Geneva and all...

It's been so ridiculously long since I've posted. It's not for the lack of events, it's for the complete lack of time. Work has kept me super busy and it looks like the next 6 months will be spent in high gear. I now have a new team in Geneva and spent 3 out of the last 7 weeks there, will be back in August and probably visiting every couple of months moving forward. There are far worse places in the world to have a team and be forced to visit frequently, but the 9 hour time difference sure does complicate things on a day-to-day basis. I'm not a morning person and daily 7 am & 8am conf calls, even if taken from home, are not my cup of tea.

The highlight of my last trip was that Misho was able to come for a few hours from France and we spent a very enjoyable evening together! The plan is to do a repeat of that soon! :-)

My very first reaction to Geneva was a sticker shock. The prices are astronomical. A $500/night hotel room is nothing to write home about; for a modest $250/night, you have to make your way through hookers and gangs to reach the hotel (yes, in Geneva). The problem is that because of the never-ending conventions and other events in town, *all* hotel rooms get filled. During my first trip, it was so bad that I was forced to stay in 3 different hotels and the last couple of days I stayed at a colleague's because there was *nothing* available. My only reasonable option was to stay in Evian in France and commute from there. Given that I work for a travel company, the experience was beyond absurd.

During my second trip, once I was a bit more used to the prices, I really enjoyed myself. Geneva itself is tiny but the surroundings are beautiful and very accessible. I went with a couple of colleagues (including Lynn) to Montreux. My list of weekend trips in the area is growing and I hope that Colin will be able to join me for my next trip over.

I'm having technical problems uploading pix today, so I'll try again later.