More thoughts about 5* hotels

It seams like lots of the 5* hotels "loose" the last star in reviews because of the lack of service. It looks like lots of hotels could have been great if only the manager had raised the staff to be more service-minded. It is a pity that things that do not cost a penny brings down a hotel. I really wonder why the managers don't teach the staff how to treat clients when working at a 5* hotel. Everything can be top notch, from exterior to interior, but if the level of service is lacking, the hotel loose...

Copying all night!

Tonight I have been copying my old blog from blogg.no to this one. I didn't know I had written that much!

Varun Sharma from Travel Channel

Wow! He wrote a comment in my blog! (My previous blog at blogg.no)

The only irritating thing with that man is that he's gotten MY dream job... Trying out luxury hotels all over the world and getting payed for it. :)

The next program will be from Tokyo, my absolutly favorite city. I can't wait to see it.

Travel channel

I love this channel. The channels web-site has a library and you can buy a subscription for a year. The price is only 20 gbp for a year and then you can see all the programs. I think my favourite program is "Inside luxury travel". Today I watched an episode from Hong Kong, the Peninsula Hong Kong, one of the most luxurious hotels of the world. Oh how I wish to stay there.... One day.... maybe... :)

Metro in Oslo

Well... I am used to navigate at the underground in London. I thought Oslo would be easier... I ended up at the train station and lost the metro. Luckily a new one came only 10 min. later.

Tunis in April

I have now booked a week in Tunis. Tunis has never been a place I have wanted to go to, but I think that is one of the reasons I should go there. I may be surprised!

We will stay at a spa-hotel called Nahrawess. It is a 4* hotel. I have heard that the spa is amazing. It looks fantastic at pictures, but I know that pictures lie, so I rather go there myself and see/try. Can't wait for April to come! :)

My travel plans for the spring is... busy... Oslo, London, Dusseldorf, Tunis and Lisbon before the end of May. I am glad I like to travel! :)

Booked hotel for Oslo, Hotel Continental

I am very curious about this hotel... It is a 5* hotel, one of the very few in Norway. It is also a member of "the worlds leading hotels". Next weekend I will know if it is a TRUE 5*, I'll report back! :)

Booked hotel for my next London trip.

Yesterday I booked The Capital hotel for my next trip to London. The hotel is rated as one of the best hotels in London. It's a small hotel very close to Harrods. I usually like to stay at hotels close to Piccadilly but this time I will try Kensington. The hotels restaurant has two stars in the Michelin guide... Good for me as I am a food-wreck....:)

EXCITED!

I am soooooo excited!

In May we are going to Estoril, Portugal. Some days ago I saw an auction at Luxury Link for a property in Estoril. It was a mystery auction - you don't know which hotel it is - but you know it's good and what's in the package. Here is what I knew:

Luxury property in Estoril:

This 3-night package for 2 includes:

3 nights in a deluxe guest room

Value Added Tax & Service Charges

Breakfast for two each morning

18-hole round of golf, one per person guaranteed each day *

Rental car for 3 days**

On-site facilities

• Swimming pool
• Tennis
• Health Club
• Beach

I searched at the website and thought it had to be the Palacio Estoril Hotel and Golf 5*, and it was... The rack rate for this hotel, one day, is the same as I payed for the whole package!!!!!!! I can't believe I won the auction! It was really nerv-wrecking and my heart is still not calm....:-D

The only downside with this is... I don't play golf... And have no intention on beginning either.... :-D Can you see me with high-heeled shoes playing golf?

Another thing is that we will have to move hotel, to the main hotel, in the middle of our stay. It's only 1 km. to go, so I am sure we will manage the move. We have a car!

I am not sure if I can manage to sleep now......

Hand-washing? :-D

:-D

What's the next, soap and warm water? :-D

La maison du chocolat

I LOVE this shop at Piccadilly. I love the chocolate and I love the nice boxes.

A walk in Hyde Park

When going to Harrods, we went through Hyde Park. On the way home we did the same. First we ate take-away sushi bought at Harrods food-hall at a bench in the park. While walking there, with all my posh/heavy shopping-bags from Harrods, a cyclist was beeping. I then realised I was walking in the middle of the cycle track and moved fast. The cyclist, a woman, then screamed: "FU** off, you stupid people!" We were both shocked but burst into laughter and we laught for nearly five minutes...:-D

I forgot to buy nuts for the squirrels....

