Thursday, October 26, 2006

On my way to Helsinki Finland - I heard it is raining over there

This time of the year one might not want to visit Finland.... It is rainy, iit is getting darker and overall it is murky and people are getting ready for a long winter. The weather is around 0 celsius during mornings (32 Fahrenheit) so one has to be prepared to wear warm clothes. I am sure I will get my share of autumn during my trip.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Nashville - nice experience

On the airport again. Now in the Nashville International airport. Some advice. The airport is not built for business travelers. I had to hunt down an electric wall plug to be able to work.... this place needs renovation badly. The Gaylord Opryland was beautiful and I hope to visit the place in the future as well.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center is unreal

I thought I had seen it all.... but this place really is huge, beautiful and you need to have a map to be able to navigate the place.... I talked with one of the guys here and this place have rooms for 2800 people, which is unreal. The Gaylord Texan is not even close to the size of this one. I have visited now all three Gaylords.... I heard they are building one in Washington and I believe one in San Diego.....

Nashville - the heart of country music

An unexpected trip to Nashville.... Got to love it as I have never visited Nashville.... In fact I have never even been in the state itself. I will be staying at the original gaylord hotel Opryland Gaylord... There are only three of these as far as I know.... One here in Dallas (Grapevine), one in Orlando, Florida and this one that I will be visiting. My visit is only for one night as I have to fly to Finland on Thursday.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Boeing 767 - I made business class again

If you travel extensively, the only right way to execute your travel plans is to concentrate your travel to one airliner. I fly transatlantic on regular basis and the upgrades from economy to business has worked really well with me. I get to fly more comfortably these long and tiring flights. I already miss my golf, so thursday needs to be a golf afternoon!

Zurich airport works well

Of all European airports, I really like the way the Zurich airport works. It is organized, clean, and the movement from one terminal to the other works. I just arrived from Nice, France and will be flying to Dallas, Texas.

I won't have many days in Dallas as I have to be in Nashville on Tuesday and Wednesday and then to Finland on Thursday via Frankfurt. Fortunately I have the chance to take my family to Dallas Stars hockey game on Monday evening.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Taxi fee Cannes - Nice airport - felt like somebody just stole from me

It feels like unreal.... It cost me 75 euros to get to Cannes from the Nice airport and 90 Euros to get back.... I feel this is almost stealing!

Hotel Splendid in Cannes - not bad at all

I stayed at Hotel Splendid in the very heart of Cannes. The hotel was very nice and clean, and the breakfast room had a very nice terass that you could use in the morning. The rooms are not big, no shower curtains when you want to shower.... I guess the hotel assumes you to use the bath.... which I never do. My collague stayed in the beautiful hotel Majestic and it looked like that hotel was a few notches more exclusive.

One of our meetings was in a hotel (Sofitel) that is close to Splendid and this hotel had one of the most beautiful scenaries I have seen.... It was overlooking the beautiful Mediterranian.

Monaco - a pearl I can not get enough of

I visited Monaco one night for dinner in the very famous Cafe Paris that is the building by the Monte Carlo Casino. Even if I had been in Monaco multiple times, I have never been eating at Cafe Paris and nor have I been inside the casino. Now I have done both and it was really worth it!

If you stay in Cannes and want to visit Monaco, the way to go is to use the train. It is very cheap... Under 20 Euros both ways.... and then a short walking distance from the train station to the Casino and Cafe Paris.

I would highly suggest to check out the spectacular views from the hill down to the Monaco bay... The best way to descibe this is to give follow directions: when exciting the casino, turn immediately to you left and walk around 200 to 300 meters and you can see the beautiful Monaco downtown from a distance. Do this both day and nighttime.

Cannes - Nice motorway is the way to get to the airport

My flight back from Nice to Zurich is very early in the morning and for me to get to the airrport in the morning from Cannes using cab.... the motorway is the only way

I suggested my friends that came to the meeting to visit Antibes and Les Pins with car using the coastal road. Some of them had decided to extend the visit by driving to Italy and also spend a day in Monaco.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Zurich airport lounge - a few tips of advice

i had a few hours im the Swiss lounge and I have to say that what have they been thinking about when servicing laptop users. There were no outlets for electricity and the ones that they had were built in a way that no electric connector would work Unreal....

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Cannes, France here I come

My participation in the new Board of Directors that I was elected to (IAMCP international board) takes me this time to Cannes France via Zurich, Schwitzerland. I have a connection flight to take to Nice and then a cab to Cannes.

I will be staying until Tuesday morning next week. Cannes is one of the favorite places that I and my wife enjoy.... Howeever, this is the first time I visit so late in the fall.

Stay tuned....