Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Finale
It was an exhausting trip and I am a bit tired now.
Thanks for reading!
PG
Monday, July 13, 2009
Last Day in London
I returned home just in time to catch my suit mate leaving so I could get into my room. I then started packing and finished. I am right near the 50 pound limit - hopefully I'll make it. I am also going to do one last paper for my program and then head to bed.
It has been a great experience in London and Europe - I am catching a cab at 6:00 am to Heathrow and then to Washington DC and finally to Buffalo. Hopefully I can upgrade my flight from London to DC because my tv did not work on the way to London. Fingers crossed!
For the last time - Cheers!
Roma, Italy
I met Chris at Barons Court stop and we headed to Heathrow for our flight to Rome. We arrived at Heathrow, grabbed a quick bit to eat, and then had to wait about an hour for our flight since it was delayed. We finally arrived to Rome and because it was so late, we had to take a taxi to our hotel - Hotel Portafortuna. It was a nice ride and the taxi driver was great. The hotel itself was very nice and we went to bed instantly.
We woke up on Saturday, July 11, 2009 at 6:30 / 7:00 am to get an early start. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel - croissants, juice and cappuccino. Delicious. We then headed toward the Vatican. We got to the Vatican via the Metro (aka the tube) at around 8:00 am and we were allowed in since we had pre-booked tickets before anyone else. The Vatican was completely empty and it was nice to look around and see everything without the crowds. We entered the Sistine Chapel and took many pictures because no one was in there. We finally made to Saint Peter's Basilica and saw a Cardinal who processed in for mass. It was a magnificent cathedral and in the basement, we saw the tomb of Pope John Paul II and St. Peter. For lunch, I just had a bowl of fruit and ice cream since it was so hot and humid in Rome.
We then headed toward the Trevi Fountain, the Roman Forum, Colosseum, Pantheon, and so many "plazas," and other Roman ruins. It was great and we saw alot in one day.
We then had a nice dinner (gnocchi, and lamb chops) and then got gellato for dessert. We headed over to the Trevi Fountain for some night pictures and made our wish with a coin - we then headed toward the Spanish Steps and then home for the night.
On Sunday, July 12, 2009, we woke up early and had a nice breakfast and headed toward the train station to buy our ticket for our train back to the airport. We then headed to see the Catacombs, which was really cool. We then made it to the Vatican again to see the Pope give his Sunday address. He spoke so many languages and we got some great pictures. We then headed over to the Spanish steps again as well as many churches and cathedrals around Rome. For lunch, we had a nice pasta and then pizza too
We then headed over to the airport via a train. Our flight was on time, however we taxied for quite a while. We finally made it to Heathrow, and customs were pretty good. However, we were not quick enough for the tube, so we had to take a bus back home. We finally got home at around 12:30 am. It was a great but exhausting trip.
Ciao!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Last Day at GovNet
The lunch was quite delicious at the hotel and the desserts were even more incredible. I took the leftover desserts back to the office.
Before I left, I received a huge card and a box of chocolate from my co-workers - I took many pictures and was told that I would be able to come back next summer to work and get paid. When I asked what I could improve, I was told nothing and that I did a great job. It was so sad to leave!
I then walked around Trafalgar Square and saw the center of London. I also went into the National Gallery and took a few pictures of famous paintings - Monet etc. I then went to TGI Fridays to have a quick burger and off to Her Majesty's Theatre for Phantom of the Opera. We both wore purple so we matched. We had a glass of champagne to celebrate a great internship and the show itself was amazing.
We then went to Leicester Square for a quick bit at Pizza Hut and then went home.
Cheers
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
A Day As Program Director
I then cleaned up my room and worked the registration table until the other event was
completed.
I then returned back to the office, uploaded the PowerPoint presentations from my event onto a USB and then updated a survey from yesterday to take into consideration a speaker that did not attend the event due to sicknesses. I also worked with the Events Manager to help file a report of complements from today – the room size was too small, a cordless microphone that we requested was not present and took a few hours to get, the noise next to our conference room was disturbing etc. I also received some contact information of guests for the Green ICT Pre-Conference Dinner and thus I updated the appropriate spreadsheet.
On the way back to the office, our taxi driver was very informational. He told us the process of becoming a "cabby" and said that they have to go through a program called Knowledge which can take 4 years. Basically they ride on electronic bikes around London and memorize the roads. The roads are very different during the day and at night and they must know every place - especially when someone asks for a club on a second floor of a building. He also said that periodically, they have to do an "appearance" to make sure that they are presentable and they also test their temper and knowledge of the road - to the extent of what color the street is on a specific road. He was also saying that the taxis are custom made and very expensive because of their turning radius - the new taxis have 4 wheel turning capabilities - all four wheels turn. It was very interesting and he also said that the center of London is actually in Trafalgar Square.
I then headed toward Hammersmith to meet my program director. We took a nice walk beside the Thames River to a great pub and had a nice chat. We then headed back and I was going to get a haircut at Supercuts, but they closed already. When I looked to find my tube pass, it was not in my pocket - so either I left it back at the pub or someone took it. But I feel like no one took it because it was in the same pocket as my wallet and my wallet is still here with me. So I had to buy a new pass - but it was not that bad since I am almost finished with my time in London.