Books in London - Waterstones

If you're looking for books in London, you should go to Waterstones in Piccadilly. 7 floors of books! I can be in that book-store for hours! Of course, I bought lots of books, even some I have but haven't read.....:-/ :-D

The January sale in London

Oh-la-la... This year, the sale was FANTASTIC for spavers like me. All the shops had at least 50% discount! Normally the designer-shops have 30%, but this time it was FROM 50%! I got a pair of DAKS gloves at 60% discount! A bargain! :-D

We even queued up outside Harrods this year! And it was worth it... :-D Harrods had 50% discount PLUS 10% for those with a Harrods-card, which I of course have. On top of that I got about 12% VAT refund. The Ferragamo shoes was SCREAMING at me! :-D

Afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason

After some heavy hours with shopping we decided to try the afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason. The tea-salon was all in the Fortnum & Masons light-green colours and a man was playing the piano. It cost a fortune, but it was all worth it! I am not very keen on the tea, but the small cucumber-sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and the cakes? I LOOOOOOVE it!






(This was supposed to be light green - the colour of Fortnum & Mason, but the camera did something with the colour....)

Radisson Mayfair - London

The hotel is a 5* hotel in... you guess.... Mayfair...:)

The check-in was quick and the receptionist followed us to the room. The room was nice. Not big, but not the smallest one either. The best thing with the room was that it had two chairs and a table so you don't need to sit in the bed (although I just love to sit in the bed watching TV while staying at hotels). We didn't have breakfast at the hotel and we didn't want to pay 25 Pound p/p for breakfast as there are lots of Starbucks, Pret's, Cafe Neros etc... in the area. We went out, bought breakfast and coffee and brought it to the room. It was great to not have to eat breakfast in the bed!




The bathroom was... a bit disappointing.... The toiletries was in DISPENSERS. I hate it! Although I am not a big user of the hotels toiletries I find it very exciting to see how "good" they are. And I have to admit, although I feel a little bit ashamed of it, I always bring the toiletries home. The worst thing is that I don't use them as I always use my professional products... :-) To my fairness my son uses them when he has physical education and when at the swimming sessions (3-4 times a week). So yes, it's always a big disappoinment with "environment-friendly" hotels.







I am not sure about this, but I think the shower SHOULD have been a "power-shower". There were not much power in the shower. Maybe our neighbors were showering at the same time? :-/ The pressure seamed to change a lot while I was showering, from low pressure to lower...

The next disappointment was that there were no chocolate at the turn-down service! I don't understand the point of turn-down service, but when they do have it, they should leave a chocolate.... at least if they want to call themself a 5*!

I didn't take any pictures of the bed. It looked like all the beds at Radisson!

The hotel have free wireless internet access and also a business-center with 5 pc's, free of charge. Fantastic!

All in all the hotel has a fantastic location, just 5 min. walk from Piccadilly Circus. If it's a true 5*? No, I would say it's a good 4*.

Salvatore Ferragamo museum in Florence

I have just seen that there is a Salvatore Ferragamo museum in Florence. Wonder if I am going to Florence soon....

I WANT TO GO TO FLORENCE! :-D

Back to work again....

The Christmas has been nice. Lots of food, drinks, cakes, chocolates, more food, sweets etc.... I feel stuffed! I have been to the gym once, at Saturday. It was awful, that's all I can say. I had an intention on going to the gym today, but it was closed. Instead I used my ergometer cycle and cycled for 30 min. Still awful....:-D Maybe I will try the gym again tomorrow... Maybe....:-D It will be to heavy days at work before I am heading to London. Can't wait!

I forgot to tell that I got a subscription for Conde Nast Traveller UK Christmas. I LOVE that magazine. The only downside is that I will have to raise my travel-budget after reading it! :-D

Burj Al Arab, Dubai 7*

Hahahaha, no, I haven't been there, and I am not going to stay there, unless I win in the lottery...:) BUT I just heard about one whose been there... What can I say? I WIIIIIISH to go there, just for one night.... It's the only 7 star hotel in the world... The toiletries are FULL SIZE Hermes, and you get new once every day!

The price is... One night in May... 8200 Nok or 1506 Usd..... IF I ever go to Dubai I definitive will have one night at that hotel......... If I win the lotterly.... or... no I WILL try it out.... I have to.... BUT I am not going to Dubai.... ARGH.... :-D

Luxury Link

www.luxurylink.com

Aaaaah, this is a fantastic travel-site! I have not booked from the site yet, but I am sure I will sooner or later.

Airfair to Dusseldorf has been booked

I am going to a big beautyshow in Dusseldorf, in March. Yesterday I got an unbeleiveble good offer for the airfair. I just booked it! It WILL be heavy with London for four days, then two days at home and then two days in Dusseldorf. I am sure I will be knackered, but work is calling!

