I'm now sitting in the airport at Moscow. I thought the bars in the airport would have the Spurs game on, but of course right now is the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics so no chance of that. Instead I'm watching the Spurs game online. It's been--as usual--a whirlwind of a 3 week trip back. There was a week working, several days in Gran Canaria on a beach/pool/sun holiday, several days in Wales on a walking/family holiday and a few other days inbetween seeing some friends, my cousin's new baby (Harry Lane), and spending time with the family and shopping.
It's always interesting working in London. On this trip it was dominated with meetings and events related to sustainable investment in China. I met with a lot of investors to help them understand the opportunities for more sustainable investing in China--and of course how BSR can help them. The field is much more advanced in the UK and the conversations are interesting, as were some of the events I attended.
In Gran Canaria (a Spanish island close to Western Sahara), hours of research on Trip Advisor paid off as we spent 5 days at a wonderful resort in a nice bungalow. There were some nice swimming pools as well as paddling pools, playgrounds and entertainment for children. 4 of the 5 days were beautiful sunshine and hot enough for shorts and t-shirts, swimming and relaxing by the beach that was not too far away. The Playa des Ingles has a nice promenade, some good restaurants, and a few shops. We had some good Paella and Sangria at one! We took one day to drive across the island stopping off at a pretty coastal town (Puerto de Mogan) and some wonderful peaks in the mountains with great views, and an enjoyable drive up windy roads. We also spent some time at a nice old town called Teror and a wonderful Spanish dinner in Arucas.
In Wales we went to some good pubs, had some good sunday Roasts, played around in a Butterfly Zoo, did some Mini Golf, spent a wonderful couple of hours with a hilarious Welsh Tour Guide down an old coal mine (The Big Pit), had lots of tea, and did some more shopping around the restored docks in Gloucester. Despite the recent floods we weren't too badly affected choosing to walk away from the rivers, though we did see a lot of flooded areas. Along with some time spent enjoying good food in London and walking around some of the best parts of London in the City and South Bank, it was a typical, very English, couple of weeks.
And of course everyone enjoyed spending time with Hannah, whilst Hannah enjoyed playing with everyone, particularly the dog and other children. We'll find out in the next couple of weeks how she takes being apart from everyone and is skype video satisfies her cravings to see her family and the dog!
Now it's back to Beijing!
There is something to be said to going on this kind of holiday - no wondrous sights or amazing culture but relaxing, fun and very enjoyable combined with nice (if not spectacular) natural beauty.
