you to come in. We ended up sitting next to this Canadian/Aussie group who had THE most annoying woman with them. She was listening to our convo and then striking up that topic in their convo. There is absolutely no chance that we were talking about cookie vs biscuit and then 5 min later you start discussing the same topic?!? After dinner, we meet up with Meliss and head to a couple of very random bars and into a club (of sorts). We basically ended up in a free style dj dance party (our scene obv) and hung for a while. It ended up being a lot of fun but we def stuck out a bit. Fast forward---> we get home and hung out (again, just what I/we needed...stay up later and drink some more). This was when Alex pulled an Alex. We're playing Scattegories and something comes up about a 4 letter word that begins with _....he enters a word and is trying to convince us that his word counts....yeah, until Frankie calls him out on the fact that the word had 4 letters. (Insert Homer Simpson noise).
Saturday.....
We wake up and go to Borough Market. Yum! I show the guys around and then we decide on meat on a stick on a roll. It was awesome. Pics to follow. Grabbed a glass of sangria and sat down in a mini park to hang out before we went to the football match. We had a lovely little morning. The next hour or so wasn't so nice as we got lost on the way to the Tottenham match but ended up having a great time while there. The chants and songs were amazing! They had one that literally said 1, nill you fu$@#ed it up! hahaha. We then went back in to central london and went to the pub for a couple of drinks. Fast forward through dinner, some drinks etc and then off to bed we went. We wanted to be fresh for Sunday...lots of plans.
Sunday.....
We decided to have old school brunch at the apt...eggs, streaky bacon (as they call it here), biscuits (not the cookie) and mimosas. Compliments to the chefs. We then went to this wonderful wine tasting type of place where the guys had an opportunity to taste absinthe and couldn't pass it up. Pics to follow but Alex couldn't help himself to make the women at the table make a new batch because wanted to see it on fire. After tasting some nice wines and wondering around we went over to Bodeans to watch the fins game. Yay for NFL in London. This place even had the sound on. For those of you who are used to games always being on and never worrying whether or not you'll be able to see the game, you wont understand but for those of us outside of S FL it can prove quite challenging. Anyhow, ate some good food and watch the Dolphins win!! We came home and then decided to nap before the Giants game came on. The game was starting at 1:30 so we got up and the guys got a couple of drinks while I tried to rally. I end up watching pieces of the game but was too tired to be totally into it. I'm pretty sure the times I was awake was when Frankie was yelling at the Giants for playing like total garbage. I get sent to bed and completely pass out!
Monday...
I wake up....uggg. The guys ended up coming to Canary Warf to have lunch with me before they headed over to Greenwich for the day. They went over there which is where the GMT line is but also where a brewery is supposed to be. Meanwhile, they find some weird museum and they play with blocks. Who knows?!? We met up for happy hour in the Warf and went to a place that, without question, had the worst smelling bathroom I could have ever been in. We left around 7 to make it home for family dinner. Melissa was kind enough to cook dinner for us. We had a great night eating, laughing and just spending time together. After dinner, we played poker...seriously like the good ol days although this time we drank wine when we were lucky if we had beer in a glass bottle. I ended up winning (shocking, I know) but then we continued to hang out in my apt. The issue? Well, it's late and Frankie and I were both working on Tuesday. What a great idea!?! So...it's getting quite late and we're several drinks into it before we decide it's prob a good idea to go to bed. Meanwhile, I wake up in the am and grab my water glass. Phew..I'm feeling thristy and I'm so glad I have this....realization: I have just taken a sip of an old vodka/soda. OMG, I could have died and/or thrown up then and there! I say goodbye to Alex since he's leaving that afternoon and then off to work I went!
Tuesday/Wednesday....
So, Frankie and I go to work....we meet for dinner that night to celebrate his last night in London. We chose a French place over by Charing Cross and had a nice last meal. We end up walking home and hanging out before heading to bed.
I had a work event in the morning but then came home to hang with Frankie before he needed to leave. We spend some time just bsing before I have to go back to work. Booooo to friends leaving. Now that both of the guys are going to be gone I got really sad :( because it had been such a great week!