London in January - SALE

T and I are going to London the 4th. of January. I got an offer from Radisson SAS Mayfair that I just couldn't resist, so it will not be Le Meridien Piccadilly this time, maybe next...:)

The sale in London is BIG, especially the January sale. It begins at the 26th. or the 27th. of December, depends on the store. Earlier years the high-end marks began later, but it seams like they are as afraid as the others to have too much in stock after the sale, so now, they are all starting the same dates.

I have been at the starting at the Harrods sale. The queue was MASSIV and I went in... and quickly came out again...:)

Another year I had been looking for a pair of Ferragamo shoes the day before the sale started. I was told to wait to the day after, queue up an hour before they opened and wait, then I would get 30% off. Because I wanted those shoes so badly, and didn't want to pay more than I had to, I did as I was told... It was unbelieveble! Me, T (he had to go with me...:-)) and a "bunch" of Japanese queuing outside Ferragamo. In the end, I got my shoes! :-D

Oooooh, I can't wait to go to London again. I just love that city!

Radisson SAS Royal Copenhagen, breakfast

The breakfast was very nice, with eggs of all sorts, sausages, bacon, etc... BUT the hot food was not hot today either, rather luke warm. I tried to "dig" under to see if the sausages was warmer there, but still, it was only luke warm. A pity as the breakfast was delicious. Thumbs down for the powder scrambled eggs and the luke warm food. Thumbs up for the juices and the bottled water.

Le Meridien Piccadilly, London

Nope, I haven't been to this hotel YET...

Every time I have been in London I have dreamed about staying at this hotel. It has the best location and it looks so unbelieveble nice. Some of my friends will say it is "posh", and maybe it is, but I like it...

I am going to London in the middle of January and guess where I am going to stay? :-D

Cafe Royal, Radisson SAS Royal Copenhagen

For dinner we decided to try the restaurant: Cafe Royal. They had a Christmas buffet. The whole thing was a disaster. The cold food was not very cold. I would suppose it to be placed at ice as there were fish and seafood (shrimps from lake). The food looked like it had been there for a long time as it had skin and the meat looked dry. You had to kind of "dig" under the food to get some food that looked fresh... The hot buffet was even worse. Some of it were COLD and some were luke-warm, it did also have skin and looked dry. YAK. :-(

I told the waiter and she didn't thank me or ask me about it. We had to complain to another waiter. She offered us another meal, but we were not hungry anymore so we said thanks, but no thanks. We had our drinks for free. Nice, but it didn't do anything for all the other people who had payed for the cold and skinny food...

Look at the spoon sinking in the rice-pudding. As I told my friend, the rice-pudding WAS nice AFTER I had dug (?) under the skin, with another spoon...

Radisson SAS Royal Copenhagen

Dec. 1. to Dec. 2. 2007

This is a five star property in the center of Copenhagen.

As I thought, and had heard, from the outside, this hotel looks like a big block. Not nice at all. At once you have stepped into the reseption-area you can see it's designed by Arne Jacobsen. It's minimalistic and "stylish".

We arrived to the hotel at 09.00. I knew check-in time was at 14.00 so I didn't expect to get our room at once, and we didn't. The reseptionist kindly told us the room would not be ready before approximately 12. Fine for us. We stored our luggage at the hotel and went for shopping.

At 14.15 we came back to the hotel and was surprised the room was not ready yet. The reseptionist told us to wait "a little bit". We waited for an hour and didn't get the room before I asked another reseptionist. Strangely the room was ready when I asked! I CAN understand it's Christmas and that the hotel was full. What I can't take is that they say something and can't keep what they have promised. They asked us to wait, but if we had knew we had to wait for an hour, we would have done something else.

We had booked a family-room. I had heard the hotel had family-rooms with a seperate bedroom, and I had asked for that. We didn't get that, but a big room with two bathrooms! The rooms were very nice!









The toiletries were also nice here.

For me, the hotel itself is five-star, but the lack of service (see also my experience with the meal at the hotels restaurant) don't want me to rate it as a five-star hotel....

I haven't tried the breakfast yet, but will give a report tomorrow.

Radisson SAS Leeds

I have not stayed there but I went to the hotel and had a look. Unfortunately I didn't have the guts to ask to see some of the rooms... The hotel is very central, but I didn't like the entrance... It's the same as to the shopping-center behind the hotel! AND it looked like lots of the rooms had a view... over the shopping-center.... I think I will go for Marriot Leeds next time in Leeds. The only downside with that hotel is that they charged 16 Gbp for 24 hours with wireless internet! A rip off!

Soon Copenhagen

Tomorrow I am going to Copenhagen with my best friend. Unfortunately we will have to take the first flight in the morning, as our original flight has been cancelled. That will say I have to get up at 03.15....

