You've seen one...

European city, it starts to feel like you've seen them all. I spent the weekend in Stuttgart (Germany) with a friend (it has about 150,000 more peeps than Basel) and maybe because Basel has such a huge German influence, both areas look pretty much the same.

I love the adventure that I'm on, but I think I'm ready for some new scenery when I travel.

Oh and it's HOT here. It's not that humid, but the sun is blazing! Today it was probably around 100+ in the sun and ummm...errrr....remember, no a/c! But in the end, my apartment stays fairly cool thanks to the amazing building materials and external window shades. One more day (tomorrow) and it's supposed to go back to a balmy 70 during the day. I move two weeks from tomorrow and have I mentioned that I'm THRILLED to have my stuff, especially my bed. I'm planning to sleep ALL day on August 1 (Swiss national day).

Off to London Wednesday night for biz Thursday / Friday and then spending the weekend. It's my SECOND favorite city!

Potentially going to Kuala Lumpur and Korea next month. Coming home August 17 to 27, then Milan, Paris, and Barcelona in September and various off-site team meetings in fun locations after that. Then home for Thanksgiving late November. I can't believe we're only in mid-summer and I feel as though the year is quickly coming to December!

Miss everyone a lot.

The Lake

Went to Lake Lucerne http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Lucerne (actually Mt Rigi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt_Rigi) today and it was spectacular. It was one of those trips that takes your breath away. On the way there you take the train from Basel and then switch to another train and then that train gets you a boat that takes you for an hour across Lake Lucerne which is absolutely gorgeous and then you take the oldest cogwheel train in Europe up the side of a mountain (Mt. Rigi). It was absolutely amazing. It's about 6,000 feet above sea level and it took my breath away. On the boat I was actually able to catch my first rays given how amazingly random the weather has been. I was talking to our franchise director (the big boss) the other day and I said when I interviewed they told me that summer in Switzerland was lovely and without missing a beat he told me that's just what we tell you in the interview. Cute, huh?

Now I'm home with a friend watching Live Earth. Boy is our planet f*cked up. Everything from global warming to global genocide. Is it possible to stop it all? And watching Giant Stadium makes me home sick! But in the end is flying singers / actors around the world and using trillions of watts of electricity for these shows the correct way to do it? Not sure...

Off to Stuttgart next weekend to visit a friend, then to London the following weekend, then moving the weekend after that. Can't WAIT to see my bed! August 1 is Swiss independence day and I'll either be sleeping all day in my bed, or sneaking in fireworks somewhere...heck I might go nuts and do both.








Even though I'm not a huge fan of Starbucks coffee (too bitter). A Jewish boy from Brooklyn getting everyone to pay $4 bucks for a coffee (almost not matter where you go; there are now more Starbucks coffee shops in London than NYC if you can believe it)...as the VISA commercial says...PRICELESS!

Fireworks and hot dogs...oh my

As I'm getting ready to go to work this July 4, I'm having fireworks withdrawal! Yes, I admit it, I'm like a little kid when it comes to fireworks. The bigger and louder the better. I still think they are ridiculously romantic. The ooohs and aahhs...not like the kind a a baby shower over a diaper genie, but try wonder.

Seventeen years ago, when I was 12 of course, a man I thought I would marry told me he loved me sitting on a blanket watching fireworks. When I was seven (in 1976) we celebrated the bicentennial sitting on the tip of the City down in what's now Battery Park. The sky lit up like daytime at the end of the 1812 overture when the canons go off. Then four years ago when NYC officially went non-smoking, I was at Waterside and literally standing under the Macy's fireworks, with a good friend, her then boyfriend, and a guy that I was instantly interested in, which made it all that much more exciting. If anyone knows about the Macy's fireworks, in order to see it from Waterside you need to be on a special list to get in because of the tight security.

Fireworks on July 4th always make me feel good. But alas, Switzerland obviously doesn't celebrate U.S. Independence Day! :) Some of my Americans colleagues will eat together in the cafeteria and pretend the mystery meat is a hot dog...

