En Route to Rocky Road

Rocky Road Biscuits

 These were the easiest things to bake...perfect if you're not the handiest in the kitchen!

Ingredients :

- Chocolate bars - melted
- Marshmallows
-Hazlenuts
-Digestive biscuits

Melt chocolate bars
Line the tins with digestive biscuits
Sprinkle marshmallows on top
Drop in some hazlenuts
Pour melted chocolate over top and leave in fridge to set.

THAT'S IT! 

 Easy peasy!

My Back Garden

The Cliffs with the girls

No need for many words....

Gloriana thinking " NO MAMES, how much further??"

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

Lau Tzu

1 Year

10th June 2011 

I went for my first day of work at the Four Seasons, Dublin as the new Front Desk Agent. It was my first day of work EVER, in Ireland. I was nervous, didn't know what to expect, and being honest, I was completely depressed. I missed my boyfriend, I missed living in Florida, I missed my old job, my friends. My life had completely changed, it was turned upside down and I didn't know what was going to happen from one day to the next.
All these new faces, new rules, new expectations... I was overwhelmed with CHANGE.
I knew it was a great company to work for, I knew it would open doors for my career, but I couldn't make my heart believe it - it was firmly some place else. Every day for months, I got up to go to work thinking " how am I back here in Ireland?"  I just couldn't believe it.


10th June 2012

I now go to work as an MIT-more than half way through the program. I have done a few months as Duty Manager, I'm now training in Reservations and Yield and Revenue, and now I'm about to move to Housekeeping to be a manager for the last few months of my Manager in Training program. I am part of a great innovation group for the hotel, helping to carry Four Seasons even further ahead. I've been given so many challenges, and have high expectations of where I think I should be. Sometimes I feel like there are not enough hours in the day to do everything I need to do...or more importantly, everything I want to do.
Even though I still struggle sometimes, and maybe a part of me will always be some place else, I now know what an incredible opportunity I've been given by my managers and also my family. I've met some really great people, learned so much, and feel like an entirely different person when I go to work.
I know that working in Four Seasons will continue to open so many doors for me, and I hope I will continue to embrace that, and keep moving forward.

Who know's where I'll be this time next year, but I am sure I want to remain with the Four Seasons!

Thanks to everyone who has been a part of the journey so far...

MILANO!!

Milano! City of fashion, fame, and 7eur cans of coke...

Purses a lot lighter, we have returned to Dublin which once seemed like the most expensive city on the planet. Oh, were those thoughts smashed to pieces in Milan. Where the meter in the taxi starts at 6EUR (before moving an inch), where a can of coke costs more than a dinner and where shopping could cause SERIOUS bankruptcy in one foul swoop!

We stayed at the Four Seasons and were treated like absolute royalty (probably because most the people that go there ARE royalty) The staff were amazing, room - magnificent,  location-perfect... food-beautiful...we couldn't have asked for more.

Loved these

Out on the streets of Milan... pretty beautiful...

WHERE'S WALLY?

One day, we decided to take the train up to Lake Como. With our minimal Italian, we were prepared for the worst - missing trains,  ending up in the wrong place etc. but to our complete surprise, we did it with ease!

Hoping we were heading in the right direction

 On the way over....

Although it was beautiful, and the sight-seeing and photo taking was great for the first few hours, we didn't think there was much else there to entertain us until.............

Danger, Danger

We decided to rent a boat and go out onto the lake! It definitely MADE the day!! Neither of us had driven a speed boat before. After signing our life away, we walked apprehensively down the boardwalk and onto to boat! In my head the whole time was : How the hell are they letting us take this boat out alone?
After a lot of "It's going to be fine...we're going to be fine....it's going to be fine....they wouldn't let us go out if it wasn't fine" we put the boat in gear and pulled out.
We both, at least I thought, it was going to be a slow 'speed' boat.... to my delight, and Jacqueline's horror; it was not!

It was SO beautiful!!! Surrounded by mountains with houses dotted all around them (including George Clooney's) George was disappointed to have missed us (he was out of town!)

We survived! (And more importantly, so did the boat)

It was a great four days, hopefully to be repeated. We met some lovely people so a big thanks to everyone who made it so great.

Back to the norm now...at least for a  little while...