I have booked a suit at Radisson SAS Royal Copenhagen. It's a five-star hotel in the center of Copenhagen. The hotel has been designed by Arne Jacobsen. I can't wait to have a look at this hotel. Rumours say the exterior is
not very nice, but then the interior is fantastic. I will take lots of pictures! I haven't decided whether to bring the computer or not... I am not very good when it comes to taking decisions.... I still have some hours to think...:-D

When coming to packing, I am very good. This time I am not going to pack more then toiletries (still intact from when I was in Leeds, 5 days ago...:-)) some underwear, an extra top and an extra skirt. That's it! BUT I have decided to bring the big suitcase... I will have the small one in the big one (done it before...:-)). Then I will have lots of space IF I find something nice in Copenhagen...:-D After all it's soon Christmas and Copenhagen is famous for all the Danish, nice food! :-D

The restaurant at Marriott Leeds hotel

I ordered lamb from leg (or something like that) with grilled tomatoes, sautered onion and potatoe sticks (I think). The onions were good, the tomatoes were not grilled enough and the lamb tasted nothing.... I REALLY missed a nice sause. The potatoes tasted... potatoe... :) It would even have been better with KETCHUP, but I didn't dare to ask for...:)

When I sat there, I saw there is an Indonesian restaurant behind where I was sitting. I regretted I had not gone there in the first place, but how could I know?

PS. I went to the leisure-center before dinner. The swimming-pool looked great so did the gym.

I have to pack...

My stuff is everywhere... I have to get rid of ALL paper/boxes etc.. I don't need... Have to get the weight DOOOOOWN... Unfortunately I have to leave the beautyful box I got with my Ferragamo shoes... I don't take the chance of overweight... Hmmm... Sometimes I have been wondering what would happen if I just took all my clothes in my suitcase and wore them... Nope, I don't think I will do that... :-D

OK, dinner, then packing... :)

The big shopping-spree

I was one of those who stood outside Marks & Spencer when they opened this morning...:-D I went down to the food-hall and picked lots of goods... When I wanted to pay, there were nobody there! A guy told me they didn't open the food-store before 11 (the time was then 1030). What a bummer! I left everything and went to Harvey Nichols. I had to wait outside there too, they didn't open before 11.00. Harvey Nics in Leeds is NOT at all the same as in London. It was very small and they didn't have Ferragamo, although their website told... Grrrr.... I bought some small presents at the food-hall.... (Can't tell now!!! :-)) and went to TM Lewin. Got some shirts and went back to M&S.

I found the same as I had picked and went to pay. This time there were a cashier to help me. There were even a woman to pack my stuff. She was impressed of all my Christmas "stuff". :-D

Next to M&S is Gap. In I went... Kids... upstairs... two floors up... The M&S stuff was HEAVY! :-D Luckily I got what I had been looking for. I had no other choice then to go back to the hotel with my bags...:-D

There were a long queue with people checking out. I didn't asked for my new room, just went to the old. And as I had thought, my luggage was still there. I just packed my bags in my suitcase, which by now, was full and very heavy....:-/ The good thing was that I didn't have more on my to-do list! I went out again... Browsed through some shops and decided to go for lunch.

When I was at Harvey Nics I saw they had Yo-Sushi at the upper floor. I have always wanted to try that so I went there. The food was OK, not the best sushi I have tried, but at least, now I have tried it! :-D You can read here how it is done:

(And yes, I felt stupid when taking these pictures...)

I grabbed some more small items at the foodhall and went out to browse more...:-D After brosing and some more shopping I went to Starbucks. I always have to go to Starbucks when in UK (and other places where they have Starbucks) to get some of their special lattes. They always have a "seasonal" latte. This month it was "Creme brulee latte"... I will have to go to the gym and do an extra session after this.....:-D

I went back to the hotel with more stuff.... And the respetionist gave me a new room! AND it was bigger then the previous! (Maybe he had seen me with all my bags...:-)) And NO "old-bar-feeling"!

Out again... This time I decided no more shopping.... have to avvoid overweight.... just some veeeerry small and light things.... :-D 30 minutes before the shops closed, I decided to go home. It's only boring to LOOK when you can't shop....:-D

When I got back I realised that the CHRISTMASPUDDING alone is almost 1 KILO!!!! Our Christmas-guests have to be thankful... Wonder what I could have bought for one kilo.....:-D

To be honest, I haven't bought much for myself this time. Just a pair of shoes (at the airport) and some shirts (ehm... they were on sale..., but they don't take up much space or weight....:-)). The rest is for Christmas and presents. I feel very proud of myself, I don't have many presents left to buy!!!

