June 10, 2008… yes almost one month from the last instalment…boy, what can happen in a short time… I have been back and forth to the US twice, to Lake Como with niece Jessica, Prague for a two day meeting and I am now travelling back from Stockholm after a two day meeting!! Yes, I can honestly say that I am a well travelled gal. So, let’s see, what else has happened during (or in between) my airplane rides? The most significant was the birth of my grandson, Vincent Steven Noce who weighed in at 6lbs, 14oz, 21.5 inches long…a good size for being two weeks early. (see pictures on My Kodak Gallery)
He was born via a planned “C” section, therefore both Grandma’s were able to share in the joy! Big Sister Adriana, Auntie Steph, and friend Arwen were among the waiting room guests. We all cheered when proud Daddy, Tony brought the alert, bright-eyed baby boy to meet his family…. Shortly after, Great-Grandma West (Dolores), Grand-Auntie Chris and Grand-Cousin Jessica arrived to welcome Vinny as well… All went well, Kelly is a trouper, not one to want any special attention. She doesn’t complain and she made sure her daughter was included in the family’s special day… Everyone came home three days after he was born. By Sunday he had his first outing to his big sister’s dance recital… already a very social kid…While his mom and dad stayed with him in hospital, the two grandma’s and Auntie Steph got to spoil Adriana silly. I bet she will remember his birth as a very fun time for her… she got presents, two new dresses, got to stay up late and eat whatever she wanted. She didn’t have to go to school and we didn’t have her doing homework! Good times. Unfortunately, my trip was short and I headed back to the UK on Sunday, arriving on Monday morning. Monday afternoon I was on another plane to Prague… no rest for the wicked!
During my time in Prague I was lucky to “firm up” my new job which will land me back in California. I will be working in marketing for our Consumer Solutions Division in Sunnyvale. No details yet, still waiting for the offer. Once that is completed I will be able to plan my exit from EMEA… bitter sweet, I have loved my job and the people I am working with. At this point in my life I realize how fast life moves on. Being so far away from my family, especially the grandchildren forced my decision to come back. Two years sped by. It is time to come home and once again settle into my life. I feel stronger, renewed and wiser…It will be a new adventure…
Ok, to catch up: So, let’s see… Niece Jessica… while she visited we travelled to Lake Como, Italy… this was a combined business/personal trip. I had been asked to meet with one of the event companies that Seagate uses for a very upscale incentive trip for our sales award winners… oh darn!! The trip started with a delayed flight that got us into Milan very late at night… we had to land at an alternative airport and then be bussed to the intended one…it was 1:30am before we arrived where we were supposed to pick up our rental car… guess what? Car rental place was closed! We could not find a taxi either! After about 30 min we finally found a taxi that would take us the 45 minutes to Como… it was pouring rain! I was glad I didn’t have to drive since I had no idea where I was going... we made it to our hotel, however, the front doors had been closed with steel storm doors, presumably to keep the riff – raff out. Luckily our taxi driver pounded on the door and got someone to let us in. We hit the pillows about 3am… and then we were off again in the morning to the upscale hotel we were there to check out… Wow… it was fantastic. One of then Leading Hotels of the World., the Villa D’Este sits on a wide part of Lake Como… You can get there either by car or boat… The rooms were lovely and the view spectacular, even if you were in the back of the hotel. The first day we visited some off site event possibilities, a fabulous villa that George Clooney used in Oceans Thirteen, two restaurants that were great “dine around” options and then a wonderful dinner at a restaurant that had so many fresh flowers you might mistake it for a flower shop. It even had little stools at each table for women’s purses… The next day, however, was by far our favourite outing. We got picked up in a semi-covered water taxi, complete with a local guide who shared the history of the area with us. She pointed out the important houses of the rich and famous, among them, George Clooney, Richard Branson (Virgin), Versage and many of the Italian rich and famous that we didn’t recognize… As we cruised along, the waves splashing easily, the sun shining, listening to the history of the area we just kept smiling at each other and Jess just kept saying… “This is so cool…” and it was! We cruised right up to the shores of Bellagio, the village that the Las Vegas hotel was inspired by. There were lots of wonderful shops, eating places, as well as the best people watching anyone could ask for. Sad for us, but lucky for our wallets, we were only there for a short time. Of course we managed to purchase a few things before getting back on board… Our next stop was an island only reachable by boat. Overlooking the lake towards the town of Como sits a restaurant, Locanda dell'Isola Comacina , famous for it’s never changing, traditional northern Italy menu and odd ritual of coffee service at desert. Many pictures hang on the wall advertising the important visitors over the years….The Ocean’s Thirteen crew (including Jennifer Aniston with Brad Pitt), political and sports figures and many more that we did not recognize… If you are in Lake Como, you must go there… there is a story to the whole place…up to you if you want to know more!
We then spent a rainy weekend in Como. We visited the quaint town of Lugano that sits on Lake Lugano in Switzerland. It was more shopping and eating… good times. One evening we visited the “American Bar” and proceeded to hang out with the local girl bartender who kept giving us shots of something that we had no clue of what it was…of course that didn’t stop us from drinking them… anyway, the bar closed at 1:30am and Jessica would not let me go to a Karaoke bar with the last of the group… (Thank God!) boy, I was feeling no pain. At least the next day was not too bad for me since I had been diligently drinking my water in between shots! Yes,,, good times..
We arrived back at my UK home that Sunday night and then we were picked up at 8am the next morning to catch our flights back to the U.S,; me for the birth of Vincent and Jessica for the last week of her vacation.
