What is going on - weather is strange in tornado alley

Getting stuck in Chicago is not fun especially if one has to get back home to Dallas. I had to stay for another night in Chicago and as the planes were stranded in Dallas due to tornado warnings and heavy rain, I could not get a direct flight to Dallas... I had to fly via Des Moines, Iowa (with 2 hour layover).

We have had lots of bad weather in Dallas the last month or so and this is expected to continue to June or so. This is the penalty of living in the Tornado Alley.

Wake-up in Kerrville - it is raining!

Same thing as last year happened today! It was raining the whole morning (like last year when we stayed over night in Kerrville) and we drove towards west in the rain. Our first stop was to visit the famous motorcycle musem with a nice cup of coffee and a chat with the owners. After this, we headed towards the intersection where we have been each year (will have to get later with the names when I remember them). We also visited Garven store like last year and some of us got some beef jerky.

Our trip continued through Fredricksburg, the traditional Willow loop and then north towards Dallas on highway 16. The trip was 907.5 miles this time, so the last day was very long but rewarding. Fortunately the sun was shining from noon until late evening. We arrived around 08.00 PM to Trophy Club.

Kerrville, Comfort Inn -second night

We decided to stauy our second night in a pretty nice Comfort Inn in Kerrville. We got the last three rooms and the receptionist told us that there are 300 bikers in the nearby hotel. We run into them and they were the Honda Riders Association.

We had our dinner at Branding Iron Hotel in Kerrville and the service was sloooooooowwwww.... but the food was good. We had dinner in the same restaurant, same table 2 years ago, so I guess we did not initially remember the slow service.

We drove around 250 miles today.

Next stops Kerrville, Medina and Bandera

We had a beautiful drive in the afternoon.... We did not find a hotel in Bandera, so we had to return back to Kerrville. A word of advice... Make your hotel reservation in time... Everything is fully booked!

Lunch in Fredricksburg, Texas

We had our traditional lunch in a German restaurant..... I had my sausage plate which was unreal.... An beer of course..

Luckenback Hill Country - everybody is somebody in Luckenback

We visited the famous Luckenback that has only 3 people living there around the year.... According to the street signs.

First stop Becker Vinery in Hill Country

We did a tour at two vine yards in the beautiful Hill Country. We also visited Canyon Creek vine yard. First time that I have seen a vine yard in Texas.

First day - 200 miles

First day was 200 miles, the weather in Marble Falls in the morning is beautiful.... Some clouds but that is going to burn away. We stayed at the local Best Western hotel. There are 8 of us on this trip.

Hill Country trip - first night in Marble Falls

Beautiful weather, and our first night is in Marble Falls, Texas. This is a good landing to Hill Country.

I can not believe it - it is snowing in Chicago

I am on my way to Chicago and just heard that it is snowing there. Dallas will have 80 Fahrenheit today, so talking about a difference in weather! This time of the year can be very different from rest of the country, and I did not even pack my coat with me...

Heavy rain in New York is bad news

Here we go again.... It has rained thew whole day.... Very heavy and this is always bad news for business travelers. Multiple delayed flights, many cancelled ones and I am getting home to Dallas much later than expected. Well, better to get home than having to sleep in a hotel.

New York close to Eastern time

If you plan to be in New York close to Eastern vacation, expect to pay big bucks for everything.... My trip from Newark airport to Manhattan was around 65 bucks, my hotel room cost me 350 US and the room was like a small closet.... Cosy but small... If you want to visit a restaurant, make sure to leave plenty of time for your meal as everything was packed.

New York on my mind - Meeting in Manhattan

This morning I am on my way to New York Manhattan for a meeting. One night in my own bed was sweat and now my hotel life continues, fortunately only for one night.

The mold levels in Dallas are very high this time of the year and this causes lots of allergic reactions to people. However, with 80 Fahrenheit each day and green grass.... Nobody can beat that.

Flight from Zurich to Dallas was eventless

The flight back to Dallas, Texas went smooth and I have to say that flying in business makes a big difference. The flight was almost 11 hours and one thing is for sure... If I do not get upgraded on transatlantic when flying Boeing 767, I will fly something else... The coach seates in American Airlines 767 flights are unhuman.

Charles de Gaulle - I can not get used to it

We were in time on the airport, but the confusing terminal 2 caused us grief.... The 200 meter line in the Swiss counter was horrifying and the same thing in the security lines. I am not sure how people that travel frequently can take the hassle. Let's see if our bags will arrivve to Dallas the same time.

Sunday in the beautiful Paris

We walked propably 20 miles in the beautiful Paris and the city was full of people trying to enjoy the sun that finally came after a couple of rainy days. The city architecture is amazing even if I have seen it multiple times and the Latin Quarter with Sorbonne is my favorite place of all. The day went by very quickly and we decided to spend the final night in Holiday Inn at the Charles de Gaulle airport. Clean and nice hotel but nothing around the hotel such as shops etc.... Purely for business travel.

Buddha Bar Paris - some feedback

The very famous Buddha Bar in Paris is a very interesting place and is very close to the Concord Place and hotel Crillon that Lance Armstrong used when he got his 7th consecutive win in Tour de France. The Buddha Bar has a Finnish founder (former model) and I have to congratulate her on the accomplishment!

However, I was not happy with a few things... I spent around 250 US in our dinner and the appetizer and my main meal did not taste anything and it was in fact very bad. I am by no means a culiranist, but they should do better with the money I spent. Also, the place is so dark that you can not read the menu and some people used thei cell phones to get some more light. And finally, they have a restaurant in New York which I have to test out to see how that is. I am not giving up on them yet.

Market Restaurant with a famous chef

We had a chance to visit the famous restaurant Market with a famous New York chef with the known "Black Plate" appetizer. Overall, very nice restaurant and we even had a chance to sit our dessert in the chefs table, which is very rare opportunity. Make sure you are prepared to spend serious cash when visiting this restaurant.

Hilton by Eiffel Tower, Paris - feedback

The hotel is built propably in the 70s, but has been renovated and is very nice internally. I had a corner room with a view of the Eiffel tower, so what can be nicer than that? The only "bad thing" is that it is pretty far from my favorite place which is the Latin Quarters close to Sorbonne. Other than that, very nice hotel and they also had very good service, polite and correct.

Paris, France - how to get to town with 20 Euros

I have never used a Yellow Airport cab when traveling from Charles de Gaulle to downtown Paris. I stayed in Hilton by the Eiffel Tower.