Sunday Sunday

Since Bas (my Dutch friend) has come all the down from Holland to see me, (my only visitor since I moved here 2 months ago), then I promised I would show him a little bit of Switzerland and what makes living here so pleasant! So hold on to your hat as we're off on a journey............. Bas was curious about my picture of Pilatus, so I said we could go there for the day, so we jumped into his Dad’s brand new Volvo S60 (2 weeks old) and went for a nice drive to Luzern, as mount Pilatus is there. The drive was very pleasant, and the views breathtaking and that’s before you get to Luzern. Once in Luzern and when I remembered the bus route (after a detour around the city) we finally arrived at Pilatus and were ready to go up the mountain. The cable car takes about 30 minutes to get to the top and you have to change cable car twice to get to the top. But it was a beautiful day, the sun was out and there was not too many people around, apart from the usually groups of American and Japanese tourists. The American’s are the noisy ones and the Japanese are photo crazy. Well the beautiful weather stopped just before the top of Pilatus so you could not see the top from the last cable car ride and when you arrived at the top you were stuck in a big cloud, so no sun and very cold, but we had made it. So a quick look through the caves (all hand cut) and a great defense for the mountain, as the gun turrets were in these during the first and second world wars. The stalagmites were hanging around everywhere (lazy things, they had nothing else to do) and it was pretty icy. So after a quick look we then went into the restaurant for lunch and I had an ‘Alpine Rosti’, which is the same as the ‘Winzer Rosti’, so this was very enjoyable, yum yum! Well the sun did not break through so we left and went back down, admiring the beautiful view on the decent. Then off to the city (Luzern) and another guided tour for Bas. Luzern is built on a massive lake so this is fantastic for shops, restaurants, and boat trips and of course the medieval bridge. We then had afternoon tea and returned back to Bern. More bars, and drinks then off to bed, yes separate beds, as I’m not that sort of boy!

Saturday, what a day!

Well I started off as usual getting out of bed at 10:30am and then had a load of things to do before I could go and watch the football down at the pub. Mr. Pickwick pub in Bern, the English bar where you can watch all the football, esecially the English premiership. So I did some shopping, which I kind of like now as I'm getting better with my Deutsch and can ask for something without looking too silly. Yes, I was in Migros again, as they do everything, even their own Chocholate, which isn't too bad, a little sweet but ok. Well I did the shopping and my washing (clothes) then was free to go down into the centre and relax and watch Man U getting beaten 3-0 against Chelsea. So with 3 games left to the end of the footabll session Chelsea are now the league Champions. 3 nice goals and Joe Cole as man of the match made a good afternoon of entertianment, oh yes and a couple of nice smooth pints of Guinness is even better, although I feel a little tipsy as I have not had any lunch yet. I'm now waiting on Bas (my buddy from Hollland) to arrive and then the fun starts again, maybe with something to eat as I'm pretty hungary now. Oh yeah, I also got a VIP ticket to this evenings Young Boys game in Bern, but with only 1 ticket and 2 of us I offered this to Marc, but as he is busy then Marissa will have to be the VIP again (3rd time). Well she is used to the format and will have a good time, nice dinner and she can pick me up a programme whilst there. I saw Jun Shi today at the hotel and he said he could only get 1 ticket, so Marissa is the lucky one again. Jun Shi will not start the next Deutsch class (pity) as he is off on international duties with his home country team (China). But I asked him to give me a call on his return so we can catch up, afterall I need to ensure I maintain my number 2 fan status as Marissa is now the number 1 fan and she can sit at the VIP YB's dinner table and chat with the President, giving my regards and applogizes for not being there...It's a funny old game! Another good result for Newcastle United, they had a draw 0-0 with Birmingham City, so this now put them 7th in the Premiership, well done! Well what's in store for tonight, where shall we go and will Bas have some fun, lets see! Catch u all l8tr!... So what did we do, well nothing too exciting on a first date! We went out for something typically Swiss to eat at ‘The Anker’ (I think the W dropped off!)and I had my favorite ‘ Winzer Rosti’ and Bas also tried this. It’s wonderful well I like it anyway. Too much for Bas, but then he’s not used to being in a country that is not flat, so I think he was feeling a bit dizzy. After the food, I took Bas on a tour of the city, and we stopped for a few drinks here and there before walking back home. We must have walked for miles and miles, but then you need to after a Rosti.