My trip to Prague was also interesting… mostly meetings but we got out a little at night. Because of where it is located, Prague stays light until almost 10:00pm…So we could still see a lot. This wasn’t my first time there. I had been there last year. It was a totally different experience because I stayed in another area in what was an old monastery. It was very clean, relaxing and peaceful… Another place I would like to return to on vacation. So, I got back on Wednesday night, into work on Thurs and Friday and then off to Stockholm Sunday night.
I travelled back to the same hotel I stayed at last year on my first trip to Stockholm…One of our staff members lives near the hotel. He has a boat and kindly organized for a friend of his to join us with his boat for a tour of the lake and canals into Stockholm… So fun. He filled coolers with beer and champagne and we sped along the lake taking in the views, beautiful homes, picnicking locals while we enjoyed our drinks… Yes, life is good! (This is after we sat in a meeting all day… we felt we deserved this time!) Anyway, something I am going to miss, these little adventures with my European colleagues.
Just about getting ready to land… another plane ride done! It is always so nice to get off! :>)
During my time in Prague I was lucky to “firm up” my new job which will land me back in California. I will be working in marketing for our Consumer Solutions Division in Sunnyvale. No details yet, still waiting for the offer. Once that is completed I will be able to plan my exit from EMEA… bitter sweet, I have loved my job and the people I am working with. At this point in my life I realize how fast life moves on. Being so far away from my family, especially the grandchildren forced my decision to come back. Two years sped by. It is time to come home and once again settle into my life. I feel stronger, renewed and wiser…It will be a new adventure…
Ok, to catch up: So, let’s see… Niece Jessica… while she visited we travelled to Lake Como, Italy… this was a combined business/personal trip. I had been asked to meet with one of the event companies that Seagate uses for a very upscale incentive trip for our sales award winners… oh darn!! The trip started with a delayed flight that got us into Milan very late at night… we had to land at an alternative airport and then be bussed to the intended one…it was 1:30am before we arrived where we were supposed to pick up our rental car… guess what? Car rental place was closed! We could not find a taxi either! After about 30 min we finally found a taxi that would take us the 45 minutes to Como… it was pouring rain! I was glad I didn’t have to drive since I had no idea where I was going... we made it to our hotel, however, the front doors had been closed with steel storm doors, presumably to keep the riff – raff out. Luckily our taxi driver pounded on the door and got someone to let us in. We hit the pillows about 3am… and then we were off again in the morning to the upscale hotel we were there to check out… Wow… it was fantastic. One of then Leading Hotels of the World., the Villa D’Este sits on a wide part of Lake Como… You can get there either by car or boat… The rooms were lovely and the view spectacular, even if you were in the back of the hotel. The first day we visited some off site event possibilities, a fabulous villa that George Clooney used in Oceans Thirteen, two restaurants that were great “dine around” options and then a wonderful dinner at a restaurant that had so many fresh flowers you might mistake it for a flower shop. It even had little stools at each table for women’s purses… The next day, however, was by far our favourite outing. We got picked up in a semi-covered water taxi, complete with a local guide who shared the history of the area with us. She pointed out the important houses of the rich and famous, among them, George Clooney, Richard Branson (Virgin), Versage and many of the Italian rich and famous that we didn’t recognize… As we cruised along, the waves splashing easily, the sun shining, listening to the history of the area we just kept smiling at each other and Jess just kept saying… “This is so cool…” and it was! We cruised right up to the shores of Bellagio, the village that the Las Vegas hotel was inspired by. There were lots of wonderful shops, eating places, as well as the best people watching anyone could ask for. Sad for us, but lucky for our wallets, we were only there for a short time. Of course we managed to purchase a few things before getting back on board… Our next stop was an island only reachable by boat. Overlooking the lake towards the town of Como sits a restaurant, Locanda dell'Isola Comacina , famous for it’s never changing, traditional northern Italy menu and odd ritual of coffee service at desert. Many pictures hang on the wall advertising the important visitors over the years….The Ocean’s Thirteen crew (including Jennifer Aniston with Brad Pitt), political and sports figures and many more that we did not recognize… If you are in Lake Como, you must go there… there is a story to the whole place…up to you if you want to know more!
We then spent a rainy weekend in Como. We visited the quaint town of Lugano that sits on Lake Lugano in Switzerland. It was more shopping and eating… good times. One evening we visited the “American Bar” and proceeded to hang out with the local girl bartender who kept giving us shots of something that we had no clue of what it was…of course that didn’t stop us from drinking them… anyway, the bar closed at 1:30am and Jessica would not let me go to a Karaoke bar with the last of the group… (Thank God!) boy, I was feeling no pain. At least the next day was not too bad for me since I had been diligently drinking my water in between shots! Yes,,, good times..
We arrived back at my UK home that Sunday night and then we were picked up at 8am the next morning to catch our flights back to the U.S,; me for the birth of Vincent and Jessica for the last week of her vacation.
My trip to Prague was also interesting… mostly meetings but we got out a little at night. Because of where it is located, Prague stays light until almost 10:00pm…So we could still see a lot. This wasn’t my first time there. I had been there last year. It was a totally different experience because I stayed in another area in what was an old monastery. It was very clean, relaxing and peaceful… Another place I would like to return to on vacation. So, I got back on Wednesday night, into work on Thurs and Friday and then off to Stockholm Sunday night.
I travelled back to the same hotel I stayed at last year on my first trip to Stockholm…One of our staff members lives near the hotel. He has a boat and kindly organized for a friend of his to join us with his boat for a tour of the lake and canals into Stockholm… So fun. He filled coolers with beer and champagne and we sped along the lake taking in the views, beautiful homes, picnicking locals while we enjoyed our drinks… Yes, life is good! (This is after we sat in a meeting all day… we felt we deserved this time!) Anyway, something I am going to miss, these little adventures with my European colleagues.
Just about getting ready to land… another plane ride done! It is always so nice to get off! :>)
