Nah.
These things are never fun, as anyone who has done a few will tell you. Off to Milan this week for an overnight stay and meeting. What this means in effect is the following...
You go to the airport and have to hang around bored for an hour after check in, get on a plane which may sound exciting for anyone who doesn't fly much but its as exciting as getting on a bus after a while. You arrive eventually at a hotel and have enough time for a coffee or one beer. Spend an hour looking for the one TV channel in English, shaking your head at some of the more bizarre TV shows they have in that country (The german TV gameshow "Strip" being a classic). Then maybe get prepared by reading some dull papers and get some sleep. Up and breakfast then off to a meeting.
You then spend the entire day in a meeting room trying to understand non-UK accents before heading straight back to the airport, finally getting home at some awful time of night and heading straight to bed, fending off complaints that the gift you brought back for TheWife is not £800 of jewelry. (I thought she would LIKE a windmill peanut dispenser ! )
Do you get to see any sights? Well most of the time it seems to involve run-of-the-mill office buildings, factories and motorways. Tourism just isnt on the schedule. Not unless you are a big fan of grafitti as seen from a car/train window.
Since the last time I did this they have brought in all the new security measures, so no taking a bottle of diet coke on the plane this time. But I can't be bothered taking a meter this time. I'll play it by ear instead. The simple reason is that I do not have my doc's letter with me and do not want to get stopped by security for having a load of stabby things in my luggage and taken into the back room where the rubber gloves come out. Of course being T2 on pills, I can play things more by ear. Not an option for an insulin user I know. But I can get away with these things for a short period. The glucose tabs are coming with me tho.
Then of course there's food. Always fun in a foreign country and its just a case of playing it safe. As far as airport food and flight food are concerned you're pretty much screwed regardless. Best bet is to spend your bored loafing time in the airport tracking down something which isnt a panini. This can lead to finding the macdonalds and throwing away the bun in the worst case.
Breakfast is usually less of a problem but meetings are generally plagued by the usual sandwiches and biscuits problem. Not a lot you can do about that and may have to accept either being hungry all day or being high. If all else fails, you can eat the decoration around the sarnies plate. One particular problem with this trip is that if its a proper lunch instead of sarnies, it will probably be mostly italian food - never the best for BG spikes. Too much pasta and breads. So I think I shall be looking forward to a salad with no dressing.
So there you have it. 36 hours of boredom, inconvenience, confusion and high BG traps. Glamourous? Exciting?
I was more excited the last time I went on a business trip in Wigan.
And at least there I knew I could find a meal that would not put me on my back 45 minutes later.