Overall- I am so happy they came to visit and couldn't have asked for a better time. Cheers to great friends...especially since they had shopping lists for both me and Melissa which included: color catchers (apparently we do have them here), pashminas (one of which got described as barclays blue), brita filers and marshmallows...this is why I love these guys :)
Cannes & Milan
After the wedding and spending Sunday afternoon accomplishing as many of my NY errands I wanted to get done, I met Melissa so that we could begin our trek to JFK. After a sad goodbye with Laura on the curb of 19th and 8th ave, off to Kennedy we went---> fast forward---> arrive in Nice. Wow, let's just say even the landing was amazing and gorgeous. We boarded a bus to head to the hotel but it ended up being a little more challenging then we'd hoped...wayyyy too many bags given that Melissa was moving to Europe that week ;)
Upon arrival at the hotel, we got dressed for the beach, had some food and then made our way to the hotel's private beach club. All I can say is- you must go to Cannes at some point in your lifetime. The sand, water, mountains and boats make for such an incredible view you just never want to leave!! Melissa and I ended up spending several days in this routine...sleep, beach, food, beach, drinks, nap, drinks, food, out....my idea of a perfect vaca! We got great tans and really got an opportunity to rest, read and enjoy a few days off.
Upon arrival at the hotel, we got dressed for the beach, had some food and then made our way to the hotel's private beach club. All I can say is- you must go to Cannes at some point in your lifetime. The sand, water, mountains and boats make for such an incredible view you just never want to leave!! Melissa and I ended up spending several days in this routine...sleep, beach, food, beach, drinks, nap, drinks, food, out....my idea of a perfect vaca! We got great tans and really got an opportunity to rest, read and enjoy a few days off.
One night while we were there, we went out to this random Irish bar (I know, pub in Cannes?). They had live music and we enjoyed singing along a bit and the massive "stag do" aka bachelor party that was in there. We befriended some Brits who were there for a wedding and were clearly enjoying their time in France. Their advice to us at one point in the night, "go to Nice, go out all night, wander around until the trains start running again and then go home". Hmm...dont think so! Anyhow, we hung out 
with them for the night and ended up having a blast. Pub + club = late fun night dancing around in France.
Our adventure then continued on to Italy where we were staying the weekend in Milan. We got to the hotel and went to dinner- a place that Pam recommended and was just as I would imagine- super cute, all locals, amazing (non US italian food). We had one of the best cheese plates ever! Fast forward--> we are wondering around Milan to see if we can get in to see the Last Supper...not so much. Sold out for 2 weeks....we then walk around the Duomo and eat these amazing cheesy, fried doe things. Pam did say that she dreams about them sometimes. Now I see why! Fast forward---> we decided Sat night will be our big night out in Milan, so we head to the trending night area of Milan. We enter---I kid you not--the Pit Bull Cafe. That's right my FL friends---its a lounge all about Pit Bull---OMG. We hung out with a guy who swore he was Snoop and then made a move to a club. It was so overcrowded but fun for the 15 minutes we could breathe/actually dance. Man do the Italians like to party...sparklers and all!
Sunday was the end of our adventure...back to London we went...it was exciting though because Melissa was moving into the building. More to come on life at 64 Buckingham Gate :)
with them for the night and ended up having a blast. Pub + club = late fun night dancing around in France.Our adventure then continued on to Italy where we were staying the weekend in Milan. We got to the hotel and went to dinner- a place that Pam recommended and was just as I would imagine- super cute, all locals, amazing (non US italian food). We had one of the best cheese plates ever! Fast forward--> we are wondering around Milan to see if we can get in to see the Last Supper...not so much. Sold out for 2 weeks....we then walk around the Duomo and eat these amazing cheesy, fried doe things. Pam did say that she dreams about them sometimes. Now I see why! Fast forward---> we decided Sat night will be our big night out in Milan, so we head to the trending night area of Milan. We enter---I kid you not--the Pit Bull Cafe. That's right my FL friends---its a lounge all about Pit Bull---OMG. We hung out with a guy who swore he was Snoop and then made a move to a club. It was so overcrowded but fun for the 15 minutes we could breathe/actually dance. Man do the Italians like to party...sparklers and all!
Sunday was the end of our adventure...back to London we went...it was exciting though because Melissa was moving into the building. More to come on life at 64 Buckingham Gate :)
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