For dinner today, I will try the restaurant at the hotel.

Marriott Leeds hotel part two...:-D

After breakfast I asked the reseptionist to change room to a non-smoking. It's strange, I have never thought it would be so uncomfortable to sleep in a smoking room. But it is... The smell of smoke is in the curtains and the carpets. It feels like I have slept in an old bar.....

There were no problem of changing room. I was told to pack my things and leave it and somebody would take it to my new room when it's ready. Very nice!

My fantastic "nail-day"

When I arrived to Leeds L and her husband picked me up to drive L and me to the academy where I was going to have my private session with one of the best nailtechs in Europe, maybe world. She's a legend in the industry. I was very excited and terrible frightened to meet her, but it was blown away when I met her. She was a very lovely woman and I really liked her from the very first minute. We talked, did nails, went to lunch and talked and did more nails all day. I can't believe she used a whole day with little me!!! She even told me I was welcome to come to Spain, where she lives, to learn another system. What an offer!!!

I am going back, to the academy, at Monday. There will be sessions with demos all day and I will propably meet lots of nailtechs from UK . I can't wait to go back!

Leeds, part 1

I went up at 03.30 to get to the airport.

At the flight from Bergen to Amsterdam I sat with a very cute, old couple. We sat right behind the curtains that separate the business and monkey business (as a client of me call it...:-)). The couple thought it was very strange to have those curtains there and not very nice. They even tried to move them!! :-D They looked forward and saw there were lots of
free seats and wondered why... Bless them!

I had one hour at Schipol. I had no intention of buying anything but just had to have a look at the shop that sells Ferragamo and Burberry. And guess what? They had Ferragamo shoes ON SALE! Lucky me... Christmas present from me to me...:-D

Marriott Leeds hotel

24.11.2007 - 26.11.2007

The hotel is very close to the railwaystation and in the middle of Leeds city center.

Check in was quick and effectiv and the receptionist was nice.

Whn I came to my room the smell of smoke kind of hit me. It was very strong and as a non-smoker, it's unconfortable. There were also an extra bed which tokk up a lot of space. I went to to reseption and asked for another room. The hotel was fully booked - impossible to change room, maybe tomorrow. When booking this hotel be aware you have to spesifically ASK for a non-smoking room, you don't get an option to choose it. I booked it through their own web-site. I asked to move the extra bed and went out to get some food.

An hour later, the bed was still there (and of course, also the smell of smoke...:-)) and I had to call the reseption. 30 min. later the bed was moved.

The hotel is nice so was my room. The bathroom and the toiletteries are very nice. Just be aware that the water in the shower is changing from cold to warm and back again. I like to shower in very hot water... and yes, I nearly scolded myself because the temperature suddenly changed.

The breakfast was very nice with portched (?) egg, two kind of sausages, two kind of mushroms, potatoes, blackpudding (YAK, I don't understand how they can eat it... sorry...), cereals, croisants, juices of all kinds etc... They also had bottled water, thumbs up for that! The only downside was that they had used scrambled eggs from powder, not from egg... It just don't look very nice when the egg is floating and you can see it's not real stuff...

When "hunting for food" yesterday I realised I am in shopping-heaven... :-D They even have Harvey Nicols here!!!

My new job

Today I went to the gym at 08.15! After the gym I worked at the salon until 16.00 and then I went straight to the travel-agency. The agency is next door, very comfortable! :-D

So far I love the job and I am looking forward to go back tomorrow. It gives me a great variation from the salon and I think that could make my week more interesting. I feel very lucky to get the opportunity to work with both nails and traveling, my two favorites! :-D

Smoothie

Tonight I made smoothie for J. I used blueberry I picked (don't know if this is the right word...) in the summertime. I bet J is happy his mother used hours picking one and one blueberry, got an aching back and BLUE fingers and nails!

Slippery

When I came out this morning there were ice all over. Boots with high heels and ice on the ground is not a very good combination....

I have to go down a small hill to get to the car. I went slowly, step by step... Until I realised I couldn't move, I was standing at a very small "island" without ice, but there were ice all around me. I had to decide.... Walk slowly towards the lawn, where there were snow and not ice, or run. I decided the slow move, until my feet began to move very fast because it was SO slippery.... I ended up at the lawn, but not on my feet....... OMG I just hope the neighbours were still sleeping....

And PLEASE, NO nasty comments here....:-D

Swimming tournament and cakes...

J was at a swimming tournament today. It was his club that arranged it and we had to make a cake. I had made a coconut cake that don't look very nice, but it is. J loves it, so do the people that taste it. BUT it didn't look good, not as good as the muffins with sweets on top. ARGH, the muffins DIDN't look good, it was only the sweet on top! They had cheated! It's not fair!!! I am sure MY cake was much better... Grrrr.... I think I will cheat next time... put something nice on top.... Yes, I absolutely will, and then, MY cake will be the winner!

