I miss it already

I've just landed at the Charlotte airport after a painless 8hour flight from Gatwick, and I already miss the place I've called home for the past month. It's so weird to hear other American accents! I'm sitting in the same spot that I sat in to write my very first post on December 29th- it feels like it was just yesterday that I was here. My Winterim at The Ritz flew by. The first week felt like the longest week of my life, but looking back now I can't believe it's already over. I had a great last day in the Events department, helping out with preparations for the weekend and running errands. I went on two different show-arounds and helped plan details for the Sony party for Simon Cowell and an 80th birthday celebration. Fish n' Chips Friday for lunch was a blast, getting to sit and have a laugh with all the different people I've gotten to know over the past 3 weeks. After many hugs, goodbyes and contact exchanges I turned in my uniform and locker key and left The Ritz as an employee for the final time. I made my way into Piccadilly Circus to get my last minute presents and to soak up the last few hours of being in London. When I finally caught the train home I met my family at Auntie Jo's for our final family dinner and our goodbyes. Ofcourse I still had all my packing left to do, but I managed to shove everything into my massive lacrosse bag and get to bed before midnight. Another early morning to get off to the airport in time for my flight. Check in wasn't too bad except for the 25 middle aged men and their golf bags blocking the line. But I managed to get through and waved my final goodbyes to my grandparents as I made my way through security. The time zones changes and long flights have messed up my sense of time so I'm sure I'll be crashing soon enough, but my plane nap had lasted me so far. I can't wait to be home and see everyone again. Hopefully I'll manage to drive on the right side of the road...

I had a great second-to-last day today. Im exhausted so I'll keep it brief! I walked to work due to the major delays on the Victoria Underground line. All the girls were very busy with planning their events today so they gave me different tasks around the hotel and office to do on my own. I typed up all 12 private menu options the hotel offers for special banquets, created table layouts for all the events next week, placed flower orders, finally finished the 2010 Wine List and made multiple runs to The Ritz store to return and pick up orders from Veevee. The Academy of the Culinary Arts is dining at The Ritz tonight so Head Chef John Williams was running in and out of the office confirming menu details with the girls. After work I caught the train back home and fell asleep, but luckily I didn't miss my stop. Grandma, Grandpa, Ellie and Georgia picked me up at the station and we met Uncle Nick and Auntie Jo at Zizzi's Pizza for a wonderful family dinner. It's hard to believe I only have one more day at The Ritz for my 2010 Winterim Experience. These three weeks have flown by, but at the same time my first day felt like years ago. I've learned and seen so many things and met tons of great people. I had no idea how much goes into running a hotel like The Ritz. Before, walking through the hotel felt like everything was calm and relaxing there. But now I know there is so much more behind the scenes at The Ritz that keeps it running so smoothly, and the amount of effort it takes to keep its appearance of luxury is huge. I'm excited to see how my last day goes, and I'll be sad to leave the place I've learned so much about in these three weeks.

The torii gate at the entrance to Chinatown (and Grandpa Tony in the bottom right corner).

The view from our walk past Buckingham Palace on Tuesday night after seeing The Phantom of the Opera. This is also the way I walk to work in the mornings when the underground trains are running late.

Wow this week is flying by! I can't believe I only have 2 days left working at The Ritz. Today was another busy day in the Groups and Events office. I started out extra early this morning, but due to a fire on the bridge, no trains were allowed to cross the Rive Thames, so I arrived a few minutes late to work. Abby, Jo and Natalie were out of the office all day in Opera Training (Opera is the booking program the Events department uses to record and schedule every detail of a guests booking). So Tracy, Anna and I were left in the office. I organized brochure packages for guests, typed up menus, drew out table seating arrangements, and recorded all the events for the next two weeks on the white board. The owners of The Ritz had stopped by The Ritz today so everyone seemed to be in a bit of a frenzy, running around making sure everything was in perfect order. After delivering packages around the hotel I met with Linden, the Head of Accounts, to go over guest payments and copy receipts. Tracy then gave me the tasks of writing a letter to be sent out to all the residents checking out the next morning. So after the letter was drafted and approved, I printed one for each guest (over 100), put them in envelopes with their names and room number, and delivered them to Room Service to leave on the pillow of each guests bed. My day in the office was then over, and I met my grandparents in the lobby with Mr. Stephen Boxall, the General Manager of the hotel. We soon left and went to Selfridges on Oxford Street to have a look around. We finished off the night with a great dinner at Little Italy in Soho and walked back to Victoria Station through the illuminated Chinatown. Another late night and off the bed to wake up early again for my second to last day of work! But of course I can't forget to wish my sister Isabel a very happy 12th birthday :)

Tuesday

Tuesday in the Groups and Events department was great. After arriving on time without train delays I had a bit of locker key trouble, but luckily the security guards helped me solve my small problem. Once in uniform I started my work in the office editing the 2010 Wine List and writing out personalized menus for the events that day. I was then given the huge task of organizing the filing cabinets, and boy was it a LOT! I sorted, labeled, threw away, and organized all the papers and details from every event that had occured in The Ritz during 2009. I sorted through multiple wedding plans and dinners venues, and I even got to see all the details from the week President Bill Clinton stayed at the hotel. After an hour or two of awkwardly crouching on the ground (in heels and a skirt) while organizing the stacks of paper I had sprawled out on the ground, I got to stretch my legs and help Jo and Harsh. Jo is the Groups and Events Manager and is in charge of all weddings that come through the hotel. And Harsh is the man that makes the events happen, doing everything from meeting guests as early as 5:00 AM to go over details (like this morning) and staying at every event to make sure its runs to Ritz perfection. I followed Jo and Harsh into the WKH where a food tasting with two clients was happening. Once they had finished their food the five of us sat down and went over each part of the menu they had tasted and their feedback. These two clients happened to be from a company specializing in creating enviromentally friendly businesses, so The Ritz had designed for them a green themed dinner created from products grown locally. We soon said goodbye to the guests and I returned to the office to continued my battle with the filing cabinet, coming away with a giant blue bandaid (or plaster as it is called here) on my finger from a massive paper cut. I finished my work and checked out for the night, meeting my grandparents outside the staff entrance. The three of us went to dinner at the lovely Langins Brasserie across the road and then went off to see Phantom of the Opera. The play was outstanding and afterwards we had a nice walk back to Victoria Station, passing Buckingham Palace and Nelsons Column all lit up. And in the horizon we could even see the top of Big Ben and The London Eye. Arriving home at 11:45 we were exhausted and went straight to bed!

Fun Fact

In the grand staircase in William Kent House, there is a beautiful mural painted of aristocrats from the 17th century. But the artist painted one man on his cell phone - he obviously had a good sense of humor! Here is a virtual tour of the Grand Staircase- see if you can spot the man on his mobile! http://www.theritzlondon.com/virtualtours/tour.asp?tour=22