London in the Spring

Okay, so maybe "Spring" doesn't quite describe it, seeing as I got stuck in a snowstorm in central London on the day that I arrived, wearing nothing but a (water-sucking) sweater. :)

But I DO love London! I'm back again this week for another work trip. Every night when I'm wandering around London, taking in the sights and searching for another tasty place to eat dinner, I convince myself that I must, absolutely MUST find a way to live here, at least for a year. I dream about all of the weekend trips I could take on Ryan Air to explore Europe. Then reality sinks in when I think about how far my salary would go in London. Boo.


This time I get to see Stacey and Nelson again. Stacey is AT's friend from Boston (who also happens to be a Habitat for Humanity-Global Village team leader!) She now lives in London with her fiance, Nelson. I joke with AT and tell him that I have decided to steal her as a friend, since I get to see her more than he does. Hee hee. Whenever I'm in London, I try to have dinner with Stacey and Nelson. They always pick a great new restaurant for me to try. During my last trip we had a veritable Turkish feast, tasty Indian food, fireworks and Borat. This time I had less time to hang out but they took me to a fantastic and trendy Thai restaurant.

Cruising with Disney

While AT has to travel a lot for his job (boo!), I’ll admit that sometimes his job does have some pretty nice benefits. To be specific.. a Disney Cruise!! We were invited by AT’s customer (at Disney) to join him and his family on a 3-day cruse from Florida to the Bahamas so that AT and his colleagues could observe how drinks are sold on the ship and on Disney’s own personal island, Castaway Cay, and so that they could have a few working sessions together. Well, far be it from me to say no. If AT “needs” me to go with him on a cruise, I’ll support him 100%. Hah! We were also joined by AT’s boss, two of the marketing company execs, and all of their families.

I have to admit that when agreeing to go on this cruise, I knew that I would disembark the ship either 1.) vowing never to have children or 2.) deciding to have children. It was definitely risky to spend three days holed up on a ship with a thousand children!

We took a connecting redeye to Orlando, drove to Port Canaveral, and boarded our very first cruise ship. I had never been on a cruise ship before, and had absolutely no idea what to expect. My first impression of Disney (as an adult) came as we were boarding the ship. The registration process was a breeze, as we had received ample clearly-written documentation before we even arrived. There were also more than enough Disney employees scattered throughout the registration area, guiding people to the proper lines and ensuring that everyone had the proper forms filled out.

As we boarded the ship, we were startled when we heard our names announced over the loudspeaker, and were welcomed by two rows of Disney employees who applauding us. What a warm welcome! I felt so.. so.. so special!

We immediately went to our rooms. AT had some work to attend to, and I had a serious need for a catnap (after not sleeping on the redeye). The rooms were much nicer than expected. We had a queen size bed, a sofa and desk, TV, refrigerator, and two bathrooms (one with a toilet/sink and one with a shower/sink). Of course, the bathrooms were pretty small, but very nicely equipped and with fantastic toiletries! We had a room with a very large porthole that let a lot of light into the room.

Instead of napping, we took a quick tour of the boat, then welcomed AT’s boss and her family to the boat. When I tried to get in a nuch-needed nap before dinner, I was very (unpleasantly) surprised by the constant stream of announcements over the loudspeaker about the upcoming emergency evacuation drill. Yes, I know that it’s very important to practice the safety procedures before leaving the port, but I was sleep deprived and cranky. Nonetheless, we donned our sexy orange life vests and headed for our emergency group location. (Very organized, by the way. In the case of an actual emergency, I would know exactly what to do).

The ship was amazing. There was a huge theater for live performances, a movie theater, many bars/clubs, many play areas, a full-service salon/spa, a health club, basketball courts, two kids pools (one with a huge slide, and the other with a full size movie screen that played kiddie movies all day), one adults pool, an adults only coffee shop, two souvenir shops, a photo studio, and many more things that I can’t remember right now. And just to be sure that you knew what your options were, every day you received a personalized schedule that told you where you would be eating, and listed the day’s activities (organized by age group, activity level, location, and time)

Each day we were assigned to a different location for breakfast and dinner. Each restaurant had a different theme, and was fun in its own unique way. One night, we had dinner at the adults-only Italian restaurant, which, I have to say, rivaled some of the best San Francisco restaurants. It was phenomenal. And it was so nice to eat a fantastic meal without thinking about price (food was all-inclusive). The food was actually quite tasty in all of the restaurants (but we had to ask them to cook the meat medium rare, otherwise it came out pretty cooked). The menu selections were large and diverse. Our servers (who we would have throughout the entire cruise) were extremely attentive and friendly (read: working those tips). The ship also had places where you could get food throughout the day. There was definitely no shortage of food! When I left the cruise ship, I felt like I had swallowed a beach ball.

Every time we entered a restaurant, there were crew members at the door handing out antibacterial wipes. Hah! Makes a lot of sense.. must keep the ship healthy. But seeing the antibacterial wipe station at the entrance to every restaurant still made me laugh.

In the evenings, we met up with the group to try out different bars / clubs on the boat to review their liquor offerings. I’m a lightweight when it comes to drinking, especially when surrounded by (literal) professionals. I tried to hang in there as best I could! In addition to having venues focusing on the kids, there were plenty of venues and activities for adults too. (Bingo, karaoke, liquor tastings, music, sports bar, etc).

