Packing for Paris…
With less than a week to go, we feel certain that the 40 intrepid cyclists due to arrive in Paris for the start of the 4th annual Orient Express Bicycle Expedition will be comforted to know that logistics are well underway.
Over the past few days, highly effective staff meetings have resulted in top notch planning and intricate "To Do" lists... all from the burly ambiance of our new office on the outskirts of Bratislava - the Loli Bar. It's been challenging... but someone has to do it!
Trawling the consumer palaces of fast-developing Bratislava for provisions for the expedition has been a hunter/gather experience of note. For those of us who don't shop regularly in Slovakia, the battle of the brands takes on a whole new dimension. Identifying items in emporiums the size of soccer stadiums offering row upon row of unfamiliar products bearing unpronounceable names, has been time and energy consuming to say the least, especially with so much more to be planned and discussed back in the office!
In between the planning and the doing, which is just about all done, we did manage to escape the ubiquitous, brash, western style development mushrooming on the outskirts of the city and explore the gentle pedestrian squares, gorgeous gothic architecture, comfort food and subtly sexy city life of old, real, downtown Bratislava. It is magical. And by the time we return towards the end of June, it will be pulsating with festival life and folklore dancing.
Today, with all the vehicles checked and packed, we say 'dakujem' and 'goodbye' to Monika, our fabulous guide and translator, and head west for Paris to meet the OE 2008 riders... being sure, of course, to keep our eyes peeled for suitable new offices at strategic points along the way!
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Posted May 28, 2008 by Theresa Brown
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