Keri & Lucio's European Vacation

Ok - it's been way too long since I've last updated the blog. I am going to try to remember what we've been up to as best I can!

Keri and Lucio came to visit at the end of May for a mini-European tour! They stayed with us during the last bank holiday weekend, then went to Paris for a couple days on the Eurostar, then to Rome to visit Lucio's family and then back to London!

While they were here, we hit all the London top tourist spots, saw Billy Elliott the musical, went to the British Museum to view the Rosetta Stone (Lucio's favorite!), ate at a ton of good restaurants (K&L took us out to a fantastic dinner one night at Joe Allen's), had a few pints with Andrew & Katie up in Hampstead, and a ton of other things that I know I'm forgetting!

Probably the most memorable part of their trip was checking out a science fiction exhibit called the London "Telectroscope", which was supposed to look like a giant underground tunnel that connects London Bridge to the Brooklyn Bridge (really it was just a tunnel popping out of the ground with a webcam showing NY at the end). We waited in the queue for more than an hour, paid £1 each to see it and ended up not even really getting to see the it because a family was hogging the whole space! Not to mention that we were all disspointed when we actually got to see it up close - skype is even much better! Although, I don't know what we were expecting! HA

It was so good to see them (since it had been since xmas!) and have some time to catch up! And I still can't believe how much they did while they were here!

Last Round on the Underground

The new Mayor of London banned drinking on the tube effective June 1st. So Londoners planned a huge party on the circle line last Saturday night dubbed "the last round on the underground".

Katie, Andrew & I headed down to the Baker Street tube stop with a few bottles of wine and check it out. What a fun night!! It was like a frat party on public transportation. Thousands of people turned up and they ended up having to close the tube around 11 due to overcrowding. Quote: "We have lost control of the tube!" We did make it all the way around and back to Baker Street before they closed it though!

Here's a youtube video of what it was like - and I'm even in one little clip!! ha (check out 0:33)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFNNDdI036s&feature=related

New advertisment on the tube...best ever

MBA Tournament

Last weekend we headed to Paris (or so we thought) for a long weekend away at Bobby's MBA tournament. We ended up an hour outside the city near HEC's campus, where the tournament was being held. About 80 people from Cass attended and there were about 1500 people from 14 different MBA programs in Europe that came to compete in 26 individual and team sports.

On the first day, I went into the city to tour around with Christine - another "supporter" (i.e. not participating in any sports). It was a bit of an adventure - running to the bus, catching about 3 different trains home, and trying to get around with our very limited french skills. Bobby had his first basketball game where he scored 7 points! That night we went to dinner with everyone at HEC, then watched the talent show and then Cass perform in the salsa competition! (Fantastic by the way).

Saturday Bobby ran cross country in the morning and then had two basketball games in the afternoon. He came in second for Cass in cross country - it was a very difficult course in the hills behind the campus. And, even though he was talked to by the referree a few times :), he was a superstar on the basketball team!

Sunday we woke up early and headed into the city to do some sightseeing (poor Bobby - he was so sore from all his activities the day before!). It was Bobby's first time in Paris, so first things first, we went to the top of Eiffel Tower. Btw - did you know there is a tiny apartment on the very top? We climbed up the steps to the second landing and then took the glass elevator to the summit. It was a gorgeous day, so we were able to see everything. Then to Notre Dame, Arch de Triumph, Sacre Cour, the Louvre, Moulin Rouge - we did a lot in just 8 hours!

India

by Bobby
Long Lost Blog Contributor
(pictures will be re-uploaded in more detail later)

Having Ma & Pa in for a week was great! Running them around town via a 'joint custody' format, I think that they were able to hit all the major London and Paris sites in 1 week! Incredible for even a seasoned tour operator I must say. Congratulations to all!

I ushered both Ma & Pa to LHR early Saturday for their flight back to the states, and wouldn't you know, but my India elective class required me to fly out at the same terminal at nearly the same time. So we piled onto Heathrow Express and whizzed our way to LHR. We said our good-bye's till July and their Air Canada flight and my Gulf Air flight departed on-time (which is an extremely rare occurrence at LHR) flying in opposite directions.

I arrived the next morning in Bangalore (Bangaluru) to begin my week long elective class investigating current Outsourcing and Off-shoring practices by foreign and domestic multi-national corporations (hmm...sounds complicated). It
was an amazing experience. The course was intended to exhibit India's rapid corporate emergence against the backdrop of their cultural positioning. Overall the course accomplished this extremely well.


