Santa Monica, in the wintertime, the lazy streets so undemanding...

We had one last free day in LA before flying home so Sandra, Carla & I took the public bus to Santa Monica.  This was an experience in itself and gave us a view of the less glamorous side of life in LA, with some interesting characters, and also an acceptance by the driver that a certain percentage of struggling people weren't going to pay the fare, which was only $1.25 or 55c concession.  We are staying in Hollywood itself and there is certainly a seedy side to life here which is pretty close to the surface.  We had to catch the bus from Hollywood Boulevard so had a wander along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, past the Kodak Theatre and Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and there were plenty of hustlers out and about. 
After a fairly long bus ride we checked out Santa Monica beach and pier then walked back to the Broadway for some shopping and a late lunch.  The MAC store was an experience in itself with two if not three drag queens working as somewhat intimidating but very well made-up (if that's your thing) store assistants - rather over-the-top but very LA! 
The bus trip home was even more of an experience with some complete space cadets alternatively ranting & raving at people, trying to convert them to bizarro religions or blowing raspberries at them.  It was hard to know where to look at times and also difficult to suppress the giggles LOL.
After a quick rest it was time for pre-dinner drinks in the Simons' room as hosted by Simon G in true Hugh Hefner style, followed our final group dinner at Malo, as recommended by Mischa Barton's bestie.  It was a fun night but sad to say good-bye to everyone after a fantastic three and a half weeks together.

Disney x 2!

We started the day with a very interesting and informative visit to Disney's headquarters, where we were privileged to be given an insight into some of Disney's marketing strategies and goals for the coming year.  It was also good to get an insight into the cohesiveness of the different Disney business units and the ways in which the marketing might can be harnessed to support initiatives as necessary. 
And then it was off to Disneyland!!  Call me a big kid, but it was a really, really fun day with lots of rides and laughs.  We split off into a group of eight and had a ball going on Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Indiana Jones, Star Tours and the Haunted Mansion.  We caught the tail end of the Celebrate 2010 parade and had a bit of time for shopping at the end.  Unfortuntely being a Thursday the park was only open until 8pm and there were no fireworks, but we were pretty worn out by the end.
Today concluded the formal part of our program - hard to believe it has already come to an end but it has been an amazing experience and it has been wonderful to share it with a great group of people, not to mention two outstanding progam directors in Sandra and Carla.

Free morning then another flight

We had a free morning today so most of us had a fairly slow start - I have come down with a bit of a cold so was not keen to rush around sightseeing in the cold, so had a fairly leisurely breakfast then a bit of a wander around the nearby shops before packing and getting ready for the flight to LA.  Sandra, Carla and I went into the AA lounge at Newark airport so missed the excitement at the gate lounge - Mischa Barton & her bestie, singer Nikki Lane, plus two dogs, waiting to board our flight.  The plane was quite empty but Nikki & one of the dogs got booted out of exit row and moved down behind to our group, so was duly grilled for tips on where to hang out in LA.
The rest of the flight was uneventful and we arrived safely in LA, ready for a big day on Thursday! 

An awesome day in New York

The sun was out today and we were running early for our visit to Bergdorf Goodman (thanks to an uncrowded subway) so we started with a quick photo stop in Central Park.  As the NY weather has been quite mild there was no snow on the ground, however the ponds still had a thin covering of ice on them.
We then wandered back to Bergdorf Goodman for our visit with the very distinguished and amenable David, the training and development manager, who showed us arond the store before it opened for the day.  We started off in one of the Chanel boutiques before moving up to shoes and some of the other European designer boutiques, before we were given a VERY special treat - we were invited to sit in on a private showing of Michael Kors' new Spring 2010 collection by the designer himself to the Bergdorf Goodman staff.  This involved four models and two assistants showing off each piece of the new collection while the designer discussed the features and offered some selling tips.  The clothes were just beautiful and the session provided a glimpse into how the other half lives, as indeed  the whole store did. 
It is clear that Bergdorf Goodman strongly believes in building long-term relationships with its customers rather than taking out full page advertisements in the newspaper.  It has also put a great deal of effort into making the store a destination in itself, offering fittings and furniture which its upper crust clientele are at home with, and preserving as many features of the 1920s building as feasibly possible, while modernising it with energy-efficient heating and cooling systems.
Following the B-G visit, we wandered down Fifth Avenue for a spot of shopping before I met Tad for lunch, an old friend from Monash undergrad days.  He took me to the Oyster Bar, a massive barn of a place at Grand Central Station, with several sections including what looked like an authentic saloon bar!  We had a lovely catch up over a long leisurely lunch which just about took me through to beer o'clock, when I caught up with another old friend, Gerry from school, who is now over here working for MTV.  We met at Havana Central at Times Square and had another great catch up.

Meeting the Googlers

Today's visit was to Google.  We had to sign an NDA so I can't really say too much about it here, but we were first given a tour around the office by a very amusing site reliability engineer who has been around the traps long enough to appreciate the culture and way of doing things at Google.  It was interesting to see that EY introduced some of the same initiatives when we moved into the new Melbourne building, however Google just takes it to a whole other level.  We then received a presentation from a Google sales analyst who discussed emerging trends in search marketing - online advertising, consumer and market trends. 
The weather was pretty filthy today - horizontal driving rain - so I had a pretty quiet afternoon after enjoying Korean hot pot for lunch, as the hotel is in Little Korea, followed by a bit of shopping then people watching from the Starbucks balcony in Macys.

New York, New York!

The flight from Paris to New York was fairly uneventful - American Airlines wasn't as bad as I was expecting, although $7 for a drink on an international flight is a bit steep - however security at Paris and immigration at JFK were extremely painful - TWO pat downs and bag searches in Paris, not just one, then a bus from the aerobridge to the plane, which was different.
So that took care of most of Sunday, but we did get out for a quick walk to Times Square then ribs & burgers at TGI Friday's, before crashing into bed after a loooong day.  The weather was surprisingly mild though - around 7 degrees when we landed, and not too bad at night. 

Free day in Paris

Unfortunately the weather was not the best today, with light rain, mist and a top temperature of five degrees, however a small group of us, capably led by our fearless tour directors Sandra and Carla, set out for a walking tour of Paris to make the most of our last day here.  First stop was Place de la Concord, followed by the Tuileries Gardens, photos outside the Louvre, lunch just off the Avenue des Champs-Elysses, Les Places des Voges (which I quickly realised I had visited with Bridget back in 2001) with an afternoon tea stop for a decadent hot chocolate and creme brulee (it was the last day here so why not), finishing up at Notre Dame, where there was actually a mass being held, so it was different to see the cathedral full of worshippers.