On Island

2 days of work meetings and speed dating after dodging tropical storm jerry, I am finally done with my global tour of meeting markets with my final stop in Bermuda.

The last time I was here was 2014 when I escorted a client and this trip was my first time as client. People were happy to meet me and I had great questions, conversations, lunches, and dinners. I also ran into and spent time with familiar faces.

And folks talk about being on and off island and I’ve had to be so “on” as I tried to make a good impression!

After two nights at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess, I switched to the Fairmont Southampton where I will hopefully have a day of rest!

Work, Work, Work

So all day Monday and Tuesday, I met with individual markets and snuck in a quick meeting with our UK office. I was able to (hopefully) intelligently present the business as I was bearing through my cold. At one point as I was being given a tour of the offices, I started getting feverish and my broker ran out to get my cold medication - that’s what I call full service. But I plowed through and held it together. I continued to rally. We even enjoyed a nightcap and selfie taking at the Four Seasons Monday night and crashed a gala event of the broker conference at the National Gallery on Tuesday night. Photos below:





Wednesday, I successfully found my breakfast meeting with my other broker! I crossed Tower Bridge and enjoyed the views of London:

I presented to a market, and hopped on to the DLR train to meet with one of our subsidiaries in Canary Wharf. I had lunch with one colleague, worked from the office, and then dinner with others. The drinks and dinner were near the Cuttysark boat in Greenwich and we ate at the Trafalgar Tavern. A picture of the boat and view from the tavern:

Then I headed back to my hotel on the DLR train. As it’s busy with work, this post represents 3 days and I wake up at 5 am to catch my 8:30 am flight home tomorrow. I cannot wait to sleep in my own bed and for the weekend!

British Museum

Uh oh, I’ve woken up with a head cold and was tempted to sleep in. Instead, I stuck with the original plan and walked 15 minutes to the newly opened SoulCycle for a 45 minute class. The instructor was good, but the choreography was probably a little too beginner. I didn’t mind though as I was sweating out my runny nose. I also noticed the difference in culture here - no plastic water bottles, but they rent you a Swell water bottle for refills. Outside of the US, everyone else is so much more environmentally conscientious.

After class, I walked back to my hotel for breakfast, a quick shower, and then checked out. My luggage was left with the concierge and I walked less than 5 minutes to the British Museum. I had wanted to revisit this massive museum back in 2014, but didn’t get the chance. Here’s the entrance:

I wandered through every single gallery and enjoyed the Foster designed Great Court. Foster, as a reminder, is the architect behind the Hearst Tower and you can see the use of his triangular diagrid design below - so cool:

Famous for its controversial antiquities collection, I enjoyed getting lost and taking it easy. A photo in one of the many Egyptian galleries:

The famous Lewis chess pieces:



A joke about Zimbabwe dollars not being that valuable. I already knew this because my cousin burns these as part of our ancestral offerings and says he’s giving millions to our grandparents - very funny:



From the Asian galleries:







The Korea gallery:





Even a modern painting - apparently the artist depicted mountains in Italy and Korea. Just adds to my whole Koreans and Italians being very similar theory:



Ming vases:



At the entrance:

Double headed snake from Mexico:



One of many libraries:



The famous discus thrower:



The Nereid Monument:



From the Parthenon, also known as Elgin’s Marbles:





Many lamassu!

More Egyptian...

Last but not least, the famous Rosetta Stone! I first saw this when I was 13 or 14!

If I was feeling 100%, I probably would have hustled to the Churchill War Rooms which was Ellen’s suggestion or The Wallace Collection. Over my several visits to London, I’ve seen most sites and wanted to zero in on the ones I hadn’t or wanted to delve into. Anyone who has traveled with me knows I love to pack it all in, but with nonstop meetings the next two days, I just focused on the British Museum which was the central plan.

So after some coffee in the Great Court, I headed back to my hotel and on the way, saw folks lining up for a Fashion Week event! I suspect many of my colleagues are enjoying and working these parties!



I then hopped into an Uber after collecting my luggage, and headed to my work hotel about 15 minutes away. This too was a Doubletree and was by Tower Bridge. It’s near all the insurance brokers and Lloyd’s, so a very convenient location.

My broker and I met in the lobby for dinner where we walked over to St. Katherine’s Docks and enjoyed some pasta and sorbet. I had come here for drinks back in 2014 when I had escorted a client for meetings. And now, I’m the client! Hopefully I’ll do as well in the meetings for the next few days and I get over this cold!

Marathon Meetings

So we had more meetings and everything went swimmingly, except for a small snafu with the conference rooms. My first trip to London for work, really couldn't have gone better. The client was super happy and asked if I would join next year.........Yes!

After all-day meetings, we went to Wapping and had dinner with their legal counsel based out of England. We went to an Italian restaurant called Il Bordello that was delicious and our client was super happy. We ate yummy food every day and great desserts. Here's a photo of my pasta:



We then went to the Dickens Inn in St. Katherine's Docks and had a Guinness. Here's a photo of the awesome bar with a wraparound terrace and my beer:

Then back to the hotel as we all had early flights to New York, Pittsburgh, and Dublin, respectively. What a great few days of jokes, stories, and of course, meetings. I'm truly blessed for my life and opportunities!

Meetings

Today we had all-day meetings. Our London office is swanky with nice views of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Here are some photos:

For lunch, I had steak tartar and duck breast at Blanc Brasserie which is practically across the street from the office. For dinner, we went to the Don. I had salmon and then a lobster risotto. I've been eating incredibly well in London - especially since we always order dessert!

After dinner, we had drinks on the Doubletree rooftop which had a wrap around terrace and great views! You can see "the Cheese Grater" and "the Gerken" that dot the London skyline!

The Tower

The weekend is over and I have to officially work in London. Boo..... This morning, Sophia and I had breakfast on nearby Bermondsey Street and walked Gus around. I had a traditional breakfast with blood sausage and baked beans, pictured below:



I then called for an Uber taxi to bring me to the Novotel Tower Bridge, just across the river. After checking in and getting settled as I'll be here for three nights, I did a bit of work. This was also after I set off the alarms in my room! They gave me a handicap access room, so there were cords everywhere to pull in case of emergency. My curiosity got the best of me and next thing I know, alarms are going off, security is calling me, and there was a man at my door. At least I know they work!

Afterwards, I headed to the Tower of London. I had been here years ago, but as my company gets free tickets and practically every colleague said I should go, I decided to procure a ticket from our local office. Walking around this old palace with so much history was fun, but it was really crowded. The prized exhibition is the Crown Jewels where you can't take photos. Known for being a mint, storehouse, and a prison, many were executed and buried here including two of Henry VIII's wives and Thomas More. I must have read and seen every version of "A Man for All Seasons" in ninth grade English! Here are a few photos of the experiences including a raven as there has to be six on site or the monarchy will crumble!:

Afterwards, I explored the city: walked by the Monument, the Royal Exchange, Bank of England, and Leadenhall Market. Here are the pictures:

Here's a picture of the Lloyd's of London building, the iconic insurance exchange in this modern retro building. I could see brokers walking in and out with huge files and submissions - very old-school! So glad the underwriters come to us in the US!

I wandered some more and then met a colleague and our client for dinner. We walked across Tower Bridge and ate on Battery Wharf. I had oysters and fish and chips. I had also picked up macarons at Ladurée earlier as I knew my client loves sweets. So we enjoyed them before our walk back across the bridge. A photo of our walk and the bridge at sunset:

We pondered having drinks on the rooftop of the hotel, but decided on an early night before two days of back-to-back meetings!