london calling

what a nice surprise when tom mentioned we ‘had to’ do a weekend in london to see the harry potter play, as he is working on the harry potter theater in nyc.  after the evening flight over the pond where I mostly slept and tom mostly didn’t, I was refreshed and ready to take on the day at 6 m.  we arrived at the st martin’s lane hotel which was modern and charming, and were pleased to find out we could get into our room first thing even though check-in was not until the afternoon.  off to a good start with the brits!!  tom caught some z’s while I caught up on some work.

following the recharge, we headed out into the 50-degree sunshine to find breakfast and decided on our first of several recommendations from some of my british colleagues - the convent garden hotel where ‘all the proper ladies take tea’.  this was clearly the case as it was old and very queen-like in decor, but it was expensive and I would not label this one a must-do because there are plenty of other charming and must less expensive places to find the same.  

as we made our way around the charming neighborhood, we stopped at the apple store so I could pick up the converter for my laptop and that is where we connected with the first of my work peeps.  harry gave us a speedy walking tour around, pointing out his favorite things as the weather changed quickly to misty rain, which is how it continued for the rest of our trip.  no complaints, as the tri-state area was in the midst of a little winter storm. 

next up was a visit with my london clients to check in for a tour of the ‘legendary’ agency and edit suites, where all the work we shoot around the usa gets completed.  the lovely marie took us to a local pub, touted as the oldest pub in london, where we stood drinking in typical london fashion. afterwards, we dined with another colleage and his wife at brown’s restaurant.  turns out there are several restaurants in town with that name, but after a bit of confusion, we connected and had a nice night.

day 2 - breakfast with bill and carmen at balthazar which was yummy and my first official dining recommendation of this post :)  scrambled eggs and crab may sound weird, but it was delicious and I must re-create it at home. we took a cab to see tower bridge - had to do it.  then it was time to make our way to the theater for the show which started at 2 pm, and would have a 2.5 hour intermission between part one and part two. since I had neither read the books, nor seen the movies, I was happy to find the recap of each in the program so I could catch up with the storyline.  I’m sure I missed more than a few references along the way, but for the most part, I had a good sense of the characters and I might just have to watch those movies now. (or not)  the show itself was really well done!  during the long intermission, the guys had to do a backstage walkthrough so we caught a peek behind the scenes and met a few of the lead actors. we went for a quick bite to eat during the break, a nice spot that was recommended by a colleague called shackfuyu….. and then we went to see the rest of the show.  again, it was quite incredible, the special effects were so well done with disappearing acts and some nice magic-style stunts!  I really loved it!  apres show drinks were enjoyed at the dean street townhouse which was so cool and relaxed.  we even enjoyed some drinks sitting in a lounge doing some london people watching.  

day 3 - we took a stroll past buckingham palace because, hello, ya kinda have to do that when you go to england.  and, as our luck would have it, we got there just to catch the changing of the guard which was not planned.  then we met up with my sweetest assistant from 10 years ago who had moved to london after getting married.  it was like no time had passed when she walked in to the patisserie valerie (the one near harrods) with that same bubbly infectious energy I remembered from the day I interviewed her!  toward the end of lunch, her dashing british husband walked in (after playing a round of football, which in england means soccer) to super charge the love we were already enjoying.  after the hugs goodbye, we hopped in a cab and I was suddenly bummed we never took a photo together so tom asked the cabbie to pull over and I scared the hell out of them when I ran up to them shouting ‘we need a photo’ which turned into several photos and combinations of us and them which was really funny (you had to be there).  

from there we had the cab drop us in marylebone to walk around a typical non-tourist-ridden neighborhood which reminded me of an upscale suburban town in nj… then we walked from through soho which was really cool.  the pubs and shops and sights were so pretty.  we didn’t buy anything because there was really nothing to buy that we can’t get at home, but of course we took pix and ended up clocking in about 17K steps on the trusty iphone app.  we connected with bill and carmen for dinner which was italian tapas style, however, not a place I would recommend - food ok, and service borderline rude. we walked to the only place in town it was possible to see the giants game afterward only to watch them lose with our new friend johnny from dallas.

timing is everything as the london underground went on strike that evening, so getting to the airport in the morning proved to be a challenge with taxi delays and maddening traffic, but we made it with time to spare.  having not been to london since the mid 80’s for work, it was really nice to revisit and just play.  jolly good…. yes… jolly good.