I returned home and doing some laundry. Tomorrow I have another event, and it is my last day as an intern with GovNet.
Cheers!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Visit With Chris Kopp
Today was also the premier for the new Happy Potter Movie at Leicester Square - all of the big stars were there and I tried to avoid it as much as possible because of the crowds.
I ate lunch at TGI Fridays because I was craving chicken fingers. It rained all day today and as I left work, it poured. I quickly went to the National Art Museum and saw some great painting of Monet, Di Vinci etc. They were beautiful and I will go back to take some more pictures. I met Chris Kopp, who is studying at LSC, and we had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant - I had breaded veal - delicious! We then walked around Covent Garden and into Westminster and then headed down to Tower Hill as I showed him the big sights in London. We then ended up in Piccadilly Circus and we parted ways and I returned home exhausted. We talked about our trip to Rome this coming up weekend too!
Some random thoughts: 1. Live Nation does big events for the music industry - maybe intern with them in the future. 2. Many people do not drive in the UK - one person just started driving when he was 29 and many people at my work are just starting to learn to drive - and they are 25 years old - a totally different culture. 3. They call 7-up/Sprite, Lemonade in London. 4. Instead of taking your credit card in restaurants, the waiter will bring a portable credit card machine to the table. 5. The credit cards in London have a magnetic chip that you can inside the entire card into the machine instead of swiping it.
Tomorrow, I have another event, so early to bed for me.
Cheers!
Monday, July 6, 2009
One More Musical Bought
I ate lunch at Nando's for the last time (because I had a free half chicken coming my way) and it was delicious.
I then headed home quickly to relax, and then off to Leicester Square to meet up with a friend to have a quick bit to eat. I also bought a ticket to Phantom of the Opera on Thursday - I got a really great deal.
Tomorrow, I am going to meet Chris, a friend from high school, for dinner and talk about our Rome/Vatican plans. On Wednesday, I am meeting with my program director and then Thursday is the musical.
Cheers!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
The Cathedrals And The Boat
We then headed toward Regent's Park and walked around for a bit and went paddle boating. It was fun. I then headed back to Barons Court and am going to bed early. My last weekend in London was great and relaxing.
Cheers!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Way Out of My Price Range
We then went to Piccadilly Circus and we're wondering why so many people were there - it was because today was Gay Pride so there was tons of people for the parade. We made it through and took pictures at the Ritz Hotel - we were going to have some tea, but we were not dressed properly - instead we went to Prat and had a muffin and apple juice. I then came home and found out that the fireworks today were cancelled - however the 4th of July celebration was still occurring. I found it very interesting that the English celebrated the 4th when it was the day that they lost and the Americans won. Anyways, we were all exhausted by that time and I just decided to stay inside and relax - ordered a pizza from Dominos and talked to some London friends from home.
Tomorrow, we are off to St. Pauls and Westminster Abby and then maybe a boat ride at Regent's Park.
Cheers!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Saying Goodbyes
I then headed back to South Kensington to meet some EUSA people for dinner: Yanique, Shea, Meghan, Carolyn, Carissa & Katrina (Carolyn's roommate from Florida) for a nice dinner at a pub (I ordered a steak) and then headed back to say goodbye since they will be leaving for the States tomorrow.
I am exhausted and am going to sleep in tomorrow.
Cheers!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
An End To A Long Week
Today, I woke up at the normal time for work - 7:20 am. I finished the post-attendance sheets for the Second Annual Parliamentary Awards. This time, I compiled a spreadsheet of those who confirmed/registered at the event, compiled a spreadsheet of those who were invited, minus those who attended/registered at the event, and compiled a spreadsheet of those who confirmed but did not attend. I then wrote emails and marketing campaigns for five events that were about to be launched. I wrote emails for the opening email, and also the second email campaigns. I also proofread events / agendas that are held in September/October 2009 that will launch on Friday. I then updated contact mailing list by adding contacts that opened emails from past events. Finally, I converted the PowerPoint slides from this week’s conferences into PDF Format so that they would be ready to send to the delegates who attended.
I then stopped by at the National Portrait Gallery to sign in for EUSA and then returned home and did my weekly journal for Brockport, completed the survey for the Professional Development Seminar last week and am heading to bed.
Tomorrow, I will attempt to buy more tokens for the dryer and then head to the Professional Development Seminar once again. I hope to do something, maybe a picnic or something, since it has been such a beautiful week!
Cheers!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The Last Day for Kayla
Then, I returned back to the office and completed a portion of a proposal for programs – Safety in the Workplace and Data/Cyber Security. I looked at organizations/events to find programs that were similar to the ones in the proposal to help identify appropriate dates, and if the program will attract a large enough crowd. I then began to update attendance list for the Second Annual Parliamentary Awards/Champagne Reception. I added delegates who did not confirm or were not on the list, compiled a list of those who did confirm and those who registered at the event, compiled a list of all those who were invited, attended, rejected, and confirmed, and compiled a list of those who confirmed but did not attend. These will be used for invitation purposes next year and for a post-email that will be sent out in a few days.
Today was the last day for my fellow intern, Kayla. So we all signed a card and bought her flowers!
I then returned home and finished my laundry and just relaxed after a busy week.
