London
Just returned from 10 days in London -- mostly business with a few days of holiday thrown in for good measure.
Before the good stuff, it's important to remove the distasteful moments from my memory. Lowlights included the following:
* Staying in the British Ghetto in Islington. I liken it to what Lincoln Park was 30 years ago and what Bucktown and Wicker Park were just 15 years ago. It's definitely not an area through which I'd feel comfortable walking alone at night, although the main drag featured a number of fantastic bars and restaurants. It was just everything else that sucked.
* The hotel in Islington was a dump. So much so that I am neither linking to its web site nor mentioning it by name. Really sad was the fact that the rack rate was staggeringly expensive for what it was all worth.
* The same co-worker had her purse stolen twice within the confines of the same breakfast room/bar. Top that. (The good news that came out of this was being handed cheap rate reservations at their sister property in the West End for our troubles; a 4-star joint that was absolutely elegant, proper, and just perfect)
With that aside, the highlights were numerous:
* Business was truly fantastic.
* I adored the group of people I spent time with -- although drinks every night took its toll. Averaging 3 hours a sleep a night is sad. But the amount of laughs were worth it. Cheeks still hurt. I may be catching up on sleep all night.
* Windsor Castle is amazing. I'm not sure there is a word to sum it up beyond that. And the town itself is quaint (albeit a touch touristy) and offers some fantastic little pubs.
* Though I've been to Westminster before it was fantastic to do it again, this time with the audio tour. So incredibly impressive. Though it's hard to pick one favorite aspect, I found Poet's Corner to be enlightening and revealing the most surprises.
* The Tower of London is historically interesting and obviously holds the Crown Jewels. It's a good piece of history, and though I've been past it a zillion times, it was nice to have an extensive tour of the inside buildings.
* British pubs are unbeatable, except perhaps by those in Ireland.
And then there are some unmentionable stories... One or two of which I am still breaking down and reviewing in the deep recesses of my mind.
Home for six weeks and then off to Hong Kong. Much work to be done between now and then, and there are definitely long hours ahead...Plus, the whole home buying thing, which is kicking into high gear. Still slated to close by April 28. This is definitely a busy, busy month.
Before the good stuff, it's important to remove the distasteful moments from my memory. Lowlights included the following:
* Staying in the British Ghetto in Islington. I liken it to what Lincoln Park was 30 years ago and what Bucktown and Wicker Park were just 15 years ago. It's definitely not an area through which I'd feel comfortable walking alone at night, although the main drag featured a number of fantastic bars and restaurants. It was just everything else that sucked.
* The hotel in Islington was a dump. So much so that I am neither linking to its web site nor mentioning it by name. Really sad was the fact that the rack rate was staggeringly expensive for what it was all worth.
* The same co-worker had her purse stolen twice within the confines of the same breakfast room/bar. Top that. (The good news that came out of this was being handed cheap rate reservations at their sister property in the West End for our troubles; a 4-star joint that was absolutely elegant, proper, and just perfect)
With that aside, the highlights were numerous:
* Business was truly fantastic.
* I adored the group of people I spent time with -- although drinks every night took its toll. Averaging 3 hours a sleep a night is sad. But the amount of laughs were worth it. Cheeks still hurt. I may be catching up on sleep all night.
* Windsor Castle is amazing. I'm not sure there is a word to sum it up beyond that. And the town itself is quaint (albeit a touch touristy) and offers some fantastic little pubs.
* Though I've been to Westminster before it was fantastic to do it again, this time with the audio tour. So incredibly impressive. Though it's hard to pick one favorite aspect, I found Poet's Corner to be enlightening and revealing the most surprises.
* The Tower of London is historically interesting and obviously holds the Crown Jewels. It's a good piece of history, and though I've been past it a zillion times, it was nice to have an extensive tour of the inside buildings.
* British pubs are unbeatable, except perhaps by those in Ireland.
And then there are some unmentionable stories... One or two of which I am still breaking down and reviewing in the deep recesses of my mind.
Home for six weeks and then off to Hong Kong. Much work to be done between now and then, and there are definitely long hours ahead...Plus, the whole home buying thing, which is kicking into high gear. Still slated to close by April 28. This is definitely a busy, busy month.
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