What was personally most apparent upon landing in India was the sheer size of its population and how visible that population is. Bangalore, a city designed for maybe 1 million people has 6 million living their now and Delhi (our second stop on the course) has 13 million. The concentration of people in these urban areas is both a blessing (huge potential consumer base and large human resource base) and a curse (extensive poverty). While India possesses the largest 'middle class' population in the world, it also has a population near to that of the US living on close to $1 a day. It was a world of contrasts.

I had a chance to get out and explore Bangalore on Day 1 with my good pal Takeshi. We walked up MG Blvd. to what could be considered the city centre and saw the sights, even taking some time to check out the local Art Museum (tickets were $.10 each, WHAT A DEAL!). The cramped urban landscape of Bangalore was completely different to the wide manicured avenues of South Delhi.




Our hotels were immaculate. Staying at the Leela Palace and Taj Residency in Bangalore and Taj Mahal Hotel in Delhi put another spin on the contrasts existing in the country. On advice from one of my classmates, I, Dr. Svenning (of course) reserved a table for 10 at the all-you-can-eat-and-drink brunch at Citrus in the Leela Palace. Probably one of the best culinary displays I have tasted, but a very sterlised perspective of Indian cuisine and culture.

Our access to companies during the week was amazing. We visited Dell, Motorola, WiPro, SAP, and Deutsche Bank among others in Bangalore and Bharti AirTel (India's version of Verizon Wireless) in Delhi. The visits typically comprised of a presentation and Q&A session with some executives on the impact of their location to the overall value chain of the company, and also included a tour of their premises. Some like SAP and WiPro, are enormous campuses which house 10,000-20,000 employees while others like Dell or Motorola were just big singular buildings. Whatever the case, these companies are driving a massive amount of infrastructure development in the country (which is what is desperately needed). I could go on here about details...but I'll spare you for now.


After finishing our tour of Bangalore we headed to scorching Delhi on Kingfisher Airlines (also the largest beer producer in India, what a combination) for a couple days. We got a chance to visit sites such as the Akshardham Temple and India Gate, shopped at Palika Bazaar (an underground mall, which was a great idea considering the temperature) and even got caught in my first sandstorm! Delhi was 109°F for both days. Baking hot.

I was very careful about what I ate and how I ate (only cooked food and lots of hand sanitizer, Keri would be proud), but in the end had no issues (just in case you are wondering about my GI status) and the food was terrific. Dining highlights were typically away from the shelter of the hotels, when small groups of us in Bangalore experienced 'real' Southern Indian cuisine on a few occasions served on banana leaves.

There is much more to tell, but I can't keep writing as I'm losing interest in my own story (something that happens quite often to me). All in all an amazing experience, which I can't wait to revisit at another point in the future.

Tata.

Bobby's parent's visit!

Bobby's parents visited last week! They got in last Friday morning and "checked into" our tiny flat while we were at class/work (we insisted they stayed with us and loved it!). That afternoon they explored parts of Westminster on their own, then met me and Bobby after work for drinks on Villier's street. Then we went to dinner at a tiny greek restaurant in Covent Garden - Bobby was psyched because they served the bread free with the hummus! It's the little things in life...

Saturday Bobby had a full day of class so Bob, Ellen & I headed out for the sights - Portobello Road, St. Paul's, Tate Modern Art museum and Harrods... We even walked and saw a gibbet outside Clink Prison (a gibbet is a structure that was used to display the dead bodies of executed criminals to the public) which now has special meaning for Bobby and I since it is also the name of the place we're getting married - how romantic. Anyway, after Bobby got out of class we headed up to Hampstead Heath for dinner, but couldn't get a table anywhere! So we ended up having a liquid meal at a couple pubs that Andrew showed us and then headed back to our flat for a few more glasses of wine. There was a lot of catching up to do!

Sunday we prepped for Bob & Ellen's trip to Paris with a dry run to King Cross station and had to see platform 9 3/4 while we were there! We went to Covent Garden again to watch some street performers and grab a traditional pasty as a snack before meeting up with Bobby for a tour of his school. This was actually more difficult than you'd expect because of the security at Cass - they treat it like Fort Knox! Afterwards, Bobby gave us a walking tour of the financial district and then we stopped for a traditional Sunday Roast. That night Bobby got us tickets for the Keys Ceremony at the Tower of London - a traditional ceremony where they lock up the Tower that has been going on for over 700 years. It was one of the highlights of the week - amazing!