lifting off - beautiful view of nyc

st martins lane lobby

harry, helen, tom

apple store london

marie touring us through the london offices

pub time with marie

dinner at brown's with paul and deborah

tower bridge

london selfie

london's winter rink

the show

boning up on the show backstory

london's hermione grainger 

backstage lighting

harry at night

shackfuyu (sound's angry)

#twins

changing of the guard at buckinham palace

kelly/helen  simon/tom

entering soho area

the phone booths are everything

soho beauty

the other long beach

well it’s been 2 trips to the west coast in the past few weeks and I can say officially that I’m happy to be back on east coast time!  as a night owl by nature, I don’t like to rise early to keep up with east coast morning emails, and it feels like the whole day is spent playing ‘beat the clock’ in that regard. working there was pleasant enough for me, but not so much for the production crew.  they met with many logistical problems with sourcing props, constructing sets in a building that would not allow sawing, and a lot of driving, so we are not anxious to work there again any time soon. 

a few of the better restaurants I enjoyed with the clients:  bo-beau kitchen (my favorite with #brusselsproutstodiefor), king's fish house, and padre long beach. one night we did a road trip with me driving, of course an amazing playlist for the ride, and a van full of clients who wanted to experience father’s office, which is known for its unique burger.  I’m sure if you like blue cheese and and an onion-bacon compote, you would be in heaven, but I’m not a fan of either so I had a few bites and called it quits. 

during the bit of weekend down time, I enjoyed a run on the beach which has a nice paved path that goes for several miles and, except for the fact that it was chilly and pouring rain, it could have been just perfect.  there is no real shopping neighborhood like soho, but there are a few short blocks with some cool shops that I enjoyed - 2 of my favorites were anneise boutique and twig&willow  #moneyisonlygoodifyouspendit  

the shoot was grueling, long days spent on my feet with 12+ people to manage in video village, evening client dinners, back to hotel to catch up on other work that could not be done on set and then sleep for about 5 hours, then get up and do it again. the first 2 shoot days were as usual , nothing too crazy, but the last day took me down with 24 talent, greeting and prepping, managing wardrobe back and forth to client room - or should i say up and down and up and down and up and down -  since there was a staircase to scale each time.  my feet were numb with pain by the end of the day even though I wore my most comfortable shoes, and my phone clocked me at 10.5 miles and 47 flights of stairs by the time we wrapped that day at 7 pm.  seriously.  ouch.  I could barely move and sat for a bit before even thinking about the 7 block walk to the hotel.  of course during my chill time, the plans were set in motion to have dinner with the remaining crew and I was in, numb throbbing feet or not (not surprising to those who know me).  

wrap night is always filled with love and good vibes and they all walked me back to my hotel to make sure ‘muther arrived home safely’. I stayed up to pack for the morning flight, taking good care to put the back-up hard drive with all the footage from the shoot into my carry on for safe keeping.  I dropped into bed at 4 am and was up at 8 to head to the airport.  

once in the rental car shuttle bus, I received an email from the client wondering when the hard drive would be left for her at the front desk of the hotel. huh? I thought surely it had been left there the prior evening by someone from my team, but I soon learned that the drive in my bag was meant for me to leave at the front desk!  (oops) the back up had actually been packed up and sent off to fedex!  heart stopping panic set in. she was taking the drive to the uk for editing to commence on monday morning!  (meaning, not possible to fedex there in time) if the crew thought it was going to be just another wrap day, I surely messed that up!  off ran 'the captain' to fedex to see if he could get the package back, while I looked up the next flight, prepared to get in a cab back to the hotel.  the kind gentleman in the seat next to me asked why I was frantic and on the verge of tears and I'm sure he was sorry he asked because he got an earful.  but by the time the shuttle made it to the airport, the backup drive had been retrieved and handed to the client - muthership light speed style. #crisisaverted 

as I plopped into a chair at the gate with a sigh of a relief, the announcement came over the loud speaker:  "flight delayed 3 hours"  womp womp.  I could have cabbed it back to the hotel and dropped if off myself without missing a beat… or the flight.  

