Becoming a Business Traveler

For those of you who keep up with my Facebook posts as well, you'll know that in late January I accepted a new position as a Conversion Consultant for a large medical tech company. Now, what do I know about the medical field? NOTHING!
But I do know how to train people and provide emotional support during the go-live process. That's something I rather enjoyed when working for Disney and I'm happy to be doing it again.

More importantly, this new employment is 100% travel. This is an opportunity that I've dreamed of since I lived in Germany back in 2007! I had grown accustomed to a Jetsetter life and I've longed to go back to it. And while traveling for work isn't all the fun of country hopping in Europe, it is the ground work for a more travel driven life. I'm very excited for it!

So where has 2016 taken me so far? Louisville, Kentucky. 😏 I know, pretty glamorous. No, actually it was very nice. I stayed downtown and enjoyed the area immensely.

Travel Tips: If going to Louisville, I highly recommend the Downtown Fairfield Inn & Suites. It's in walking distance to nightlife and great restaurants! I personally check out 2 fantastic places- The Side Bar, a burgers, bourbon and beer joint.

And Dish On Market, where the fried chicken is a must!

Now,  I'm still gaining my footing on all this Corperate travel stuff, so I'm sure there'll be another post with tips and tricks. I'm also compiling a post about Hotel Living, because I'm getting pretty good at that. As far as travel points and the like, I'll probably not share too much on that. There's already a lot of info out there and I highly recommend following The Points Guy on Facebook. He's a guru on the subject!

Thanks for reading. More to come soon!

Those Memphis Blues

This title is so applicable considering the outcome of the game, but as the old saying goes "it's not if you win or lose, it's how you play the game." And the Liberty Bowl was a wonderful game. My friends and I greatly enjoyed the game and getting to explore Memphis. I only wish I had more time!

My brief trip began in the morning on Friday, Jan. 1st 2016. Traveler Prime (TP) picked me up from my apartment and we headed off to the airport. I've probably said this before on this blog, but flying through MCI is one of the best airport experiences you could ask for! I never spend more than 40mins in that airport. Walk in, go through security, and BOOM- you're at your gate. Biggest disappointment on this trip- the Starbucks inside the terminal couldn't make a latte. It was devastating!

Any way, it went MCI-MDW-MEM (KC to Chicago to Memphis). This was my first companion pass and I couldn't be more thankful to TP!

In Chicago we stopped briefly for lunch: 

We landed in Memphis and got a great deal with Über to get to the hotel: The Doubletree of Downtown Memphis. It's on the corner of Union and Hernando, just one block down from the Peabody. Sadly, I did not get pictures of either fine establishment-- epic hotelier fail!

Any way, we dropped off our bags and immediately hit Beale St for the Liberty Bowl Pep Rally to support our friends in The Pride #KSUMB 

The band did a fantastic job and they even played a Les Mis mashup! But more than all of that was seeing everyone together on Beale Street! Later that evening we hit up a few of the bars: the Tin Roof and Rum Boogie Cafe. The live music was great, but the drink prices... Whoa! I'm not made of that kind of money. It's a good thing I was only going out that one night! My brother paid $17 for a double whiskey & diet. Yikes!

Of course the next day one of my friends tells me that the locals all hangout in Midtown or south of downtown... Too little, too late Pal! Well, you live and learn.

Saturday (or Caturday as Wildcats like to call it) was Game Day! We knew it'd be a tough game. The Razorbacks are a good team... Sadly, their fans are more in love with the S.E.C. than their crazy-talented university. The Cats did great at the start and then came out strong in the 3rd quarter (usually our weak spot). All in all, it was a great game to watch and the band killed it at halftime! 

That big corn dog was a stadium tradition of some sort. All I know, it was delicious!

For that last night after the game I just wanted to find some place local and chill.  My brother recommended a place just a couple blocks a way: South of Beale (SOB). The menu was interesting- small, but diverse. I ordered the Duck Fried Rice and a side of Mac&cheese. It was excellent! And their Spiked Apple Cider was just like how I make mine. Check it out- and check-in on Yelp to get 15% off.

Then bright and early- or rather still dark and VERY EARLY, we headed back to the airport. I made our Lyft driver (Lyft is much cheaper than Über in Memphis!) drive really slow pass Sun Studios. All I know is I'll be back to Memphis. So much more to see. Next time, definitely getting the Gibson Guitar tour!

The next scheduled adventure is early February in Baltimore. I'll keep you posted!

~Greet