New job!

This is CRAZY, but yes, I have gotten another job. It's only part-time and it's not because I NEED it, but because I want to do it.

I have always, for a strange reason, wanted to work at a travel agency. In the summertime I applied for a part-time job at a travel agency. I didn't get it, until some days ago.... I got an e-mail and today I talked to the manager and agreed to start within two weeks. I can't tell how much I am looking forward to this.

You all know that I LOVE to travel and I LOVE to talk about traveling. I also LOVE to sit at the internet and find my flights, read reviews about hotels and book hotels. I know working at a travel agency isn't exactly the same, but it is something similar. I just feel that I have to try it out when I have the chance now. I hate to think about me being 65 and regretting that I never tried. I have nothing to loose, as I will continue being selfemployeed, I just have to book my clients "smart" and maybe work some weekends. It will be HARD but I am used to work and I really want to try this.

Everybody think I am insane, and maybe I am... But what do I have to loose? This is one of my dreams... OK, I AM a little bit insane... but what the *** ... who cares? As long as my family agree and are prepared I will work more, I don't care... Let me be insane and wish me luck with my insane life.... :-D

Ugg-boots...

... are NOT me.... They may be warm and comfy, but they are NOT very feminine. NOT me.... I just can't understand why they have become popular....

Say "hello" to Mini-Anne!

This is Mini-Anne

She looks kind of terrifying, but she can be a lifesaver. J got her from school. All the pupils got their own with a DVD with instructions on how to do lifesaving. For homework all the pupils should see the DVD with their parents and try the lifesaving on Mini-Anne. I have never learned it, neither T, so it was an eye-opener for us. I am really glad we have gotten the chance to learn this! However, I am not sure if I will manage to use it if I have to, but at least I have seen it, tried it at Mini-Anne and know the basic. Everybody should have done this!

Excited and ready to travel....

WHOOOOOOHOOOOO, I am SOOOOO ready to travel!

I have been browsing through the internet today... Leeds... Estoril... Bologna... Hamburg... The hotel in Estoril looks AMAZING. The only minus is that Estoril is not confirmed yet... It will be in the middle of December... Haha, I trust T on this! :-D Hamburg IS confirmed and we will stay there for 2 weeks in August. I've just read that Hamburg is good for shopping..... Wonder if they have Ferragamo there...... :-D

Yesterday I talked with friends from Liverpool and... yes... I REALLY want to go to Liverpool. Maybe in February... Hahahaha... here is my month... travel... work.... shopping... work... travel... shopping... work.... travel... work.... The time flies....:-D

LEEEEEDS, here I come!

I have now booked my trip to Leeds. I will go to Leeds via Amsterdam with KLM and stay at Marriott Leeds. I have heard it's a nice hotel with very nice breakfast.

I will arrive at Leeds airport at 09.40. A " nailfriend", whom I have never met, only written with over the internet,
will pick me up at the airport. We will both drive to the academy where I am going to have private lessons with one of the "gurus" in the nailworld. I am very excited about this! After the "nailparty" :-D my nailfriend will take me to my hotel in town. This is all the Saturday. At the Sunday I do not have any program, but I am sure I can find something to do... :-)

T loves Christmas-pudding and expect me to fill my suitcase with it... YAK, I can't stand it! Wonder if it will be possible to bring some of the brandy creme... I don't know if it will still be good at Christmas... :)

At the Monday I am going back to the academy to have demos with a new way of doing nails. I will be at the academy until my flight home at 1650. Haha, I bet they will be happy when I finally leave them! :-D

An apology from Radisson Edwardian, Manchester

A week ago I got an on-line guest comments card from Radisson Edwardian, Manchester. At Sunday I wrote about my experience with the hotel and today I got a phone-call from the guest relation manager at the hotel. He apologized about everything and asked for my SAS Eurobonus number to add my points. He also promised me to upgrade me to be a VIP guest and give me the best room/suit available for my next stay at the hotel. He also told he would arrange some extra drinks for me and personally look after me next time I'll stay in Manchester. Haha, I think I have to go to Manchester soon!

The best thing, it's not only me who have had complaints about the rude reseptionist!

This tells me it helps to complain! :-D

Embarrassing.... How is it possible?

This is a long story....

Last Sunday J and me went to the swimming-pool in the city because J was going to participate in a swimming-competition. Off we went. I even got a free parking-space for the car, very close to the event. We came in and.... nobody was there... We asked the receptionist and she told us there were no competition that day. Bummer... I assumed it had to be this Sunday then and wondered if the free parking-space would still be there...

