Tuesday

Wow, it seems like a really long week so far. We had another long day of meetings today, finishing up around 7pm. My company happens to be a Ducati racing sponsor and they were out in the London office that week selling gear. We got to check out the racing bikes:


and the executive team that was out here this week (you'd be surprised at how much mockery I got from my orange shirt):

We headed to the pub from there for dinner, where I got the chance to try Bubble and Squeak (mash potatoes deep and cabbage patties deep fried and topped with egg and a holindase sauce) and bangers and mash (weiners and mashed potatoes) along with lamb with apple mint jelly. The food over here is pretty much horrid.

Each time we've gone out to eat, the people we're with have explained to us the crime problems in London and told us we should always bring our bags into the resturant with us. Apparently it's a fairly common occurance to have someone jimmy the boot and nik'd his gear (break into your trunk and steal your stuff). All of us brought our gear into the pub except for one in our group. About half way through our dinner, someone came in asking "Who owns the Grey Mercedes wagon right out front?" Innocuous question, right? They went out and here's what they found:


Normally, this wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, right? A stolen work laptop is bad, but not the worst thing in the world. Unfortunately, the briefcase had my colleague's passport in it along with his travel itinerary. We spent the rest of the night helping them get an appointment setup with the U.S. Embassy to get a replacement. What a crummy way to end a good trip. We all learned a great lesson about what to do if your passport is nik'd. Bottom line, put it in the hotel safe.

I fly back tomorrow through Amsterdam, getting in tomorrow evening.