Back at Work

Wow!  Between the Christmas rush (up about 15% from last December) and vacations I've been 'out of action.

Kathy and I went to London & Paris in January (snow & rain - but no crowds) for a little 'R&R'.  For me that meant museums, for Kathy it meant fine dining and shopping (Ralph Lauren on sale at Harrod's, January sales in Paris).  In the course of our visit we stayed in posh neighborhoods in both capitals, so one would think that the prices/services value equation would be similar.  Such was not the case.  Paris was significantly more expensive than London and I can only attribute this to an over valued 'Euro'.

Turning from the macro to the micro, South Kensington was a wonderful place to stay in London.  If you don't know it, it's home to 3 major museums, Royal Albert Hall and (of course) Harrod's.  We managed to find a very nice boutique hotel within a 10 minute walk of all of the above and only a 2 minute walk to the 'tube'.  In addition, there were an abundance of dining venues ranging from 'Patisserie Valerie' (great breakfasts and 'goodies'), cozy pubs (iconic English food & beer) and an easy commute to one or more of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants.  I have to say that Ramsay knows 'small business' is all about the client.  I was impressed by the hallmarks of good service I witnessed, not only in the wait staff but by the bartender (drinks were mixed and then - hygienically - sampled for quality before they were served) and the sommelier (she listened to carefully to my wife's taste in wine that the 1/2 bottle we were served - o.k., we're a couple of light weights - was so perfect that I had to fight her for every drop).  Since we were in the 'inner zone' of the London 'tube' system it was also an easy commute to Trafalger Square and its attractions as well as the London theater district.

For the novelty of it all, we took 'Eurostar' under the channel to Paris and found the trip to be easy (about 2 1/2 hours) and comfortable - if not particularly scenic.   Once we arrived at the Gare du Nord, it was easy to take the Metro (less expensive than the tube and a good value in Paris) to our hotel in St. Germain.  Very different from our London hotel (smaller), but the staff was congenial and helpful and we were in easy walking distance from the Musee d'Orsay, the Louvre and Notre Dame.  As we'd never been to Paris before, this was very much a museum driven visit - as it developed, a staggering task.  I think that it would have taken us 3 full days to see the Musee d'Orsay and easily twice as long to see the Louvre - but we did our best.  Kathy found Notre Dame inspiring; and with that, I'll refer you to  'Back from vacation'.