It's Friday again!! Wow where does the week go?

Well it's been a week since I last wrote something and that's not because nothing has happend all week, it's because I've been extremely busy with work, so I apologize and will try and make the coming days more fun so there is something to read. Today was our last Deutsch lesson for a few weeks, well actually the last lesson of the first basic course, so I am now fulent at asking someone if they speak English. Ready, ok here goes; 'Sprechen Sie Englisch', so isn't this good? Well not quite, if that is all I have learnt then throw me to the Bears in Bern followed by some tomatoes and eggs as that is terrible and an insult to Marc (our teacher). So the next chapter will be a summary of my first course (although I missed a few lessons due to work and travel) but hold on to your seats and prick your ears back cos you are in for a lesson.................... :-) Erste Schritte! Guten Morgen, Gute Tag, Guten Abend und Gute Nacht. Hallo, ich heiBe James und wie heiBen Sie? Mein Name ist James. Wie bitte? Ja, Mein Name ist James (Bond)! Wer ist das? Das ist mein Vater und das ist meine Mutter und mein Bruder und meine Schwester. Das ist meine Familie. Nummers: eins, zwei, drei, veir, funf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn, elf, zwulf.... Ich bin vierzig Jahre alt. Das ist meine Frau Sie ist 31 Jahre alt. Wie alt sind Sie? Entschuldigung Sie bitte! Wohnen Sie auch in Luzern? Nein, ich wohne in Bern. Kommen Sie aus Spanien? Nein, ich komme aus Schottland. Und wie ist Ihre Adresse? Meine Adresse ist G.....Bern. Und wie ist Ihre telefonnummer? Meine Telefonnummer ist 079........ Vielen Dank. Sind Sie verheiratet? Nein, ich bin Ledig! :-( Sie ist verheiratet und habe zwei Kinder. Ich habe keine Kinder. Hallo! Wie geht's? Gut, 'Tip Top' und Sie (du)? Sehr gut! Was sind Sie von Beruf? Ich bin Verkaufer. Und was machen Sie gern? Ich spiele gern FuBball. Ich fahre gern velo. Ich schlafe gern. Ich gehe nicht gern einkaufen. Was essen Sie gern? Ich esse gern Brot mit Butter und Kase. Ich trinke gern Tee und Bier. Ich esse am liebsten Schokolade! (mmm) Entschuldigung, wo ist der Kaffe, bitte? Der Kaffee ist Da! Danke. Was kostet die Schokolade? Die Schokolade ist 1 Euro und 70 Cent. OK that is the end of the lesson, Vielen Dank und Gute nacht!

