Month: October 2011
One more flight, then I’m home
8 flights in 11 days. Ooph. The trip home was about 28 hours door to door.
BBQ pork sandwich with the Phillies game on
It’s good to be home (or at least in Dallas).
Morton’s Steakhouse
As I say in my book over and over again, customer service is no longer about telling people how great you are. It’s about producing amazing moments in time, and letting those moments become the focal point of how amazing you are, told not by you, but by the customer who you thrilled.
Peter Shankman – The Greatest Custom Service Story Ever Told.
Status
When you’re decent at Spanish but horrible with French context switching can be difficult. I just said “puedo tener un continental por favor.” Doh.
Marseille Graffiti – Travel Log, Day 8
Yesterday the plan was to see a few museums and then head out to Olympique de Marseille to watch the match against Brest. For some reason the two museums I wanted to catch weren’t open despite their hours clearly stating that they were.
Instead I walked around and snapped some photos of the graffiti stores put on their shutters. It’s kind of a bonus ad for when your business is closed. Even the Leica shop got into it. Pretty cool.
Photos, and hopefully some video, from the football match will be coming later.
Château d’If & Frioul Islands – Travel Log, Day 7
I spent my second day in Marseille out on a series of islands that are a 20 minute boat ride away. The first island barely fits the Château d’If that perches on top of it. The castle itself is relatively basic and bare but it gives some great views back to Marseille and the surrounding islands.
From there my brother and I headed to the nearby Frioul islands. These have a few forts on them and include a hospital that was used for plague patients a few centuries ago. The water is gorgeous and we found a quiet cove to just hang out in. I got some great reading time in too.
After that we headed back to Marseille. The boat ride back had cool views of the harbor and surrounding buildings that you don’t see from land.
Marseille – Travel Log, Day 6
My first full day in Marseille was split between being out near my brother’s university and wandering around the city. My hotel is right in Vieux Port which is terrific. Tons of restaurants, bars, and shopping right nearby and easy access to metro and busses.
In the morning I headed out toward the southeast where my brother’s staying this semester. We hiked out to the nearby calanques. These were gorgeous and just a 30 minute hike from his school.
We hung out on the rocks at the bottom here where there were a series of coves you could swim in. There was also the occasional tour boat of people but they didn’t come too far into the cove.
After getting back into Marseille I headed out to the Cathédrale de la Major. It’s a fantastic domed cathedral that was practically empty when I went in.
I forget who this statue is off but it’s just off to the side of the cathedral.
From there I wandered around the harbor and surrounding neighborhoods a lot. My Fitbit is quite happy with the number of steps I’ve taken.
My view for the afternoon
Seriously relaxing.