Blackjack Tables, Good Eats, and High-End Shopping

This past week I traveled to Sin City, A.K.A Las Vegas for a field kick off meeting (FKOM) that my company SAP Ariba was hosting.  This was my first time travelling to Las Vegas, so I was excited to see what all the hype was about.  FKOM is a week-long event consisted of predominantly work intensive meetings & keynote speakers, however I was able to have alittle fun and explore the city while I was there.  I flew out on Monday mid-day (thankfully a direct flight to Las Vegas) and arrived early afternoon.  While on the flight I was able to see beautiful views of the Rocky Mountains and the beginning of the Grand Canyon.  The sights were absolutely spectacular, and it made me want to plan a visit to go hiking & snowboarding there in the future. 

Once arriving in Las Vegas, I could instantly hear the sounds of slot machines as I walked off the plane, I was definitely in Vegas.  I took a cab to the Venetian hotel, and from the pictures it looked pretty fancy.  Well, it truly was fancy.  The grand entrance for pick up & drop off transportation was all hand painted ceilings and marble floors with gold finish as an accent.  My favorite part about the Venetian was of course their shopping down the Grand Canal & St. Mark’s Square.  The shops include everything from Kate Spade, Tommy Bahama, and Banana Republic to Burberry, Barneys New York, and Cartier. 

I had a chance to explore all the great food that the Venetian has to offer.  Each night I ate dinner at Canonita, Casanova, Otto, and TAO Asian Bistro.  Each of these restaurants featured a different signature dish that I just had to try.  There are also many great bars as well including Public House, Yard Bird, and Rock house.

One night, some of the ladies went out to see KA by Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand.  This was my first ever show in Las Vegas, so I was really excited.  Watching the show, I was blown away by the talent and stunts performed.  It was a really great story line and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.  My favorite part of the whole show was the wheel of death.  These stuntmen as spinning around at a high rate of speed in what I like to think of as “giant hamster cages”.  They also have a 360-degree rotating stage which definitely had to of taken skill to perform on.  Overall, a really great show if you are planning a trip to Las Vegas.

Over the course of the week I was able to network quite a bit with colleagues and other employees, do a bit of shopping, and of course attend work conferences.  I am sure if I was not there on work, I would have much more time to explore the city, but unfortunately I only was able to go out one of the nights.  If I do ever plan to go back are there any suggestions on shows I should go see, or events to attend?

Surviving 24 hours in Pittsburgh through a blizzard

Traveling in general is stressful, but traveling for business and through a snow storm is an absolute nightmare.  Last week I had to fly out to Pittsburgh for a major presentation that I was giving.  Long behold, the morning I had to fly out a nasty snowstorm swept through the Detroit area, along with the normal rush hour commute, I felt like it was nearly impossible to make my flight on time.  Luckily I was able to pass through security and make it to my gate with 10 minutes to spare.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t out of the clear yet…not even close!  We ended up sitting on the tarmac for an additional hour due to high cross winds.  

By the time I finally made it to Pittsburgh, the same storm that struck Michigan, was now affecting the Pittsburgh area.  After about an hour on the highway, I made it to the office safe & sound.  Only problem was I had to push my presentation out an additional hour and half.  Luckily I have a great team and they were very understanding and flexible.  By that time, my attitude was “what else could possibly go wrong?”  Turns out I did great on my presentation and was able to relax.  

After work, I had to walk a few blocks to my hotel, the Courtyard Marriott downtown Pittsburgh.  Rule of thumb when travelling in the winter, always be prepared for anything.  In this scenario I packed snow boots, and good thing I did since the streets of Pittsburgh were snow covered and slushy.  Yes, you may look silly, but trust me you will save your nice pair of heels.

After checking in to my hotel, I decided to grab some dinner at the adjacent Italian restaurant called Sonoma Grille.  The food was good and decently priced.  I ended up having the Bacon-Potato soup and for an entrée, the bronze salmon along with their house pinot.  The food ended up to be pretty good and some dishes were pretty “unique” for my taste.

A few key items that I always like to pack during winter travel are boots, a pair of “nice” jeans, and a sweatshirt (these are in addition to your typical business attire you would normally pack).  I also like to pack a few meal/protein bars in my carry on.  As I mentioned before snow boots are great for winter business travel because you never know what situations you may be faced with while on the road.  If your car gets stuck and you are wearing a pair of heels, this may not be the best scenario for you to start digging out your car. 

 I also like to pack a pair of nice jeans, because if you are stuck on an airplane wearing a skirt, this may not be the most comfortable thing to wear for several hours on end (ladies, I think you know what I mean).  You can always change into your nice dress clothes once you land, this is exactly what I did on this trip since I was in the midst of a snowstorm.  Lastly a sweatshirt is always nice to have in case you get cold on the airplane, or you want to change in to comfortable clothes for the plane ride back, this is always a nice to have.  

I took a few pictures of a nice business outfit that wouldn’t get trashed through the winter elements and also the three types of shoes I usually pack.  Hopefully some of these tips will help you the next time you get stuck travelling through a snow storm.