Fly me to the moon

Do you know that feeling of getting home after a long trip... that warm feeling of being surrounded by familiar things and a regular routine?    After being away for the past two weeks (this week I’ve been in Europe) I’m definitely looking forward to being home and most of all sleeping in my own bed (for a change) tomorrow night.

The beach at Kaanapali (Maui) - hard to
believe its just a week ago...

In Hawaii Zach, Sami and I had a single room with two beds and a couch, and although I would normally sleep in one of the beds, Sami had a nasty cold and was feeling a bit under the weather so we traded off sleeping on the couch (Sami) and me on the floor, which to be honest felt pretty good on my recovering back as it had been a bit sore after the recent move.

Unfortunately after arriving back in Toronto I had less than four hours before I had to be repacked and leave for the airport and my overnight flight to London.   Yes, count em’ – two back-to-back overnight flights in a row.   The first flight last Saturday night with the kids from Maui to Vancouver (five hours), so little sleep in our economy seats before landing early in Vancouver and then catching a morning flight to Toronto which (another five hours) landed mid afternoon.  

Now add a short lay-over (four hours) to get home from the airport, drop the kids off with Jodie (my ex), unpack, do a load of wash, repack and then catch a taxi back to the airport before boarding my second “redeye” flight to London (seven hours) in two days. 

Earlier this week in the Netherlands -
the town hall in Delft

Needless to say I was pretty exhausted when I arrived into London early Monday morning, unfortunately for me I had to be in the local office later in the morning, so after a quick visit to the hotel to drop off my bag and grab a quick shower I grabbed another taxi and finally arrived into our UK office around 10:30 am.

Hawaii to London is ten time zones difference (essentially 10 hours), but the night we flew back to Canada was the night Daylight savings time was initiated (just to make it interesting!)

Since my arrival into London on Monday, I had a Tuesday night flight to Amsterdam (additional time zone change of one hour) – so now 11 hours difference from Hawaii, before flying to Madrid (Spain) on Wednesday night.  

I spent another hectic day in Delft, which is just outside Amsterdam primarily meeting with our Corporate CEO, although I did have an hour to spend exploring the old city of Delft with my trusty camera before heading back to the airport and my next leg to Madrid (Spain).

One thing to know about the Spanish culture is that you eat at very different times than most of the rest of the world.  For example after my meeting with one of our business partners yesterday morning we adjourned for lunch at close to 3:00 pm, then went onto our customer meeting scheduled for 5:00 pm.   Finishing that I came back to my hotel and then met up with my local business contacts for dinner at 9:00 pm.   We took our time to make our way to the restaurant as many of them don’t really open or begin serving dinner until 10:30 pm at the earliest.  

Earlier today in Madrid, Spain

 Finally getting to bed at 1:00 am, which is considered an early night in Spain after politely refusing to kick-on to another bar for a further nightcap and feeling a little bit of a "light weight" to be honest. 

Yeah, so it’s been that kind of week…pretty much upside down with my sleep and feeling just a tad out of sorts with both my sleep and eating patterns.  J    To say I’m looking forward to getting home tomorrow and sleeping in my own bed is a huge understatement!

Just one final hurdle to overcome – my first flight tomorrow is set for 6:00 am from Madrid to Frankfurt, with a 30 minute commute to the airport and having to be at the airport for my continental flight to Germany at least 90 min prior to departure, realistically I have to leave the hotel at 4:00 am, so a 3:30 – 3:45 am wake up call will be required (can you say “rub salt into the wound”).   What the hell - I might as well be totally sleep deprived!

Has it been worth it I hear you ask?   Definitely!   My week with the kids in Hawaii was unforgettable (as always when we're traveling and exploring together), and although this week has been a whirlwind European visit it’s been extremely worthwhile from a business perspective. 

Earlier today as I walked around
Madrid with my trusty camera in hand...

I was fortunate enough to meet with two business partners and a long time customer here in Spain over these two days.  No matter how much a telephone/conference call is useful from the day-to-day running of the business, having the opportunity to meet someone face-to-face is vital to getting to know your customers and partners and indeed building a relationship.   Especially when there are different cultures and languages involved.  

It’s sometimes difficult to understand and appreciate the differences unless you’re immersed in the cultures (both from a country and company perspective) and so that’s why I love these opportunities to visit with our partners and customers globally.  

Clearly I’ve found a job that mixes my love of travel and business but also one that gives me the flexibility around Zach and Sami’s schedules. 

Now if I can only find a restaurant tonight that will serve me dinner before the 10:30 pm timeslot, preferably somewhere close to the hotel here in central Madrid – that will be the true test of my resourcefulness don't you think?  J