Feet back on the ground...

Hmmm... Did not win the big pot in the Euro Million lotto... Did not even get two numbers right...!! Well, I hope that the saying of having no luck in games, means that you have more luck in love ;-)

So now my feet are back on the ground again: no more dreams about quitting my job, moving to Italy, play golf all day and just 'vivere la bella vita'. Talking about Italy and la bella vita - just saw the photos from the TomKat wedding. Not sure whether I would have looked as beautiful as Katie in her wedding dress, but it sure would have been nice to be good friends with Giorgio (Armani) who designed her dress :-)

Well, now I really need to get feet back on the ground again: we are having some friends over for dinner tonight, and we are serving Swiss raclette cheese (with acc.) and as dessert I am going to make a Swedish "kladdkaka". It is basically a dark chocolate cake, but still 'sticky' in the middle. So now, need to get started with my day: take a shower, blowdry my hair, set the table, make the cake... as they are arriving at 16:30!

5 things that a 5 star hotel has to have...

Here are the 5 things that I THINK a 5 star hotel needs to have in order to desserve their stars:

1. A fitness. Health and wellbeing is becoming so important to so many people - so this is a must. Yes, I know that you can always go for a run outside, but still, it is not the same thing as having an inhouse gym with all the facilities that come with it.

2. A cleaning lady who not only cleans your room, but also neatly arranges your stuff. I love it when I come back from a long day in the office, and the hotel cleaning lady has even arranges my toileteries in the bathroom. Or if she has taken my clothes that were lying on the the chair, and hung them in on hangers in the closet.

3. Toileteries that are relevant for women. I hate it when they put these shampoo/conditioner/body lotion that I would not even want my worst enemy to put on their body.... Also, I love it when hotel rooms offer really good hair dryers - you know, those you do not stop working after 5 min because the heat got too high for them..... Especially now that there are new restrictions on what toileteries you are allowed to bring on to airplanes, there is a huge opportunity for hotels to offer 'all the customers toiletery needs'. What a business idea, hein??!

4. Friendly staff who would do ANYTHING for you. You should feel like a queen when you get into the hotel. The staff should be welcoming you back (if you have stayed there before), you should feel that they are 'at your feet' for whatever need you might have..

5. A small gift in the room upon arriving. This can be anything from a free bottle of Evian to a small box of chocolate. It does not have to be a big thing - just showing their gratitude of having you as a guest would be just fine!

So, are there any hotels who meet all these needs?

Well, I can mention two:
1) The Mandarin Oriental in Geneva, and
2) The President Wilson in Geneva

Hats off! Keep it up.

Buenas noches, going to bed after a long day in Madrid...

Where to stay.. and not to stay in Madrid

Greetings from Madrid!

The 20 degrees they promised did not really materialize....it is raining today, and tonight we are supposed to go out and 'enjoy Madrid'. I will bring an umbrella!!

If you ever go to Madrid, please DO NOT stay at the Hotel Melia... It is overpriced, the staff is not really nice, and it definitively does not deserve its 5 stars.... Then I would rather stay at the Hotel Sofitel close to Campo de las Naciones....

I was hoping I would find time to go by the Museo Nacional Reina Sofia - where they have great paintings of Picasso, Miro etc - but looks like there will be no time for that.

Alrighty! Need to run off. 5 min time for freshening up the make-up, then we are off to a 'Castilla' for drinks, tapas and dinner.... Hope we will be able to start eating before 10 pm ;-)

Hasta luego!

PS. Tomorrow is the big Euro Million lottery!!!!!!! Can not wait!!

Off to Madrid....

Just popped into the office briefly to check mails etc after almost one week travelling around. Sad to be leaving Vienna again - I was kind of hoping that I could spend some days here in Vienna as a 'normal' person: have a nice dinner, watch a DVD etc - but that will only happen as of this weekend....

I am off to Madrid in ca. one hour to a CIES conference, a great opportunity to network with other people in the same industry. Also, I am looking forward to the speakers. Two great days in Madrid! We will be spending most of the time inside, but it still puts a smile to my face to know that they have announced 20 degrees plus in Madrid ;-))

Need to run. Have to send off a couple of emails before I jump into the taxi.

PS. I have now played the Euro Million Lotto - hoping for newbeginners luck!!

Laugh of the day!!!!

Me again! This made me smile so much... You might have seen it already, but in case not, click on the link and turn up the volume

Baby laughing link

Cute or what?

Winning the big lot??

Sorry, lazy me here... Have not had time to update my blog for more than a week... Have been swamped in work (bad excuse, I know) and been travelling quite a bit.

Spent a long weekend in Italy..... WOW! So nice! The family just built a house in Garlenda, a beautiful little town between Nice and Genova.... It is located next to a golf course, and given that I am a passionate golfer, I will definitively be spending a lot of time down there.

Took a morning picture from the terrasse - I could imagine waking up to this view every morning!!! I need to play the Euromillion lotto this Friday. The pot is 180 million Euros . If/when I win the big lot, I will quit my job, move to Italy, wake up every morning with the sun in my face, enjoy a caffé and a cornetto, go down to the driving range to hit a couple of balls, do 18 holes, enjoy lunch at the clubhouse, go for a swim in the afternoon, have an afternoon aperitivo at la Meridiana, one of my favorite hotels just off hole #8, and why not also stay for dinner? Excellent choice!

OK, I might get a bit bored after a while... Need to think about what I would do for a living if/when I win the Euromillion.... Sell diapers?

Ciao! A presto!

Wedding dress in Copenhagen...

Had a great day with Kristine in Copenhagen yesterday! We had the time to visit three different stores with wedding dresses.... Our two favorite dresses were found at Casa Lezar and Ingrid Ashworth. The service was much more personal (and nicer) at Ingrid Ashworth....

Casa Lezar

Ingrid Ashowrth

Now I am back in Vienna again, after a delicious dinner prepared by my dear Peter...

Am trying to install my newly bought video-cam so that I can Skype with Kristine and other friends :-)


sdf

Terrible weather....

Just woke up. Arrived safely in Copenhagen, then took the train over to Malmö, and had a lovely dinner with Kristine and her future-man-to-be Magnus.

We are supposed to drive over to Copenhagen today and look for a wedding dress, but the weather is terrible!!! Windy, rainy, cold - yuck! At least, I have a view on the Turing Torso from my bed! What a cool building. So glad I am not living on the 30th floor... I would freak out. What happens if there is a fire??

Time for my morning shower and a small breakfast before we run off for Copenhagen. Ciao!

When can I go skiing?

Can not wait for the skiing season to start! This is one of my favorite pics from last year's vacation in Lech (Austria) - visualizing my cool Völkl skies!

It is snowing in Vienna today... which means that it HAS to be snowing up in the mountains today!!

Now I am off to Copenhagen to spend the weekend with my bestfriend, Kristine. I am her bridesmaid, and therefore, the objective is to find her the most beautiful dress possible in Copenhagen. We have a list of 10+ stores - will let you know which ones are the best ones :-)

Need to run off. See you soon!