March 31, 2011

Cleveland

Putting it Together (Part 2)

Like my 1987 five-week Italy/Switzerland/France trip, my current twelve-week extravaganza is requiring LOTs of planning. 

The strategy is further complicated by the fact that the trip has a dual nature:  Mostly work, but some play.  This greatly affects planning, since the Client pays for the former, me the latter.

It’s like putting a huge sculpture together with an extensive Lego set.

The Client portion is all in the bag:

Client Trip Elements In Place

• Flight from LAX to Cleveland
• Hotel(s) in Cleveland
• Flight to New York
• Hotel in New York
• Flight from New York to Brussels
• Brussels Hotel
• Munich Hotel
• Flight from Munich to Moscow
• Moscow Hotel
• Flight from Helsinki to LAX
• Russian Visa secured (in process)

The visa for Russia was a surprising amount of work, but my portion is done.  I’m just waiting for my passport with the thrilling official Russian visa stamp affixed to it to arrive in the next few days.

But there’s a great deal of work required for my portion of the trip:

Personal Elements of Trip in Place

• Round Trip Train from Brussels to Paris (reserved, paid for)
• Hotel in Paris (reserved, paid for with Marriott rewards points!)
• Flight from Brussels to Vilnius (reserved, paid for with frequent flyer miles)
• Flight from Vilnius to Berlin (reserved, paid for with frequent flyer miles)
• Hotel in Vilnius (cousin is making reservation)
• Hotel in Berlin (reserved . . .  this is going to be the single most expensive piece of the personal portion of the trip)
• Train from Moscow to St. Petersburg (reserved, paid for)
• Hotel in St. Petersburg (reserved, probably going to be paid for with Marriott rewards points)
• Hotel in Helsinki (reserved, paid for)

Personal Elements of Trip Still to be Done

• Train from Berlin to Munich
• Transportation from St. Petersburg to Tallinn (Ferry preferred, bus or train possible)
• Hotel in Tallinn
• Ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki

So I feel like I’m coming right along.  I’d take care of more things in the Still to be Done list except I’m really stuck until I get another paycheck.  I have to outlay the cost of the hotel in New York and expense it, so I have to keep my credit card nice and open for that.  The only part I’m slightyly anxious about is the St. Petersburg to Tallinn segment, but I’m sure it’ll be all right.