At night we cruised from port to port. The first morning we woke up to see the ship pulling into the Bahamas. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. While they had offered us a large selection of excursions for the day, I decided that I wanted to gamble! So we went to the casino on Paradise Island where the casino chewed up my wallet and spit it out. We went back to Nassau, watched a bit of the Anna Nicole Smith paternity case drama at the Courthouse, and then went to the old casino on Nassau in search of better luck. After an hour of neutral luck, it was time to head back to the boat. I had been in Nassau before, so I didn’t feel the need to do a tour of the island or visit any of the many fine jewelry shops. In hindsight, I probably should have stayed on the boat and had an all-day spa experience. Oh well! You live and you learn.

The second day, we woke up at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in the Bahamas. Again, they offered many daytime excursions for people to go on, but we decided to do a more low-key, non-planned day. We started out at Serenity Bay, the adults-only part of the island. We went into the cool water, but quickly grew bored when there were no waves to lift us up. I tried to lay on the beach and relax for a while with a book and a cocktail. I succeeded with the cocktail, but not the relaxing part. (I’m not very good at being still on vacation.) I had a 15 minute laughing fit when the sunscreen that I gave AT turned his face blue and he looked like a Smurf. We went for a really nice bike ride around the island, had lunch, went snorkeling, and checked out the rest of the island. It was a very relaxing day after all!

I have to give Disney two thumbs up for the fantastic experience we had on the cruise. They have better customer service than I have ever experienced. They have thought of everything that a family might need, put it into place, and clearly communicated how you can get it. They have thought of things that people didn’t even realize they needed. The staff was ALWAYS courteous, attentive, and gave personalized service. I didn’t want to leave the ship!

If you have children, a Disney Cruise is a must. I didn’t cover everything children-related in this post, because it was not my primary focus on the cruise. But they have created a unique experience for both the children and the parents. I didn’t see any children throwing tantrums or being upset (because their every want/desire was being fulfilled). Every minute of every day, there is something to keep your children’s attention. And if you like, you can check them into the kids play area (on the boat or on the island) in the morning and go pamper yourself in the spa or relax by the pool. They give your child a wrist band and give you a pager in case they need to contact you. The only problem is.. it’s always hard to get the kids OUT of the play area. They never want to leave!

Thanks Diageo and Disney!




p.s. I left the ship thinking “Hey, maybe I should have a few of these..”



p.p.s. Did I mention we got stuck in the Charlotte airport on the way home (and AT had a 7am flight the next morning, and Sherri had an afternoon flight to London the next morning). Gack!

Melicob's Kitchen

I have to admit that I love home improvement projects. Especially painting. Whenever someone tells me they need to paint their house, I offer to help. But no one ever takes me up on it. Hmm. Maybe they think I was just being polite, because, after all, what kind of crazy person would sign up to spend their weekend doing manual labor on someone else's house for free? Uh... ME!

Finally, someone took me up on my offer! Hooray! Melissa and Jacob recently purchased a very large house in San Franciso that needs some TLC, but has enormous potential. This weekend, Melissa and I set our sights on fixing up the kitchen. (No, I didn’t offer to help just because they have an adorable fluffy Labradoodle, but I’ll admit that it didn’t HURT.)

Details of the undertaking can be found on Melissa & Jacob’s Blog..
Thanks Melissa! It was fun. What’s next?

I Died and Went to Dog Heaven

Every other year, the San Francisco Symphony hosts it’s annual Black & White fundraising ball. They block off several city blocks around City Hall and throw a huge indoor/outdoor gala, where everyone dresses to the nines in their finest black and/or white attire. The music is fantastic, the food phenomenal, and the atmosphere amazing.

I used to think that was the best fundraising event in San Francisco.. until I learned of the Bark & Whine ball. The Bark & Whine is the San Francisco SPCA’s annual fundraiser. It is also a formal event, with great music and food, and FABULOUS beverages (did I mention that AT’s company was a sponsor?)... but the Bark & Whine is all about the DOGS. As a dog lover… okay.. as a dog STALKER (I can’t pass a dog on the street without stopping to pet it.. and sometimes I go to the dog park just to pet other people’s dogs), this night was a dream come true. I can’t imagine a better way to spend the night eating good food, having great cocktails, and hanging out at a venue chock full of dogs. All kinds of dogs.. dog breeds I knew.. dogs I couldn’t identify.. big dogs.. tiny dogs.. St. Bernards, Egyptian Pharaoh Hounds, Rottweilers, Chihuahuas.. dogs in costume.. dogs without costumes..and the best part was that they were all super friendly, and it was a free-for-all. You could just walk around petting everyone’s dogs at will. No need to ask, no need to worry if you are interrupting them. Heaven, I tell you.. heaven.

AT was supposed to join me, but had to go out of town for business. In his place were Andea and Adam, our good friends who happen to own two adorable Chihuahuas, Anna and Jack. Not only were Andrea & Adam a lot of fun, but they also lent credibility to my appearance at the show. Otherwise I might have looked a little odd showing up at a dog party without a dog!

Andrea with Anna:

Jack:
There seemed to be two main types of owners at the ball.. those who purchased expensive purebreds, and those who rescued their animals from bad situations. Andrea & Adam became heroes to many people at the ball when they told the story of Jack and Anna. Both dogs had been very badly abused before Andrea & Adam got them, but are now happy and thriving.

Also at the event.. a red carpet for the dogs to make their appearance, a buffet of delicious food, a silent auction to benefit the SPCA, a dance floor where people danced with their dogs, reserved tables, non-reserved tables, dog walkers to take the doggies outside when necessary, and a delicious chocolate fountain with fruit, other assorted dipping things, and RICE KRISPY TREATS. Yum!

I rank this evening an A++ and cannot WAIT till it comes around again next year. A huge thank you to Georgie @ Diageo for making it all happen. :)