Monday and Tuesday Bob and Ellen went to Paris on the Eurostar - ate crepes, went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and did the L'Open bus tour to make sure they saw everything in only a couple days. They even brought us back some wine and cheese!



Bobby's classes were finished, so he was able to go with them up to Windsor Castle on Wednesday. Only problem was that April 23rd is St George's Day in England (who knew) and it's one of 5 days all year that the castle is closed to the public! They at least were able to walk around and see Eton College as well (where the princes went to school) and stopped at some cute shops along the high street. When they got back to London, they took a trip to our local grocery store to buy some ingredients for dinner. Bob cooked a delicious meal for all of us and Frankie too - I think the only leftovers were a few green beans! Afterwards, we went to see Spamalot and then whistled the tunes as we walked to Soho to get a drink at a trendy little bar. It was a busy day!

Thursday Bobby and his parents went to the Tower of London tour (saw the crown jewels), took a tour of Chelsea, and saw Kensington Palace. Bob and Ellen took a walk around Regent's Park and saw the zoo, rose gardens, etc. We all met back at the apartment for drinks and apps before a wonderful meal at Pattersons that Bobby's parents treated us to! It was such a special night!



They saved the best for last and took a trip to Borough Market on Friday - my favorite! Then one more walk down the Thames to pick me up at my office after work. We went back to our place to pack and have a few apps and wine before we headed to a sunset, champagne flight on the London Eye! The view was amazing and we got to share our "bubble" with the nicest family! Afterwards we found a bar that played jazz and Bob and I thumbwrestled over who paid the bill -they had already picked up too much!

Then back to Boston for Bobby's parents on Saturday morning. He ended up going with them to the airport since he was flying out to India an hour later. We still never ended up riding the double decker bus - so it looks like they have no choice but to come back soon! :)

Frankie turns 21

Frankie celebrated her 21st in London on April 16th. Bobby and I took her to dinner on Marylebone High St, then we went on a pub crawl with her friends from Regent's College. At one of the pubs, Frankie's friend Kasey got roped into playing darts with a 70 year old man who called himself "Dave the Dart". Ah, to be 21 again....

Dee & Frankie visit Salzburg

Frankie and I spent the weekend in Salzburg. It may seem like a random location for a girl's trip and an early celebration of her 21st birthday (so soon!), but there was a lot to do and see! It is a gorgeous city.


We took a 3:30 am bus to the airport to catch our early morning flight on Friday and ended up getting into our hotel in Salzberg around 10am. We had a "sound of music" themed room and the movie was showing on the TV 24 hours a day - ha. We wasted no time, got ready and started to explore! Our hotel was a 10 min walk to the "old town" so we went to the Getriedegasse, the main shopping street, and got some new cute shoes and tops. We walked up the River Salzach, to the Mirabell gardens (where they shot the "do re mi" song - recognize it from the pic?), through the market, and headed up to the Festung Hohensalzburg (literally "High Salzburg Fortress" in German). You can see the fortress in the background of the pic on the left.

We went to dinner and a Mozart concert that took place in the fortress that night. Our view was amazing - overlooking the Untersburg mountain in the Alps. Dinner was delicious, except for the "beef in aspic" that came as a starter. We took a picture - it was essentially beef flavored jello with veggies and meat in it. We at least tasted it (mom, you'd be proud). The room where the concert was held was an old banquet room in the fortress that overlooked the city. And the music was amazing.

The next day we woke up early and went to see Mozart's birthplace and residence. It was interesting to learn that he was composing at the age of five, he spent over 10 years of his life touring Europe and that he disliked Salzburg very much! That afternoon we went on the Sound of Music tour - what we had been waiting for! Such a fun time. We sang to the soundtrack in the bus, learned all facts about the movie and the actual Von Trapp Family story, and re-enacted all our favorite scenes at all the locations!

That night we had dinner and drinks in the Augustinerbräu beer cellar, which is a HUGE beer cellar in the basement of a church. We could barely find it! No one spoke english, so we ended up ordering food that we had no idea what it was. Delicious though (much better than the beef jello). And drank a lot of beer, of course. Afterwards we went to a bar on the rooftop of a trendy hotel overlooking the "old town" and had some girly drinks...the perfect ending to our trip!