Last Business Trip for a While...

I went to London almost on a last minute call, to meet with some people on a Saturday in Bath, for work purposes. I was really looking forward to it. I knew it would be a lot of fun, and it was!

I stayed at Stav's in Notting Hill. The Turk's housemate was away for the weekend, Glastonbury (which once again this year was accompanied with rain). Nice pad Stav!!
He had just finished some set of accountancy exams and hadn't gone out to celebrate. And that night, I had a friend from the French Lycee in Lisbon (LFCL) who I hadn't seen in a while who was djing @ The Key in Kings Cross.
As soon as I got to his place we started drinking and then headed off to a bar to meet up with Sebas (Muuuuullllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!), another LFCL who had just started his new professional experience in London, working for Norman Foster's and partners Atelier!
Straight on to The Key, saw Anibal who unfortunately had already mixed! His set ended up being shorter than planned... It was a great night anyways!

Next day, a little hungover and under slept, I got the train down to Bath and had the meeting which went really well. And what a nice place it is! For old times' sake, for lunch I went to a JD Wetherspoons and had a burger and a pint! Lol.

Back at Stav's and after a little snooze to recover for that night, Broomy joined us and while we were waiting for the rain pouring to calm down, we were enjoying a nice Spanish wine. I had booked a table at Aziz, an oriental restaurant near Fulham road, which was actually owned by an Iranian guy, so I felt at home! Maboy Harris joined us, Mula and some other friends. Food was great, the company too and we even got treated with a belly dancing show!
I had asked my mates to take me to a cheesy venue, to remember those nights at Uni in Nottingham, and they chose Inferno's in Clapham, we had such a great laugh!!

The next day, Pedro and Joao came round for an english breakfast in a Greek café and only Brazilians worked there! No missed flight, and there went another business trip, allied with a lot of 'divertissement', as always.
Probably the last one since we recently hired a new manager, who has decided to focus more on the internal market...

This Summer in Lisbon

Work Takes me to... Sao Paulo!

Indeed. Some can consider themselves very lucky. I guess I am in that lot.
My company was selected for an entrepreneurial encounter organised by Madrid's Chamber of Commerce, linking together and promoting business implementation between these 2 metroplitans, Madrid and South America's financial capital, Sao Paulo.

Speaking Portuguese and having dealt with inscription and all other bureaucracies, adding to the fact that we were manager-free, I engaged in this trip and decided to stay at my very good friend's Cezar (Mo!!) apartment, giving me the chance to see him again 4 years after he left Uni, and spare my company on over 500eur worth of Hotel expenditure!

So I made sure I made the best from this adventure. First night we went for dinner at Jam Warehouse, great sushi! But being tired from the trip, the night ended there.
Next night I went for dinner with a friend, Isabel, from the same internship program, who is actually working in Chicago but she was in Sao Paulo at the same time on a business trip too, how random!!!
We went to Rodeio for good old Brazilian Rodizio, the most random thing of it all was that that same night, Brazilians were celebrating Valentine's day, being one of the few people not celebrating it on Feb the 14th!



Ok. So after tuesday and wednesday, two full days of non-stop meetings with potential clients and partners, and after finding pretty much the most adequate and interesting associate to enter the Brazilian market, there was the official dinner of the encounter with all the participants and organisers. That was held at Vento Haragano, with free caipirinhas for everyone!! Then we went on to Skye Bar, awesome view at the rooftop of a hotel!
We ended up at the private party of Companhia Maritima, designer label which had had its fashion show that day, at the Sao Paulo Fashion Week (SPFW). At Royal, with a live band playing electro-samba and the presence of fine models including Fernanda Lima...

Thursday day off: I chill and relax by my friend's pool, prepare a meeting with a consultancy firm scheduled for the afternoon and in the meantime, to see more of the city and have a more productive 'sejour', decide to go and see an exhibition on Charles Darwin at the Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo (MASP).


---- Too bad if you don't understand Portuguese... Couldn't find the official quote in English, but it basically states that 'Man's limits of his Knowledge can only be pushed by the fertility of His Imagination' ---- Or at least that's how I see it!

Later on, my last night, I manage to get tickets to the SPFW! Cez and I check out the Triton fashion show. We chill and drink free campari's in one of the VIP lounges and we even allow ourselves to miss another fashion show for which we had invites... Thanks ASW!



Things we're looking pretty good. Dinner at Kosushi with a couple of his female friends who unfortunately had to go home, early meetings the following day... We head off to Disco, where the private party of Triton his being held! In we go, open bar - only vodka, brilliant!
Not satisfied enough, we decide to leave and aim for more accessible crowds, Cafe de la Musique... Unfortunately finishing the night off empty-handed.. Well not quite, Temaki Express was there to cheer us up!