Ah, Vienna

I'm finally back from a day trip to Vienna, yes business agian and I'm (excuse my French again) 'shagged', well not literally by very tired non the less. I was up at 5am and got back at 11pm, so a long day with multiple forms of transport. I started with the bus, then train, plane, bus, several taxi's, plane, train and walked a lot. So my feet are aching and I'm off to bed to regain my regular 8 hours sleep pattern, so good night and I will finish this off tomorrow and add some nice pictures. So here are some pictures, this is me at the front of the 4 Gasometers (A, B, C, D) which have been beatuifully restored and converted in a big indoor shopping center and office complex. Trying to find my customer (who was in Gasometer C) was a challenge, but after several phone calls and directions we found them. Well Vienna is quite beautiful, nice people and architecture, not forgetting the music, the musical theatres and you must remember the 'Sound of Music' with Julie Andrews, yes the 'Hills were alive with the song of music' and at the airport the girls in some of the stores wear the traditional costume which is just like Julie Andrews. When you arive at the airport to get into the city it will cost you 35 Euros in a taxi, or you could jump on a shuttle bus for 6 Euros, but this drops you off near the river so still a walk to the centre, but you can then jump on the 'Schottenring' tram. As we (my colleague and I) were only there for the day we did not see too much, well not from a speeding taxi (yes be aware the Austrian are fast drivers), but did manage to go down to the river and found a very nice cafe/bar boat. The picture is my colleague Markus pretending to be working, but really having a drink or 2. Do you remember Ultravox (the band), well the song Vienna is theirs. Maybe you must to have been a teenagers in the 80's to remember them. I actually saw them in concert back in the good old days when they were young. So Austria is nice, similar prices to Switzerland but worth seeing! Before I forget, at the airport on the way home I bought some Amarlua, a wonderful creamy, smooth Baileys like drink. It's yummy so if you ever get the opportunity to taste some try it out.

Ostermontag (Easter Monday)

What a beautiful day, the birds are singing the weather is fantastic and I was actually up the crack of dawn (thanks Dawn!) for an early morning run down by the river. Today is also a very special day for the Bern Yong Boys as they are playing against Sion in the final of the Swisscom Cup at 15:00, so I will be down in Bundenbergplatz in the centre to watch the game on the big video screen. Unfortunately I did not get my VIP tickets this time, but then I can watch the game in the sun as the VIP section of the stadium is in the shade (bad design). They bloody lost, can you 'Adam & Eve' it? This was a terrible terrible result, a bit of misfortune but on the whole Young Boys did not show any flare or real desire to win. After they scored the first goal, which was a beauty, they went to sleep and were caught off guard with a long ball straight down the middle and a one to one situation between a stricker for Sion and a YB's defender. Well this was clearly not a foul, but more of a situation of 2 players both colliding with the each other and the ball. But the referee thought better and showed the red card to the YB's defender and off he went. So within the first 15 minutes there was a goal and a YB's player off the pitch. Now down to 10 players this was the road to nowhere. Their team spirit was lost, the pressure was mounting and the 1-0 lead was under threat, so much so that the game completely turned around and Sion from this moment on dominated the game. Better play, better passing and far more constructive and composed. This was a sad sight as everyone sensed this and rather than take evasive action, the coach did not seem to adjust the play and YB's play was terrible, a real 'lack luster'. Well half time came and the scored stayed at 1-0, but not for long, as Sion equalised early into the second half leaving YB's fighting to stay in the game. This was a hard battle from then onwards and they were lucky not to conceed any more. Well the full time whistle blew and it remained 1-1 and this meant 15 minutes each way extra time. Still no result, although YB's had a couple of near chances, but nothing too exciting, not like the blunder the YB's goal keeper nearly made in normal play! The dreaded penalties were looming and one mistake and it was goodnight Vienna... Well that mistake was made and by whom?............, yes you guest it YB's, so they lost out on a cup final that was theirs to take. At home with a home crowd of supporter and leading 1-0, but as we say in England 'It's a funny old game!' and anything can happen. So the bad luck and bad play has be haunting YB's for the past few games, so they went into this Cup Final on a loosing streak. Also, Jun Shi did not play at all, so as you can see from my face I'm very very disappointed.....better luck next year! Maybe if I had a VIP ticket they would have won? PS I think I will go and eat my chocolate bunny and drown my sorrows!

