Last year, my predecessor Carolin went to the annual meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) in Orlando, Florida. So I was hoping that the annual meeting of the SCCT in 2010 would be in a great location as well. When I actually found out that it takes place in Las Vegas, I couldn't believe it. I was allowed to attend SCCT 2010, one of the most important trade shows for CT in Las Vegas!
Due to the fact that I was attending the show as well, I was involved even more in the preparations beforehand, developing and managing the major part of the external communications. This responsibility made the show even more important to me and I was so excited to go.
Guillaume, our product manager and I left Philly the day before the show started. We arrived in the afternoon and had enough time to check our booth and make final arrangements. In the evening, Guillaume had to attend a dinner with customers, so I had the chance to explore the city with 2 other team members.
Even if I try to describe Las Vegas and its atmosphere, it won't give you the whole picture. You have to see and experience it on your own. First of all, it was unbeliavable hot! It was middle of July and during the day we had more than 40° C. Even at night, when you went out, the ground was still hot from the heat of the sun. Along the strip, they had little water hoses with nozzles that sprayed water in the air to cool the pedestriants. Very refreshing!! When you walk down the strip and into all the casinos with their different architecture and special topics, it is really overwhelming but also impressing. With all the casino bars and restaurants, everyone will find a place that they will like. The 'Treasure Island' Casino hotel had an open air pirate show going on during the night and as we stayed at the Bellagio for the show, I got to see a lot of the fantastic and impressing water fountain shows.
The show started Thursday afternoon and went on through Saturday afternoon. Friday and Saturday were long days, starting from 7am to 7pm. On Friday night, the whole team went to the German 'Hofbräuhaus' to have dinner. We had such a funny time there! Especially getting up on Saturday morning was hard, as we went out the night before after the Brauhaus.
After the end of the show on Saturday, Guilaume invited me to have dinner at the restaurant on 'Eiffel Tower' to thank me for the effort before the show during his sickness. It was an expensive restaurant and we had to dress nicely. Arriving there, I found out that he managed to get a table at the window. So we were able to watch the fountain show of the Bellagio at night every 30min. It was wonderful!
After dinner, I went with another team member to the old Las Vegas strip. This is the original strip with all the old casinos which still operate. With all the lights, older banners and old fashioned interior you can tell that this is the older part but still as crowded as the casinos on the new strip. They build a movie screen roof above the pedestrian zone between the buildings and show music videos and short movies with music every hour.
On Sunday, I could sleep in while Guillaume needed to attend a customer breakfast. After breakfast, I rode the rollercoaster with one of my co-workers at the 'New York, New York' hotel and the rest of the day I walked down the strip to take more pictures. Doing that I realized that New York and Paris are not that far from each other. You can get the statue of liberty and the Eiffel Tower in one picture:
My flight back home was at 10pm, with arrival 6am the next morning. It also called the 'red-eye-flight', as this is a short over night flight and you might look a little bit tired and worn out the next morning. My former roomie Svenja picked me up from the airport. I went to Mona's apartment, had a shower and went to work. This was my last day at work but I already finished and completed all my tasks the week before I left for the show. I was mainly going there to talk to all the people I got know and worked with during the past year and say goodbye to my team. I also had the chance to meet my successor. Totally tired, I went back home in the afternoon and slept for 18 hours until the next morning. It was a very unique experience for me attending this show. I learned a lot about what happens at trade shows and I had a great team around me which made the evenings even more entertaining in Las Vegas:-)
Here are the pics from my Las Vegas adventure:
Due to the fact that I was attending the show as well, I was involved even more in the preparations beforehand, developing and managing the major part of the external communications. This responsibility made the show even more important to me and I was so excited to go.
Guillaume, our product manager and I left Philly the day before the show started. We arrived in the afternoon and had enough time to check our booth and make final arrangements. In the evening, Guillaume had to attend a dinner with customers, so I had the chance to explore the city with 2 other team members.
Even if I try to describe Las Vegas and its atmosphere, it won't give you the whole picture. You have to see and experience it on your own. First of all, it was unbeliavable hot! It was middle of July and during the day we had more than 40° C. Even at night, when you went out, the ground was still hot from the heat of the sun. Along the strip, they had little water hoses with nozzles that sprayed water in the air to cool the pedestriants. Very refreshing!! When you walk down the strip and into all the casinos with their different architecture and special topics, it is really overwhelming but also impressing. With all the casino bars and restaurants, everyone will find a place that they will like. The 'Treasure Island' Casino hotel had an open air pirate show going on during the night and as we stayed at the Bellagio for the show, I got to see a lot of the fantastic and impressing water fountain shows.
The show started Thursday afternoon and went on through Saturday afternoon. Friday and Saturday were long days, starting from 7am to 7pm. On Friday night, the whole team went to the German 'Hofbräuhaus' to have dinner. We had such a funny time there! Especially getting up on Saturday morning was hard, as we went out the night before after the Brauhaus.
After the end of the show on Saturday, Guilaume invited me to have dinner at the restaurant on 'Eiffel Tower' to thank me for the effort before the show during his sickness. It was an expensive restaurant and we had to dress nicely. Arriving there, I found out that he managed to get a table at the window. So we were able to watch the fountain show of the Bellagio at night every 30min. It was wonderful!
After dinner, I went with another team member to the old Las Vegas strip. This is the original strip with all the old casinos which still operate. With all the lights, older banners and old fashioned interior you can tell that this is the older part but still as crowded as the casinos on the new strip. They build a movie screen roof above the pedestrian zone between the buildings and show music videos and short movies with music every hour.
On Sunday, I could sleep in while Guillaume needed to attend a customer breakfast. After breakfast, I rode the rollercoaster with one of my co-workers at the 'New York, New York' hotel and the rest of the day I walked down the strip to take more pictures. Doing that I realized that New York and Paris are not that far from each other. You can get the statue of liberty and the Eiffel Tower in one picture:
My flight back home was at 10pm, with arrival 6am the next morning. It also called the 'red-eye-flight', as this is a short over night flight and you might look a little bit tired and worn out the next morning. My former roomie Svenja picked me up from the airport. I went to Mona's apartment, had a shower and went to work. This was my last day at work but I already finished and completed all my tasks the week before I left for the show. I was mainly going there to talk to all the people I got know and worked with during the past year and say goodbye to my team. I also had the chance to meet my successor. Totally tired, I went back home in the afternoon and slept for 18 hours until the next morning. It was a very unique experience for me attending this show. I learned a lot about what happens at trade shows and I had a great team around me which made the evenings even more entertaining in Las Vegas:-)
Here are the pics from my Las Vegas adventure:
