We’ve been in Europe since Oct 2nd. We are on a cross Atlantic flight returning to NYC today. In those 18 days we spent a week in Paris with our oldest daughter who was installing a show there for two artists she works for, a long weekend in Berlin with two other couples, two days in London, and wrapped with a long weekend in Paris and a board meeting yesterday before coming back.
The passport control agent in CDG today asked us if we were in Europe for business or vacation. The Gotham Gal answered “both, of course.”
If there’s anything we’ve mastered since our kids left home and headed to college and on to adult life it is the art of mixing work and time off.
Last night we had dinner with a friend in the VC business in Europe. The Gotham Gal had drinks with him and then I joined for dinner. They had a seed/angel discussion over drinks and we had a wider ranging discussion at dinner.
It is also great to do business travel, particularly long range business travel, with your spouse. I find being half way around the world in a hotel jet lagged to be a disorienting experience (Lost In Translation captured it well) and having my spouse along for the trip makes it much better for me.
I am happy to get home. I’ve missed my routine, my yoga, my local coffee shops, the Mets and Jets and Knicks games, my colleagues at works, our friends, and the creature comforts of home.
But being away makes you appreciate those things so much. There’s a world full of business opportunities and culture and things to enjoyed that you have to get on a plane and fly overseas to enjoy. We do that three or four times a year and it’s a great thing to do.