Easter Sunday

Although I’m not religious in the traditional sense, I’m not an Atheist either, although Agnostic, yet still like (not necessary believe in) the Pagan traditions and the unity these occasions bring to families around the world. A time to remember we are not alone and have family and friends that care, a time to reflect on your life and think about others for a change. Maybe I should have jumped on a plane and gone to visit close family or friends this weakened, but why should this weekend be different from others and I did see some of my family last weekend, which was great. Any before I start digressing into the realms of religion I will stop here, as this is not my intension, but if you want to find out more see the BBC link in the title and read some of the notice boards, it quite interesting. Here are some pictures to cheer you up! (I'm talking to myself)...I do like Easter bunnies!

not so bad Saturday

What a day, I'm knackered! I thought for one moment I will not get on the slopes this year and living in Switzerland would be an insult to the beautiful mountains. Well today was the day, I received an invitation from Markus and Michaela to be ready for 7:30am to head of to; believe it or not, Grindelwald to go snowboarding. Rather than my lazy lay in bed, especially on a Saturday, I was rudely woken by my alarm. Actually I was still deep into a sleep and thought this was in my dream, but the alarm was persistent and would not let off until I woke up and turn it off. So I got up, got my board, dusted off the cobwebs, and donned my gear ready to go. Willkommen in Grindelwald! Driving to Grindelwald was quicker than the train at this time in the morning as the roads were quiet and we could get there direct without the changes you have to make on the train. So I was back in the same place 2 days in a row, but this time I was going to be put through my paces with the Swiss and as they were on skies I had no chance. The weather started off great, sunny and warm, but depreciated by mid morning and then in the afternoon the dark clouds come over and it even started to rain, but by that time I was pooped, my legs burning and I could not do another run. The good thing is we had a few stops, our mid morning break, then lunch and followed by Tippi Coffee, which had a little alcohol to warm up the parts that other drinks don’t quite reach. So all in all we had a great day, I was not too bad since I have not been out on my board for a year. It’s unfortunate that my first time this session was the end of the session, but I’m glad I did it. Here are some pictures to prove I didn’t just dream it all. Grindelwald also has a Glacier! Michaela, thanks for the picture, I owe you one! :-) Oh, and one other thing, congratulations to Newcastle United for beating Wigan 3-1.

very 'Good Friday'

Yes it was a great Friday, the weather was fantastic, warm and sunny and perfect for a good day out. Once I finally decided to get out of bed I looked outside and wow, what a beautiful day, so I thought shall I go back to sleep since it was only 11am or should I actually do something more constructive and get my lazy arse out of bed and enjoy the day. Well as you see I did do something more fun and had a great day. I was speaking with my Swiss customer yesterday (Swisscom Mobile) and asked for ideas on where would be good to see, although most of Switzerland is very worth seeing but I wanted something not too far away and would be a nice day trip. So ‘Grindelwald’ was suggested and I checked it out of the Swiss map and train timetable and thought, well yes! this looks easy to get to and manageable at this time of day. So I called my buddy Marissa to see if she was free and we both had a fun day out, and made sure we breathed in all that lovely fresh air. I actually filled up my water bottle with some extra air to bring back home so I could suck this in later.…………not really, I'm not that silly! Although thinking about it, maybe by default I ended up with some mountain air in my bottle, if I remember something from Archimedes saying the content (such as the water) dispersed is equal to the mass of the (air in this case) filling the bottle, or something like that. So here are some pictures taken today. BTW the train journey is part of the fun as you pass Interlaken on the way, well actually change trains at Interlaken Ost, another place to visit next time. Oh yeah, one thing to watch out for at this time of year, as the snow is melting fast you get avalanches; the sound is like a plane passing above and is fascinating to watch. PS I was hoping to go back to Holland this weekend, but unfortunately did not get the confirmation I was waiting for! :-(

Lucerne

What a beautiful city, yes I was there on business but although I have been there many times I still love the place, especially mount Pilatus in the background. If you plan to travel around Switzerland it's best by train, no traffic jams and it's far quicker, and like me you can always find time to have '40' winks on the train as the journey is around 1:15 minutes. Here are some nice pictures of Lucerne..........

Was essen Sie gern?

