It was another busy week and before we plunge into an equally busy weekend, here are a few highlights.
Dima came on Monday. Hurray!! Then Dan's parents left on Tuesday. It was very sad. They've made a ton of farmer cheese pancakes and rice pilaf before they left. Kids are consuming the first one at enjoyable rate while lamenting that they are no longer here and asking when we can return back to US.
On Tuesday I went to the work conference in London. It was interesting to watch team members from all around the world show up - India, China, Spain, France. Very cool. Watching how a large global company builds commitment and motivation internally was a learning experience. The CEO is very charming and is liked universally. After the keynotes ended I went back home to get some work done. At night we had dinner @ Brown's downstairs. It was very relaxing and enjoyable.
On Wednesday I went back for some more networking activities and in the evening Dima and Dan came up and we walked around the evening London. Our first night out in London actually. We started with some beers at some local bar for the locals and them moved over to Great Queen Street restaurant for dinner.
This was the first time in many years on living in the English speaking country that we actually had to whip out our smartphones to look up what the items on the menu meant. Literally every other item. Of course in the past it was not smartphones but the dictionary but you get the idea. Really interesting English food. Way better than roast on Sunday. After getting loaded on the dictionary words and some dishes, we rolled outside and continued our walk toward some good desert. On the way we accidentally stumbled into China town. Interestingly the streets were filled with gypsy women selling flowers. We walked upstairs into Candy Café and discovered that it was serving traditional Asian sweets. As we were craving something heavier we got out and kept going eventually finishing our explorations back at the hotel.
On Thursday I went back to the conference while Dan and Dima worked in London until lunch and then went home for their calls. After lunch a couple of co-workers and I boarded a plane at the city airport and went to Amsterdam for a tradeshow. The ride into town on the taxi took longer than the flight. We are staying at Dikker en Thijs Fenice Hotel. It was pretty funny about our rooms. Our room numbers range from 200s to 400s. The reception clerk told us that our rooms are on the second floor. Hmm, elevator does go to the second floor but then you have to go through the maze of corridors and climb a winding staircase (love those) up another 2 stories. My room seems to occupy the entire building attic. Just a huge space with a humble bed and a TV. My co-workers said they got the same. For dinner we've stayed at the hotel restaurant. Highly recommended. Equally great as last night's place.
Tomorrow we are going to the trade show and then heading back to our homes in the afternoon. On Saturday we are going to Scotland to work from there for a week. It feels like we are changing gears all the time. It is very enjoyable but I hope it will not desensitize us to the joys of just sitting at home one weekend and watching TV while doing absolutely nothing else.
Dima came on Monday. Hurray!! Then Dan's parents left on Tuesday. It was very sad. They've made a ton of farmer cheese pancakes and rice pilaf before they left. Kids are consuming the first one at enjoyable rate while lamenting that they are no longer here and asking when we can return back to US.
On Tuesday I went to the work conference in London. It was interesting to watch team members from all around the world show up - India, China, Spain, France. Very cool. Watching how a large global company builds commitment and motivation internally was a learning experience. The CEO is very charming and is liked universally. After the keynotes ended I went back home to get some work done. At night we had dinner @ Brown's downstairs. It was very relaxing and enjoyable.
On Wednesday I went back for some more networking activities and in the evening Dima and Dan came up and we walked around the evening London. Our first night out in London actually. We started with some beers at some local bar for the locals and them moved over to Great Queen Street restaurant for dinner.
This was the first time in many years on living in the English speaking country that we actually had to whip out our smartphones to look up what the items on the menu meant. Literally every other item. Of course in the past it was not smartphones but the dictionary but you get the idea. Really interesting English food. Way better than roast on Sunday. After getting loaded on the dictionary words and some dishes, we rolled outside and continued our walk toward some good desert. On the way we accidentally stumbled into China town. Interestingly the streets were filled with gypsy women selling flowers. We walked upstairs into Candy Café and discovered that it was serving traditional Asian sweets. As we were craving something heavier we got out and kept going eventually finishing our explorations back at the hotel.
On Thursday I went back to the conference while Dan and Dima worked in London until lunch and then went home for their calls. After lunch a couple of co-workers and I boarded a plane at the city airport and went to Amsterdam for a tradeshow. The ride into town on the taxi took longer than the flight. We are staying at Dikker en Thijs Fenice Hotel. It was pretty funny about our rooms. Our room numbers range from 200s to 400s. The reception clerk told us that our rooms are on the second floor. Hmm, elevator does go to the second floor but then you have to go through the maze of corridors and climb a winding staircase (love those) up another 2 stories. My room seems to occupy the entire building attic. Just a huge space with a humble bed and a TV. My co-workers said they got the same. For dinner we've stayed at the hotel restaurant. Highly recommended. Equally great as last night's place.
Tomorrow we are going to the trade show and then heading back to our homes in the afternoon. On Saturday we are going to Scotland to work from there for a week. It feels like we are changing gears all the time. It is very enjoyable but I hope it will not desensitize us to the joys of just sitting at home one weekend and watching TV while doing absolutely nothing else.
No comments:
Post a Comment
If you are a spammer, please don't bother leaving a comment!