OK, it's now Sunday and we had to eat dinner at two o'clock to get to the swimming-pool in time. T found the note with the information about the swimming-competition and J read it... and said: "We don't have to hurry up, it's not this Sunday either, it's in THREE weeks!" At least we didn't go to the swimming-pool and had to go home without the competition....

I don't understand this.... :-D

And T don't understand that I actually am capable to run a successfull business.... and the last, how I manage to travel and get to all my plains on time. Sometimes I am wondering too...........

I think I will be victimized for this for a looooong time....

Leeds???

AWWWWWW, there will be a very good seminar in Leeds in the end of November.... I am SO tempted to go.... I WANT TO GO TO LEEDS! I have been waiting for this seminar since.... May... It's not THAT long for SOME, but for me? It's a looong time. I hoped the seminar would have been in Manchester, but it wasn't. I WANT TO GO, I WANT TO GO.... :-D

Why can it be so difficult to get a pair of boots?

I have been searching for a pair of brown boots. Today I found a pair and they were extremely cheap. I don't use brown boots very often, so it's a gift to get them cheap. There were only one problem... They didn't have my size in brown. The saleswoman called another shop, and they had my boots in the right size. I asked them to put it away so I could drive to get them at the evening. But no, they would be on sale today, so she could not put them away for me. I said I could even pay the full price and I could pay in the shop where I was, but nope, they could not do it. HOW strange is that??? In the end I got a friend to pick them up for me, THANKS J! I haven't gotten the boots yet, but will pick them up at Saturday.

No more travelling for months!

When I arrived from Manchester I felt relieved that I am not going to travel again before December. Haha, it only lasted a couple of days, now I am ready to travel again and I have been browsing around at the internet for hotels and airfares. I have booked my flight to Copenhagen in December. That trip is totally pleasure with my best friend. Can't wait to go! We are going to stay at Radisson SAS Royal Copenhagen and we have booked a familyroom. I am not the kind of girl that like to share bed with other than my husband, so a familyroom with a bedroom and livingroom is good.

After Copenhagen I will have a break for some months and in March I am going for several beautyshows. Firs in London, from the 1. - 4. of March. Then Dusseldorf from the 7. - 9. In April there is a big show in Bologna that I am planning to visit too. And in May we will have about a week in Estoril (Portugal), I hope. Depends on T, if he is going to the conference or not. Fingers crossed!

So far, these are my travelplans for the winter and spring. I know there are some vague plans going on in January, but I know too little about it to write about it.

I also know we are going to Hamburg in the summertime, with T's job, but it's too far away to write about now! :-D

My latest gift for myself

When I was in Manchester I was not in "shopping modus". However I went to the Burberry shop and found the NICEST unbrella I have ever seen. I just had to buy it and it was raining outside. My problem was... The sales assistant wrapped the umbrella and I felt it too nice to use. So there I went... The rain was pouring down, my hair was wet and I went there, with my umbrella still wrapped.









Look inside... it's beautyful!

More Radisson Edwardian Manchester

As I said, this is a 5-star hotel. I expect much from a 5-star hotel and even more when it's a Radisson. I don't think I told about my check-in.

When I checked in the reseptionist looked kind of strange, as there were something wrong with my booking. I tried to ask him if there were something wrong, but he never answered, in fact, he didn't speak much to me at all. When he finallyu found me a room, I asked if I could have a late check-out. He just said: "No, the check-out time is 12.00 strictly!" How rude! I can understand that the hotel needs all the rooms, but if I was him, I would have PRETENDED to check and then say "I am so sorry, the hotel is full... blah... blah...." At least I would have felt he tried... At the other side, I have asked for late check-out time at other Radisson SAS hotels, and there has never been a problem.

When I came to my room, I found that I had forgotten to show my SAS Eurobonus card, to get my points. I went down to the reseption again and the same man was there. I asked him to register my stay at my card. He refused to do and said they had nothing to do with the SAS, they were an Edwardian, not a SAS hotel. I said I was pretty sure I could get points, but he was SO sure... He got me to feel like an idiot! When I came to my room I checked my booking, and guesse what? It is even written at my booking-papers that I get points for the stay! I also checked at www.sas.no and Radisson Edwardian AND Radisson SAS are partners.

The breakfast... It's ok, nice, full English, but it's not the breakfast I got at Radisson SAS Amsterdam or Liverpool. I missed the bottled water, the champagne (not that I DRINK it in the morning... it's just nice to know you CAN...:-)), and the big selection of bottled juice (I am a clean-freak and like everything that I know nobody can have "polluted"!). No, this was not a 5-star breakfast!