Guten Abend, I'm back to school again today. I can not remember a thing, one week away and being Americanized I have completley forgotten how to speak Deutsch. What have I been doing for the last 6 weeks, I just can not remember a thing. Well today was all about food, eating, drinking, favourites and dislikes. And to add to it, just 8 people in the class, so where is everyone? No Jun Shi, he was out playing football against Schaffhausen and lost 2:1, so another loss for the Young Boys. Well they better get their finger out if they want to beat Sion in the final on Easter Monday. BTW I have just relised that Jun Shi is his corect name, not Shi Jun so please excuse me for getting this wrong. So, Was isst du gern? I would ask my fellow student and they would reply, Ich esse gern Schokolade. We practiced this throught the lesson, also ate cake, as it was a birthday of one of the students, so that was nice. I was hoping Jun Shi managed to get Marc (our teacher) some tickets, but that wasn't possible either. So I may have to slum it and watch the big screen in the square on Easter Monday with all the others who were unfortunate not to get tickets. Anyway I'm up to date with my blog, not many comments to read so I don't know if this is entertaining enough! Gute Nacht

Switzerland

Home agian...... What a day, it was beautiful weather when I left Brighton and went back up to Gatwick, lucky for me my parents took me to Brighton station in the car as when we got there we found out that there were no trains to Gatwick as they were doing engineering works on the main line. So as we were in the car we took a trip up to Gatwick, which lucky for me it was a Sunday so the traffic was quiet, actually everyone was coming down to Brighton so we were against the traffic so this was good. I was pretty early so I ensured I checked in with easyJet and made sure I was in group A, which means you can board first, well not actually first cos you have to wait for the small children and families first, so it’s then a mad rush to get the seat you want. I always go for the very front row, but only on easyJet. Well it worked and I got a front row seat, just had to dash past a coupe old Grannies on the way…not really! I thought I would 'time' the journey, yes I must have been board to even think about doing this but I thought I would like to know how long it takes from the plane taking off to get to the coast of France. Well to my amazement from the runway, once the pilot put his foot down and we were accelerating down the runway (head pressed back in the seat), it took 18 minutes to get to the coast of France. Pretty good I thought, then the lovely sunny weather was slowly getting worse and when we finally got into Switzerland the sky was full of mist and you could not see anything. Even when we were landing it was not until we were around 100 meters from touch down that we could see the runway. It was (excuse my French) Pissing down! And it never stopped all the way from Geneva to Bern. I arrived back home around 9:30pm, unpacked, had a bath and went to bed, hoping that Monday would be a nicer day, but is snowed all day long, so much that the streets were covered in snow. I have no idea what’s going on with the weather, but today (Wednesday) it’s getting better, no more snow and the sun was out today.

Brighton

After Vegas I was glad to get back home, well not exactly home, but back to my parents for the weekend. So arriving at Gatwick I jumped on a train down to Brighton, which is only 30 minutes so not far at all. This gives my parents enough time to jump in the car and meet me at the station. It's always strange arriving at Brighton and I'm always amazed by the changes, which are great. The whole station area is under new construction and a load of new apartments and a big super store are being built. This has really rejuvenated this run down derelict area. This is not the only change planned for Brighton and Hove. There are plans to redevelop the old Brighton Centre on the sea front (about time too I say) and by the old West Pier (poor old thing its now an eye sore but could have been restored if the council had got a move on 20 years ago) are plans for a gigantic tower. This will be called the Brighton i360, not sure why Brighton and not Hove, as it is actually in Hove??? Other plans are the old Volks railway that runs between the nudity beach and the Palace Pier will be extended to the Marina and a new track laid, although I think a monorail would have been better. Also Brunswick Developments has submitted a new planning application in April 2006 for a mixed-use development within the Outer Harbour entrance of Brighton Marina. The new plan proposes 853 apartments, of which 40% will be affordable to help key workers to buy and rent homes. I think the name of this is the Future! And when I thought that was all I also read that Brighton & Hove Albion football club may actually get their newly awaited football stadium if Prescott gets his act together. So things do change when you have been away for so many years, 8 to be exact, although I pop back once in a while. Maybe I’ll buy myself a new apartment in Brighton Marina! Back at my parents I sorted out some boxes of stuff I have been meaning to for years, so finally made a good start and cleared out a load of rubbish, including old clothes that I would never be seen dead in, so all gone! Then it was catch up time with friends and family, as it was a short weekend I did not have too much time but managed to see more people than planned so was very good. I even had time to put a bet on the horses, as it was the Grand National, but did not win. So Viva Las Peacehaven did not bring me any luck, well not on the horses but I did win a whole 10 quid on the lottery…whoow! Here are some pictures of Brighton and my family. The first one is driving into Brighton from Peacehaven, followed by the Palace Pier and the poor old West Pier (all taken from the car as we did not stop, so not bad) and my sister and family. The last picture was me messing around with the camera in the car on the way back to Peacehaven and I managed to get a resonable shot don't you think?

