TRAVEL. 6 Countries, 9 cities: Rome, Ibiza, Barcelona, Andorra, Stiges, Paris, London, Rome, Miami, Nashville
WORK. 2 Businesses: Evvnt, Consulting
PLAY. Lifestyle: Exploring, Walking, Hiking, Harry Potter Exhibitions, Skiing, Snowboarding, Festivals, Shopping, (Funeral)
WORK. 2 Businesses: Evvnt, Consulting
PLAY. Lifestyle: Exploring, Walking, Hiking, Harry Potter Exhibitions, Skiing, Snowboarding, Festivals, Shopping, (Funeral)
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I'm still not sure how February turned into such a travel frenzy. After a well-executed January, we felt relaxed and ready for February. We had a few days left in Rome and decided to switch from the Rome Edition to the St. Regis Rome for a night, intrigued by its famous breakfast and service. The hotel, known as The Grand, boasts stories of celebrity guests like George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Conveniently located near the train station, it set us up perfectly for our late departure to Barcelona the next day.
I spent some time catching up on work, planning to take 10 days off to take the children skiing in Andorra. We landed in Barcelona late at night, checked into a local hotel, and then it was straight to bed. The next morning, I flew to Ibiza to pick up my children, who had been staying on the island since the pandemic. As London became increasingly challenging during the pandemic, island living offered its advantages, and it seemed like a permanent solution. Regardless, my children found a safe haven there, with sunshine and a great school that taught them English, Spanish, and French—a luxury to be embraced with both hands. With only 24 hours to gather ski equipment, we were soon on a plane back to Barcelona, staying at the W Hotel, one of my favorites.
The girls were a bit nervous, not having seen them for a while due to Christmas and family obligations, but they knew to expect adventure. We picked up a car from Hertz and got upgraded to an amazing Volvo Estate, it was like a rocket ship... I love rocket ships. The next morning, we drove to Andorra. If you've never been, the drive alone is worth the visit. The excitement of being with the girls and driving through the stunning Spanish landscape was exhilarating, into the hills and then the mountains of Andorra.
The hotel in Andorra wasn't glamorous, but it was what you'd expect from a budget ski resort, one of my daughters was a little ill for a couple of days, we managed to get some skiing in, including a few private ski lessons which I strongly advise for new young learners.
Ski Lift, Andorra
It was wonderful to see the quietest of my daughters discovering her strengths on the slopes, I also find removing myself as her father and putting them with tutors who they have to respond to improves their speed to learn as they find it harder to say no or rebel.
Ski Hill
On the first two days I spent most of my time pushing the girls up the nursery slope and running down which I found surprisingly fun and healthy, on the third day I managed to get a snowboard and hit the slopes myself with the new skiers, super fun, super nice.
Two Days Work - Paying off
Andorra got small quick so we jumped back in the car and head back to Spain - next stop Stiges for the annual Carnival.Stiges, (Events Schedule) a village just past Barcelona, where we checked into a superb hotel, the Sabàtic, Sitges, Autograph Collection had what we needed, sunshine, food, town explores and also lots of fun activities.
We spent three days enjoying the local town festival and doing some retail shopping. It was a great opportunity to catch up on work while enjoying some downtime. The hotel was a little back from the town, but I personally prefer an awesome hotel and the option to get out of crazy, no matter where I'm travelling.
Having the kids for 10 days was wonderful, it's a full time job that starts at 6.30am and runs through to 10pm, 7 days a week - made my job feel Part Time and i'm a workaholic... I loved the time with the girls, the up time was great, the hanging out comforting just getting lost and discovering your environment can be lots of fun with great company but as with all parenting, sometimes you need a little rest bite and I found it in Yoga... Well the Yoga Mat to be precise ;-)
Teaching the Girls Yoga !
After 10 days, I returned to Ibiza to drop off the girls. It was an in and out trip but managed to get a laptop out, have a glass of wine and do some work. #TodaysOffice
Ibiza
Upon landing, I heard that a close friend's mother had passed away, so I immediately started looking for flights to London to attend the funeral. Flights to London were ridiculously expensive, but I found a cheap one to Paris and then to London.
