Toronto in July

Earlier this week, I traveled to Toronto, Canada on my first work trip... ever!  It was a great experience and I learned a lot about my new team, Travel & Lifestyle Services (TLS).  I had not been to Toronto since the North American Debate Championships (Northams) in January 2010 at York University.

My boss and I were only there for 1.5 days, so needless to say it as pretty jam packed with meetings during this market visit.  However, I was able to find some time to catch up with one of my MBA grad school friends who recently started working for AMEX in Canada!

During my stay, I stayed at the Shangri-La Toronto, a very swanky 5-star hotel chain with a gorgeous pool.  The room was so spacious, bathroom alone could have been a small studio apartment in NYC, which included a hot tub and TV built into the mirror.  The hotel concierge even left me a nice handwritten note and left me pound cake loaf to welcome me to the hotel.  I would definitely love to stay there again, can I afford it is the question!

 “Big Ass Steak” at Baro in Toronto

After Day 1, all of the managers+ went to a team dinner at Baro, a delicious Mexican restaurant in downtown Toronto.  The food here was DELICIOUS and the menu had some great names of dishes.  My favorite dishes on the menu were the steak and the the tacos, but the most amusing dish names were "Big Ass Steak" and “Eat Like Jefe!” 

CN Tower

On the way back to the hotel from Baro, we had a great view of one of Toronto's most popular attractions, the CN tower.  For those of you who know me know I had to stop and take a photo. My new boss surprisingly followed suit and took a photo on Snapchat to send to his children.

The next day was filled with back to back meetings starting at 8:30 AM to 4 PM, which I then headed to the airport for my flight - delayed about 5 hours...  However, on my flight home, I sat next to someone who taught me a bit about meditation and turned about to be a new friend!

Can't wait for my next trip!

My First Work Trip!

New Role, New Team & New Country!

On my first day in my new role in Travel & Lifestyle Services (TLS), I was able to take a business trip to Toronto, Ontario for a site visit with my new boss.  (Do not worry I did not relocate to Canada)  I would be lying if I said I was not a bit intimidated to be travelling with my boss my first few days on the job - what would I talk to him about, would we get along or would I do something silly or embarrassing in front of him?  Thankfully all of these concerns were mostly in my head as I think I hopefully made a good impression.

The trip was very quick as we had landed on Monday afternoon, around 2:30 PM, due to delays, and left by end of day on Tuesday, less than 48 hours later.  However, even in this short period of time I was able to learn a lot.  I was able to:

1. See how senior leaders at my company thing
2. Listen to a call into the call center from the view of a Travel & Lifestyle consultant
3. Hear the mindsets of what is and is not working and how senior leaders viewed these matters
4. View the company from an international perspective

Team Dinner at Baro in Toronto, Canada

As part of TLS, the team creates, fosters and manages the relationships with some of the most high end hotels, including the Shangri-La hotel where I had the pleasure of staying and Baco where had dinner on Monday night.  While we were at dinner, we learned it was the regional VP’s birthday, so of course we had to celebrate while we were there!

Sadly, while I did not have any time to explore, but I did get a much better understanding of my new team, TLS.  I excited for my new role and what the future may hold!

Check out my next post for a lifestyle focus on my trip to Toronto and stay tuned for more of my travel adventures! (Hopefully)