long beach quaint street near hotel

running path on the beach

cool mural

my breakfast spot

bo beau's kitchen 

shoot pals

hmu (hair/makeup) with a beautiful view from our awesome location

some of my fave crew peeps

my most favorite sound guy :)

my favorite stand in (girl got good karma)

double sunset over long beach

the kind stranger on the shuttle bus

wrapping up under the tree (pun intended)

getting escorted home by the best crew ever 

the girl on the plane

on a recent flight to los angeles, I thought the middle seat between me and the guy on the aisle was going to remain vacant, but then the girl arrived. I believe my first thought was 'she looks nervous' but I didn’t dwell on it.  for those who don't know me, I can be chatty (is that an understatement?) but when I travel, I like to crawl inside myself, listen to music, read, do work or watch a quirky foreign film, so the idea of chatting was not high on my list at that moment.  the flight was packed, the ‘not-economy-plus' seat was so cramped - that extra leg room is really worth paying for - so we were all struggling to get organized.  she was trying to figure out the tv screen and how to plug in headsets, and trying to find the power outlet between the seats, and then she said to me with a cute giggle:  “I’ve never been on a plane before.”  (huh?)  me: “wow are you excited to go to los angeles?” she: “actually I’m going to australia”  BRAKE LIGHTS.  whattttt??????? so the story unfolded, she was going to meet a guy she had been communicating with on line for about a year whom she met while playing a game called ‘boom beach’.  she explained it is not a dating app or meet up game, it’s a game like 'words with friends', an app that you play with others via the internet.  through game play conversations, they became friends and then started messaging on facebook  although she looked young, she was actually a 30-year old woman who had grown up in Akron Ohio and all her vacations including childhood family vacations had been road trips.  and now she was flying halfway around the world to meet a guy who she essentially met on the internet!  #amazingstory  I was pretty impressed with her spirit of adventure and of course I needed more info about the on line relationship.  she explained that they have been hanging out together on facetime for months - sometimes spending endless hours together this way.  once they were on facetime for a solid 48 hours straight just talking and spending time together separated by glass. it got my brain thinking about how it’s the exact opposite of the currently trending hook-up culture because they could not actually have a physical relationship on the first date and move on, so naturally they got to know each other in a deeper more meaningful way, learning how each other thinks, their likes and dislikes, what each other's lives are about and potentially their hopes and dreams.  we didn’t talk for the whole flight, as she enjoyed a movie and I got some work done, but before we parted ways, I gifted her with some toothpaste since her big tube was taken by security (as a travel novice, she didn’t know the 3-oz rule), and a bottle of my favorite hair refresher spray so she could meet her man in person smelling a little fresher after the long long flight. as we waited to deplane, I asked about her career and found out she is an bird expert with her own aviary company!  I could not stop myself “wait... you are a BIRD expert who has never FLOWN! don’t you see the irony in that?” we both started laughing and hugged goodbye as if we’d known each other for years. even though I don’t know how the story will unfold, I feel like it’s a real life rom-com in the making and I, for one, am rooting for the happy ending!

me and lindsey (her man is steve for those like me who just need to know!)

cuba - the wrap up! #day8

we enjoyed our last morning at the suite, and headed out to finally get to a few of the havana viejo museums.  little did I know this would provide some more insight into cuban life, but not because of what was on display!  we walked into the museum of the revolution and were greeted by a lovely cuban lady who was so excited to show us around, sharing everything about the history of cuba.  as we walked through looking at the artifacts, flags and other stuff that is typically seen in a museum (you can see how much I get from museums), the funny part was the cuban lady herself!  she took our camera, urging us to pose for photos here, there and everywhere as she snapped away eagerly as if we were the first tourists to ever enter the museum.  as she came to the end of her turf in the museum (each guard seems to be assigned to a couple of rooms that they cover), she awaited her tip.  and on we moved to the next room to experience the same thing with the next cuban lady/guard, and this went on as we progressed through the museum handing over money each time as it was expected.  we moved on to another museum and the same situation occurred, only this time, one of the ladies continued to pursue us after she got her tip, telling us in spanish about all her ‘ninos’ and asking for more than we gave her.  we came to realize this is the typical situation so we opted to pass on the rest of the museums before we ran out of money and had none left to pay the airport fees!  interesting that we had not experienced this aggressive behavior until the last day of the trip, and I was pretty happy we had skipped most of the more tourist-y exhibits after finding out that this is the norm.  we went back to the suite to bid farewell to our casa owners, leandis and francois, and headed to the airport.  

as we entered the airport through the same door we came through a week earlier, it seemed that way more than a week had passed - more like 2 decades because of the time warp we found in cuba. we loved exploring the city, experiencing the throwback culture, and most importantly, meeting the very special people of the country.  the memories will stay with us and we are already in contact with our new friends via email, depending upon when and if they can get to a wifi hotspot!

adios!

the fort

view from the fort

the meat market (literally) - no gloves!

grocery store

street vendor

never gets old, yet so old!

beauty in disrepair is the theme

life if art

the colors of cuba

yes, people live here...

...and here!

the street to our suite

adios to our hosts, leanne and francois!  in blue is descales, our breakfast queen :)