It takes me a minute to realize the wonderful fluffy bed in which I'm laying is my own and not that of a hotel nor friend.
Immediately my mind goes to work tomorrow and the business that needs to be delivered over the next several weeks. I'm disappointed these are my first thoughts as I'm still on vacation until tomorrow, Monday morning.
Jet lag.
I'm in a gloomy mood.
This always happens to me after I've spent extended time with close friends. We Librans really do despise being alone, much more, living alone.
And I'm pms-ing (yes, I said that).
I'm whining.
I need coffee.
M4, my friends in Munich whom I just visited & of whom you'll hear later in this blog series, gave me the gift of their Nespresso machine which they purchased while living in NYC. I pull it out of my suitcase. Yes, I carried this thing home. Crazy, I know, but M4 couldn't get it converted and I've been mystified by this concept since it's beginning. This will provide me with the opportunity to conduct research with minimal contribution to a trend of which I've been in opposition ... the coffee capsule.
That's the relationship I'm anticipating.
I have fundamental issues with the concept as it creates unnecessary packaging which finds itself in landfills -- I have the same issue with the packaging of razor blades. Yes, there are recycling efforts available for the capsules, including Nespresso's Ecolaboration (which has been accused of greenwashing). But we, the consumer, have to make a concerted effort. And frankly, who has the time? One benefit of this capsule concept is how quickly a cup of coffee/cappuccino can be made, and I love that since I still brew my coffee every morning. But that saved time is more than lost with the efforts to recycle the pods. Then, there's cost. I can buy a bag of great organic French roast coffee for the same price as one box of 10 capsules.
There's no denying that the experience is fantastic, both in the Nespresso shops as well as making/drinking the coffee (it does taste delizioso), as is the visual branding. It's the packaging that gets to me.
Back to my need for coffee, I'm inserting a capsule now.
Let the research begin.
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In my last post, I mentioned I was returning to a place where a period of change began for me. I returned to Rome for a week of meetings with my colleagues from around the world. It was so wonderful to be with this group of people as we're like-minded yet they bring differing points of view and perspectives. Not to mention the fact that they are good people and quite simply, a lot of fun!
We stayed at the fabulous Hotel Hassler, at the top of the Spanish Steps just above Piazza di Spagna. (During my stays in Rome, I typically stay at another hotel at the bottom of the Spanish Steps and just 2 blocks away, Hotel San Carlo.) The staff at Hotel Hassler was so gracious, the rooms lovely, and the bed was impeccable! I didn't want to leave my room for wanting to lay on the bed ... very fluffy. The experience at this hotel was not only exquisite, it was 'wow' in a very traditional Italian manner.
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| Looking up the Spanish Steps. |
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| View from my room. |
One evening, we split into 7 groups and dined at separate restaurants. I dined with several colleagues at a spectacular restaurant near Trevi Fountain, al Moro. Despite location, it was full of locals and not tourists. There's a great description of the restaurant in the NY Times and it should be noted that the journalist had been dining at this restaurant since 1953!
We accomplished a lot during these full days of meetings, and on our last night we had a late but private tour of the Sistine Chapel ...
It was a bit challenging, but I managed to squeeze in an hour's visit with a friend, Sandro, whom I had met in Roma on my first visit in 2001.
Ah, Roma. The memories. It made me miss my travel buddy, Natalie.
Coming Next: Vacation time! My first trip to Germany.