Paris... I love any excuse to visit amazing cities, so we took a day flight and arrived in Paris in the afternoon, just in time for some delicious local cuisine. We stayed at the Opera Ambassador Hotel, perfectly located for quick tourism.
I like to take small authentic restaurants and look for house specials - steak frites, red wine hit the mark. If you've never been to France, then you will never know what it's like to pick the smallest, quaintest little restaurant and get the best food of your entire life.
Steak Frites & Red Wine
The next day, we flew to London... I say London, but it's actually an airport in Southend on Sea, I say an airport... It's a field with a road planes land on ;-). The good news was the airport was empty and trains operated to Liverpool Street every 30 minutes so it was a cheap alternative ($50) and much easier than the big hubs.
With little hotel availability, we moved between several hotels over the week, including Threadneedles London City, The Westin London City, which has an amazing breakfast, Club lounge and spa - rooms are a little bland but peaceful.
SPA !
On to the W Hotel, which if you don't know has a secret bar overlooking Leicester Square that has the largest 'Disco Ball' in London...
W Hotel - SECRET BAR ;-)
and finally the Sheraton Grand... The Sheraton is one of my favorites due to having deep baths, (if you love hotels with baths, then you are following the right travel site) perfect for relaxing after long adventures, if you can stay her... do.
During this time, I managed to catch up with our sales team and even hired two interns for the marketing team. It's always good to show your face and let the team know you're present, even in a remote work environment. We also continued pitching to Newsquest for ticketing, although their focus was on other projects, pushing us to Q3 2024.
The Tube London - 'Mind The Gap'
Walking past my old residence brought back memories, and I felt a pang of regret for not having the capital to buy it. Nonetheless, I enjoyed some of my favorite restaurants, including YeYe and Entrecôte, and indulged in a cupcake and coffee at Hummingbird Bakery.
I hadn't planned on being in London, but being there for my friend during such a difficult time was important. The presence of friends and family during these moments is invaluable. Attending the funeral and sharing stories at the pub afterward reminded me of the strength found in community and friendship. The gift of travel also takes away time with friends and family and whilst new friends are discovered, you can't match the depth in friendship discovered over 20 years.
Friendship discovered over 20 years.
I wish DB strength in this difficult time and look to brighter occasions in the future. I learnt that such times put the rest in to perspective. Live your best life, live it for you and be present with your true friends and family.
We flew Nashville via Miami via Rome (as the flights were $300 v's $2500 out of London), I've become very very good at finding flight deals - It was a tight schedule, but the flights were crazy cheap and did i mention I LOVE getting stuck in Awesome cities... Next stop: Rome.
London to Rome
Rome was super chill and we'd booked an AirBnB as we had team, finding a brass plate on the side of a wall in Rome at 1am is always going to be fun... I'd advise always arriving during the day for AirBnB rentals... I always fail to do this, but it's stella advice.
Finding AirBnB's in Rome
The Miami flight was air italia... LOVE Air Italia, Love Italy.. Why were we leaving... oh yes work. (It's NEVER a good idea leaving Italy, my advice is to fly in, burn your passport and never leave. Disclaimer: Not all my suggestions are sane. (Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity)
Airports always insight retail shopping, gadgets, inspired ideas of what more could I do, I think I picked this up from my early family travel trips where we used to get to the airport and buy new sunglasses or simply stock up for the plane... I'd decided to invest in the new Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses... It felt wrong, I already knew that no one wants to be recorded by this type of product as it's too discreet to activate peoples 'on camera' actions but I wanted a way to showcase the world without being in it... so...
Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses.
Nashville was a skip and jump on spirit - Sonder was the apartment of choice, again, ideal for team and we arrived in good shape, dropped the bags and headed straight to the Nashville Country Radio Seminar opening bar at the Omni which was followed by Dinner at Bob's Chop Shop.
Bob's Chop Shop
We had just signed a reseller deal with a radio software CMS, and I was eager to introduce one of our sales managers to American conferences and our partner network. It had felt like a while since I'd been in the USA and was excited to get back to it, it had been 24 hours of flying, straight into the fire, drinks were hitting hard, the food was spectacular but I did not have the appetite... Bed was calling and I really needed a great nights sleep... then this popped up on my phone and they say they are not watching and listening.
Made me laugh!