Today I went to the hotel, to eat lunch. Typically the "evel reseptionist" served me, the only difference was that he know was the "evel waiter". I asked for the bill when I got my food, I was in a hurry. Do you think I got the bill? Nope, I had to ask another waiter. When she finally came with the bill and I asked to put it on my room, she had to ask if it was possible. Another five min. more went on... Of course I could put it at my room!!!

Yesterday I wrote an e-mail to ask the hotel about my eurobonus points. Of course I haven't gotten any answer... And of course, my "complimentary bottle of water" never turned up.

I wonder if there will be any problem with the check-out tomorow... In my booking it is also written I have 30% off at all food bought at the hotel.. Will I have to fight to get it? :-/ Let's hope not...:)

Sienna spa at Radisson Ewardian Manchester

After the show I went to get an appoinment at the spa. There were no problem getting the appointment and I had a 30 min. back and neck massage. I am not sure, but I didn't get the pampering feeling. It was nice, but I never got that spoilt good feeling.

Inspiration

Today has been a day full of inspiration. I started the day with going to a seminar and went on with two more! 3 hours with only nailtalk, fantastic!

I was supposed to have come pictures here, but it looks like there is something wrong with either my computer or something else... I could not upload pictures and don't know why. Let's say it like this: I am not the computer-"guru".

After the seminars I went to the showhall. I talked with lots of people and got some new contacts both from UK and Germany. Haha, everybody thought it was amazing that I came from all the way from Norway. I am sure they don't know where Norway is...:-D

As yesterday, I saw some good nails but also some awful nails. I just can't believe that they have the "guts" to do demos at such big beautyshows when it's obvious they don't know what they are doing!

When I went back to the hotel my feet were sore and I was really tired. I was SO happy it wasn't me who should clear up a stand in the evening today. That's the worst thing with being an exhibitor, you have to pack together everything AFTER the show, when you are so tired you want to sit down and cry. I felt sorry for those people today...

I have tried to upload pictures again, but no pictures today... :-(

Proffesional Beauty North

After breakfast I got a funny stomack. Not pain, but rumbling and felt a little bit sick.

My plan was to go to the show when it opened at 10. I didn't go before 11. As usual there were lots of exhibitors
and lots of people. I wandered around, looked at demos and wandered more. :) I didn't use much money, just bought a hard wax pot, nothing more. Maybe I'll buy something more tomorow. Fingers crossed my stomack will be better then.

About the demos. I know what I am going to say now is like swearing in the church... I saw a great deal of demos, and to be honest not everything was good... In my opinion there were too many unfinished and thick nails.... It looks like a lot knows the technical bit, but when it comes to the "finishing touch", something is missing..... Strange as I now am talking about the best educators in UK......... Maybe I shouldn't say it.... or maybe it's something wrong with me....:-)

Manchester, Radisson Edwardian

This hotel is a 5-star hotel. It's nice, very nice, but I am not sure if I got the "good feeling" at the hotel. The receptionist was not very nice and he didn't get me any good feelings. However the man who followed me to my room was very nice.

I booked a business-room because it was not much more expencive. In my papers it is written I should get a bottle of mineralwater for free, every day. There were no mineralwater at my room. I have not complained, as I don't think it's a reason to complain... I bought a bottle of mineralwater at Tesco...:) However, it should not be necessary to ask for something that you have paied for. Maybe I'll do it tomorrow if I don't get it.

The firealarm has went on twice this evening! The strange reason is that I read a review at tripadvisor.com that said that they had had problems with the firealarm too. I didn't call the reception the first time it went on, but the second time I did. They told me thay had sorted it out. Let's hope it will be silent tonight...

Shopping in Rome

If you're looking for designer-clothing you have to go to Via Dei Condotti. The prices are the same as in London, but the selection vary from place to place. Just be prepared that if you look, ask for help and don't buy anything, they'll be angry at you!

Via Del Corso is also nice for shopping. Nike and Adidas have stores there. Oh, yes, and Sephora...

I found all the small streets close to the Spanish Steps to be nice for shopping.

If I found anything? Of course... I went to Ferragamo....:-D





This belt is a "reverse". Brown at one side and black at the other.

Restaurant Il Gabriello, Rome

We did not plan to go to this restaurant, we just went past it and thought it looked nice. When we came, at 19.00, there were no other people. At 20.00 the restaurant was full! The food was very nice, so was the atmosphere. When I saw the waiters comming with the food to the other guests around me, I thought: "Oh, that looked nice, I want to go back and try it!" If i ever come back to Rome, I will go back to this restaurant.