Viva Las Vegas

Vegas, what a place! If you haven't been it's well worth the long flight from Europe (around 10 hours if you go direct), but book a good package trip well in advance as this will save you loads of 'dosh'. Viva Las Vegas, 'Sin City' an adults playground, so don't take the kids! I was there on business, a 2 day Sales meeting with the rest of the sales team, management, etc, stuck in meetings rooms for 12 hours per day with a 10 min break here and there, so could have been anywhere. Followed by the CITA (Wireless Telecoms event) in one of the big conference centers, but still managed to see some of Vegas throughout my 4 days. This was my first trip to Vegas and I was lucky enough to see Elvis, yes the King is still alive and he is there with his guitar and never seems to age, must be the weather! Talking about the weather, it is very variable this time of year, as we had a glorious sunny warm sunbathing day on Monday and people (folk if you are American) were around the pool. Then Tuesday was windy, very windy indeed, as the desert seemed to be blowing all over the place and it was cold and dull, although 12 hours in a meeting room without a window I was unaware. Then Wednesday sunny and windy and Thursday, back to normal and a beautiful day. These pictures were all taken on Thursday as I had a few hours to kill before the 16:05 Virgin Atlantic flight back to the UK. So what do you want to know about Vegas, well here is my take on it, you may agree, or think otherwise, but here goes..... My first impression was this is a giant Disney Land for Adults, with roller coasters, Casinos, night clubs, girls and more girls, not forgetting the ladies of the night, shows, yes Elton John was on this week, helicopter riders, food, loads of restaurants, basically entertainment for all, if you like that sort of thing. I stayed at the MGM Grand, probably at the nicer end of the 'Strip' as it was easy to walk from there to the other big hotels, yet I walked the full length which takes around an hour if you stay on the outside of the hotels and don't get too distracted on the way. Vegas has exploded in size since the 60's from around 2,000 inhabitants to over 2 million now and still growing. Apparently it is one the fastest growing cities in the world. Hotel are being built everywhere, and there seems no shortage of people coming from all over the world to be Americanized for a week or so. When I arrived in the foyer of the MGM Grand hotel I was amazed by it's grandeur and the colossal size. I really needed directions to find my room, then to find our meeting room, well this took me around a 15-20 minute walk within the hotel to get there and that's knowing the way. It may have been quicker to get a taxi from the front of the building to the conference suite entrance at the back. Each hotel was on a similar size as this one, some even bigger, with shopping malls, Starbucks, cinemas, restaurants, etc and all with huge casinos. The noise of these slot machines, the dimmed lights, the smoke (no smoking ban in Vegas) and the guests plugged into the machines was a strange sight. Then table upon table of different types of gaming, not to forget the waitresses with the short skirts and big earrings enticing you to play and if that was not enough the ladies of the night propositioning you to join them for another sort of gambling, but you would be sure to loose money on this one, so keep everything in you pocket! We had dinner with the team on Monday evening, around 20 of us in total were there and then around 11pm we were free, let loose on Vegas and to explore, but not to be too late as we had an 8am start on Tuesday and I was already suffering big time from jet lag, so did not plan a late night. So a short walk through Aladdin, past New York, New York then back into the MGM for a drink. During the drink a suggestion was to go to a show, well it was in the hotel, so it wasn’t far to get to bed afterwards. Well not too far as this was the front of the hotel. So we went into see ‘La Femme’ a very tasteful