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 passengers just weren't going to pay the fare, which was only $1.25 (or 55c concession) anyway.  We are staying in Hollywood itself and there is certainly a seedy side to life here which is pretty close to the surface.  The bus left from Hollywood Boulevard so we had a wander along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, past Kodak and Grauman's Chinese Theatres, and there were plenty of hustlers out and about. 
After a fairly long ride we inspected Santa Monica beach and pier then walked back to the Broadway for some final 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 store assistants, who were rather over-the-top but very LA!  I'm not sure if Melbourne would be quite ready for that but nobody seemed to bat an eyelid here.
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.
Before we knew it, it was time for pre-dinner drinks in the Simons' room as hosted by Simon G in his bathrobe in true Hugh Hefner style, followed by 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.

Disney x 2!

We started the day with a very interesting and informative visit to Walt Disney headquarters, where we were privileged to gain an insight to some of Disney's marketing strategies and goals for the coming year from Jo Pascoe, marketing manager for consumer products.  It was also interesting to hear about the cohesiveness of the different Disney business units and the ways in which marketing resources can be harnessed to support new 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 had a fantastic day anyway.
Today concluded the formal part of our program - it's 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 such great people!!!

Another flight - but with celebrities this time!

A free morning today so a fairly slow start before getting ready for the flight to LA.  Sandra, Carla and I went into the American Airlines 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 shifted down to a row behind 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 so we started with a quick photo stop in Central Park.  We then wandered back to Bergdorf Goodman for our visit with the very distinguished and amenable David, training and development manager, who showed us the store before it opened for the day.  We started in one of the Chanel boutiques before moving up to footwear  and 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 for 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 sales pointers.  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 clients 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 an old friend from Monash undergrad days for lunch.  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 took me through to beer o'clock, when I caught up with another old school friend for mojitos at Havana Central in Times Square.

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 Raymond, a very amusing site reliability engineer whose job title reads International Man of Mystery.  Google allows employees to choose their own job titles because it makes them happy, and Raymond has been around the traps long enough to appreciate the culture and way of doing things at Google, compared to his previous employers who were less than concerned with employee wellbeing and happiness by the sound of things. 

It was interesting to note that Ernst & Young introduced some similar initiatives to Google when we moved into the new Melbourne building in 2007 (although our foosball table didn't survive the first day), however Google takes it to a whole different level.  Some service lines within Ernst & Young require employees to move desks every few months and we get some free food in the kitchen, but not M&M's!
We then received a presentation from Ben, a Google sales analyst who discussed emerging online advertising, consumer and market trends in search marketing.

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 was extremely painful.  It 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.  The weather was surprisingly mild - around seven degrees when we landed and no snow on the ground at all.

Free day in Paris

Unfortunately the weather was not the best today, 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, the Louvre, L'Avenue des Champs-Elysses, Les Places des Voges and Notre Dame.