Make way for yet another condo building

Where have all the good ones gone. First Stanley Bard, now the Copa...

I can remember being a hangerarounder outside the Chelsea in high school when my friends and I would sneak into the City from CT just to see who might be staying. We saw Drew Barrymore as a chubby (albeit stoned) little 9-year old.

Stanley Bard Ousted From Chelsea Hotel

Photo: Living With Legends

The legendary Chelsea Hotel has seen all kinds of unpleasantness over the course of its history, but never, to the best of our knowledge, a coup. Living With Legends, an insider blog written by an occupant, breaks the news that the hotel's managing partner, Stanley Bard, is being pushed out by its board of directors. Bard's part in shaping the Chelsea Hotel myth is hard to overstate: He has lorded it over the grand brick heap since back when Leonard Cohen canoodled there with Janis Joplin. Adding to the uncertainty about the hotel's future is the fact that its ownership structure is a bit of a secret: It was originally split by three families, but Bard's is the only one that still manages it hands-on; the other two are represented by a board. Now, at that board's bidding, an "unnamed management company" will take over Stanley's day-to-day duties, and we do not like the sound of that one bit. Which comes first, you think: the condo conversion or the "Chelsea Hotel West" in Vegas?

UPDATE: Rubenstein emails with news on the new managers, Richard Born and Ira Drukler, who are apparently "two of New York City’s most successful and acclaimed hoteliers." Stanley Bard will still be involved in management, the announcement says. Full press release after the jump.

Board-Directed Coup Topples Chelsea Hotel’s Famed Manager Stanley Bard [Living With Legends]

For Immediate Release

BD HOTELS TAPPED TO MANAGE LEGENDARY CHELSEA HOTEL
Landmark Hotel to Be Preserved, Restored and Reinvigorated

NEW YORK, June 18, 2007 – The Board of Directors of the renowned Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan today announced that it has entered into a management agreement with BD Hotels NY, LLC. Led by Richard Born and Ira Drukier, two of New York City’s most successful and acclaimed hoteliers, BD Hotels has been retained to better preserve, restore and reinvigorate the Chelsea Hotel.

“For many, the Chelsea Hotel is one of New York City’s most cherished and legendary landmarks,” said Marlene Krauss, M.D., a Board member and the daughter of Julius Krauss, who purchased the hotel in 1945 along with his partners David Bard and Joseph Gross. “We are excited to be working with the BD Hotel team in restoring and rejuvenating the Chelsea. After conducting an extensive search, we are convinced that there is no one better suited to the dual challenge of pursuing an ongoing modernization while at the same time ensuring that the hotel’s historic charm and character is both preserved and enhanced.”

BD Hotel’s responsibilities as part of its initial three-year management agreement will include managing the Chelsea Hotel’s day-to-day operations, budgeting and accounting, long-term planning, developing and implementing a coordinated renovation plan, and overseeing the street-front retail program.

BD Hotels will work with The Chelsea Hotel to improve customer service and amenities; create more inviting and livelier common areas; continue to modernize the hotel’s major mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and better activate the Chelsea Hotels historic spaces.

“We are honored by the opportunity to burnish and build upon The Chelsea Hotel’s unique artistic presence. Given its fabled past and unique status, the Chelsea Hotel can once again become a crown jewel of New York City,” said Mr. Drukier.

Long-time Chelsea Hotel manager Stanley Bard, who has been a fixture at the Chelsea for more than 50 years, is expected to have a role at the hotel as will his son David Bard, who also is a member of the Board of Directors.

The 12-story, 250 room Chelsea Hotel was originally built in 1883 as Manhattan’s first cooperative apartment. It was the tallest building in New York until 1902. Located at 222 West 23rd Street, it was converted into a hotel and residence in 1905. The landmarked hotel is recognized as an American cultural icon and is renowned for the artists, writers and musicians who have lived and created art there, including Sir Arthur Clarke; Leonard Cohen; Bob Dylan; Stanley Kubrick; Arthur Miller; Joni Mitchell; Dee Dee Ramone; Larry Rivers; Dylan Thomas; Mark Twain, and Tennessee Williams.