show. The show was, ‘A celebration of the artistry of the nude’ and was very good. Nothing too naughty, nothing obscene and was a show directed from ‘Crazy Horse in Paris’, so was very nice, a little like the Moulin Rouge. Anyway the next morning was hard work, all day in the meeting room from 8am and only 10 mins break at lunchtime, finishing around 7pm. I livened up the meeting at the end with some funny stories and my own mobile phone demo video, which woke everyone up again. So at last we were now free, it was 7pm and we were free to indulge ourselves in Vegas, but the tiredness was slowly creeping in, so we all went for a drink to celebrate the end of the sales meeting. We did not have to travel far as within the hotel was loads of bars and restaurants. Everyone seemed to be ordering Margarita’s, so I followed suit, but these did not seem to be any ordinary measure but large and after a couple of these you did not know where you were. I made an excuse I had to drop my laptop off before I forgot where I put it so I could escape the next round (yes I’m a light weight!). On my return we made our way to New York, New York, then off to a restaurant for food and drink. After one 'shot' of snaps my head was spinning and decided that’s enough for me and I would stick to regular coke (coca cola, not the other stuff!) as the measures where crazy. Charles our Chinese colleague was well away and I would not like to see him in the morning. After the meal we wandered through the hotels, checking them out, saw the bright lights outside and ended up in another bar, and a small group stayed until 4am, I didn’t, I was so pooped I went to bed, but no one believed me. They thought I found some girls and went off with them, but honestly I didn’t, I was tired, drunk and just wanted my bed. That night was a killer, the worst I have had for many many years, I was as sick as a dog, which I’m sure was not the alcohol as 3 drinks could not do that to you. I must have been up and down throwing up at least 10 times during the night; I was sweating, shivering and dying on the bathroom floor. This was not good and never seemed to end all night and I knew I had to check out in the morning by 11am and it was around 9am before I actually got some sleep. As the hotels were all fully booked, we had to move hotel for the last night and this could not have come at a worse moment, I just wanted to stay in bed all day. So around 11am I called the front desk and managed to get an extension until 1pm, so stayed in bed, sweating and shivering. Then had to pull myself out of bed and move to the other hotel across town. This was an epic task and I amaze myself I managed to make it. Anyway, to cut a long story short I arrived at the hotel but could not check in until 4pm, so decided to go to the CTIA and see what all that was about, which is of course the Wireless Conference 2006 for the Americans. As I put already put my suit on I was dressed for the occasion, so mingled in and had a look around. This is nothing like the 3GSM in Barcelona, which I think is far better and not full of Americans which makes it easier to handle, but let’s not go there! So that afternoon I went back to bed, slept from 6:30pm until 5am then I got up, had breakfast (first thing in 24 hours), did some emails and then went into the city to spend a few hours taking these pictures before we had to catch the plane home in the afternoon. This was in fact the best time of day, nice relaxing, no drinking, (apart from water), and beautiful weather. Time to explore the Strip by day and in the fresh air and sunshine. Did I like Vegas, well it’s worth visiting, and if you have more time (not like me) then go to the Nevada desert, see the Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam, and drive up to the mountains and other towns. Enjoy the shows, have a little flutter with money you can afford to loose and don’t overdo it! Verdict; go and see for yourself…..Oh, before I forget you probably notice the hotels have diferent themes such as New York, Paris, Venice, etc