Day two in Atlanta, and I feel as though I need a truckload of coffee to be nearly as perky as all of these other marketers. Whew! Seriously people. The day started out early, but since I was so tired and dragging a little, I managed to be running a bit late. And getting turned around trying to walk to the conference hotel didn't help! With some assistance at my own hotel, I was able to find it and make it to the opening ceremonies with no trouble. Cheesy music started the melodramatics, but the morning was actually really a good [View Full Entry]

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Well, I must admit, I've got a hate on for my computer right now. After being almost at the end of my post about Atlanta, my computer keypad reacted and reloaded the page - deleting all of my words. We'll see how the re-write goes! So anyway, after promising myself that I would never again come to Atlanta after a bad trip here in 2005, I find myself here again. HOTlanta. I'm trying to keep an open mind about my trip, since I do have two friends who moved here and obviously like it here. So maybe it's not all bad [View Full Entry]

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I assumed that the coolest thing about my trip would be meeting Dr. Helmut Kohl tomorrow evening, and listening to him speak about the reunification of Germany, with the Brandenburg Gate in the background. And yes, that will be pretty cool. But today, we also had something cool happen... Yesterday, I found out that Hosni Mubarak, the president of Egypt is staying at our hotel. Usually, there is someone cool at the hotel (Heidi Klum & Seal, U2), but I NEVER get to see them! So I was impr [View Full Entry]

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I did manage to write a couple of posts about my Berlin trip in May 2006 - Enjoy! This morning, it occurred to me that I should be blogging about my travels! As I walked back from Potsdamer Platz here in Berlin, and saw five pieces of what used to be the Berlin Wall, I realized two things: a) how lucky I am, and b) that I should be recording this for posterity! So here goes, and this will be short because of my terminal jet lag... We arrived yesterday [View Full Entry]

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The next day dawned bright and early - it was spa day! Mike planned to drop me in Wiesbaden on his way to work so that I could enjoy one of their famous spas. I was nervous, because it would really be the first time I was exploring the city on my own. The spa wasn't open when I got there, so I wandered around the walkplatz, looking again at the sights that Mike had pointed out on Monday and investigating some of the side streets. To my excitement, I found a Starbucks! I know, I know, in Germany, I really [View Full Entry]

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The next morning, Mike decided not to go into work. Instead, we bummed around the apartment all morning before finalizing plans to head to one of Mike's places for my European tour - Burg Eltz. Burg Eltz is one of the oldest castles in Germany. We drove an hour to get there, and I loved watching the scenery change as we sped along the autobahn. Mike stopped at a couple of places to take photos of me in a "traditional" German town, and by another castle before we arrived at Burg Eltz. It was beautiful, exactly as a medieval castle should [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Germany exhausted, and headed for the hotel where we waited for my cousin, Michael. Once he arrived, we went to the hotel restaurant for dinner, where I cheated a little and had steak and french fries. It was great to see Mike and listen to his stories about his recent travels and future plans. I was almost too tired to stay awake for the meal, but I managed to remain conscious through dinner, the ride to Mike's apartment, and talking until 11. Finally, I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, and I crashed for thirteen hours straight. [View Full Entry]

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Driving up to Mas Terrillo is not an especially memorable experience, so I was not prepared for what I saw when we walked up the pathway to the house. It was stunning - very much a true hacienda-type of Spanish house. Outside was a courtyard, at the end of which was a small chapel. The house rose in the background, lit warmly to cast off an inviting glow. In the courtyard were tables and a small bar, where the guests were mingling as waiters and waitresses with trays of hors d'oeuvres and drinks slipped in and out of their groups. In [View Full Entry]

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Joining the companions for the morning, we departed for the Gaudi tour of Barcelona. Our first stop was La Sagrada Familia, or the Sacred Family - Gaudi's church. The church has been in the process of completion for over 100 years, and is likely to take 40 more years. Gaudi knew that he would not finish it in his lifetime, and so he first built one side of it, so the people of Barcelona would always have one side that was his. The finished church will focus on three sides: the birth, death a [View Full Entry]

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The next day certainly began early - I was exhausted and not feeling at the top of my game, but I was up, wearing my suit and downstairs by eight. We prepared for the speakers and delegates to arrive, making some last minute adjustments and arrangments. The meetings that morning went well, albeit a little slowly. I think some of the speakers enjoyed listening to themselves talk! Afterwards, the delegates headed upstairs for lunch and I rounded up the companions who had taken a tour of the city that morning. We cleaned up the conference room, and I went to get [View Full Entry]

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