SES London 2007

February 19, 2007

Monday 2/12/07
SES London started out a bit slower than most of the shows I’ve gone to. We arrived Monday morning and went downstairs to the Isle Bar in the Crown Plaza. There was no sign of a conference in the lobby. We’re used to seeing lots of conference attendees hanging out at the bars of the host hotels, so it was a bit odd that there wasn’t really anyone there until later that evening when we bumped into DaveN. I’ve always liked DaveN until he made a pass at

my SEOH.

Now I really like him!

After DaveN was done we hung out that evening in the bar with a pretty large group. After last call, SEOH, DaveN and I headed over to the Hard Rock Casino where things were going great until I was accused of cheating. Yes, cheating! After too many Stellas and too much wine, apparently I thought I was doubling down on my hand in black jack. The dealer paid me on it twice until the manager came over and asked me to pay back 20 pounds. Before I knew it my SEOH and DaveN were behind me throwing money and cursing in my defense. We figured we’d better get out of there quick, so we headed back to the hotel. It wasn’t until the morning after that I realized I wasn’t doubling down at all. I still feel that it was the dealer’s job to tell me I wasn’t playing correctly. I mean I placed my money behind my original bet. It’s not like I tried to stack it on top. Oh well, at least I walked out ahead 50 pounds.

Tuesday 2/13/07
We hung out again at the Isle Bar. Early in the evening I noticed this guy kind of checking us all out. He casually moved over closer to where we were sitting. I turned to my SEOH and let him know that I thought he was headed our way. Sure enough, this guy comes over to the table and would you believe it? He only offers to buy a drink for my SEOH. As if the rest of us there were invisible. Not only was this guy rude enough to do that, but he had one of the worst euro mullets I’d seen. Needless to say, he didn’t make a very good first impression. The girls at the table couldn’t get far enough away from him.

The group was larger than the previous evening. I got to meet another SEOWife which was pretty cool. Jeff Rohrs brought his wife Jenny. I had a fabulous time talking with her and I’m hoping she’ll attend more conferences so we can hang out again. The crowd thinned out after last call, but the die hards remained. It was Calum, Frank Watson, Dave Naylor, Dax Herrera and us. By the time we realized the time (4am) we were so hungry we decided to stay up and wait for the breakfast buffet. Keep in mind that for us it was really our day time since we were 8 hours ahead in London.

Wednesday 2/14/07
My SEOH had his last session in the afternoon. Before going out to dinner we hung out with Dax Herrera, Jen Slegg, Dave Naylor, Vanessa Fox, and Matt Cutts at the Isle Bar. After cocktails we decided to head out to dinner and ended up at Canary Wharf. Behind the Four Seasons on the wharf there are some nice restaurants and bars. We wound up at this Italian place called Zizzi. The food there was the best we had eaten in London. A far cry from the fish n chips with mushy peas we ordered at the Isle Bar. (The fish still had the skin on it before the deep fried it, yuck!)

After dinner we headed back to the hotel bar and met up with Frank again. I’m not sure how, but somehow he talked my SEOH to taking me to Paris the next morning (which was in about 4 hours). Not only that, but Frank offered to pay for Rebecca Kelley and me to go. Frank’s generosity and spontaneity left us with an experience we will never forget.

Thursday 2/15/07
Off to Paris with Dax Herrera, Rebecca Kelley, Becky Ryan and Scott Willoughby. Paris was amazing! Thank you so much Frank! Hope to see you at SES New York!

Upon our return from Paris, we managed to find the strength to head over to Danny Sullivan’s suite for dinner and drinks. The room was filled with some of SEO’s finest. Once the food and drinks ran out, we all said our good-byes and headed off to sleep.

Friday 2/16/07
Heading home. Back to reality!

Overall, it was one of the best conferences I’ve been to. Hope you like the pictures!

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