OK, so I got busy this week and did not post. But now that the I-COM conference is over, I have some time to catch up over the next several posts.
The I-COM conference started on Monday afternoon. Went over for an early meet up but my friend was late, and I was to late for the group meal. Since I was at the Hotel Alfonso XIII, a very fine establishment, I decided to eat there. I had one of the best duck dishes I have ever had. Roasted breast, sliced and a mango chutney on top with a side of asparagus. Heavenly.
The hotel was the site of many of the shots for Lawrence of Arabia which was shot all over Seville. Seville is the place to go if you want to see Moorish architecture.
The conference was a resounding success. Lots of connectivity to metrics and research people from all over the world. To many, the topics would be arcane. But to those interested in cross media attribution, mobile metrics, the business impact of social media, new targeting available in programmatic buying (my topic, video to come on the I-COM site) and a lot of other relatively geeky topics surrounding the world of digital and traditional media, this was THE place. The world's best were there and updates on adoption of viewability as a monetization metric (we are pretty much there), standardization of the digital GRP and others were outlined extensively.
As with many conferences, meeting with old friends in the industry and hooking up with new ones was a great side benefit. It was amazing how many new important conversations were started, beginning with the first afternoon when optional roundtables were overflowing with high level discussion on topics such as first party targeting, tranparency in data and more.
This was followed by a series of one minute match ups where we moved around the room at the ring of the bell to meet those we did not know, exchange cards and discuss next steps together. I have a bunch of new work to do on LinkedIn now!
Tuesday night, was a major highlight. Through much work (including the avoidance of last minute talent snafus caused by Spanish bureaucracy), Andreas and Shokat Cohen pulled off a grandiose dinner at the Real Alcazar, the palace where Queen Isabella gave Columbus his funding. Talk about the ultimate VC venue in the world! As we walked around the palace, it was amazing to feel that we were truly walking in the footsteps of Columbus. Everyone from the tour guide on were in character too.
While I was at the conference for 3 1/2 days, Karen toured Seville. An easy city to walk around. Not so easy to navigate with a lot of small, winding alleys. Thanks to Google and Apple for their mapping programs on our cell phones!
Wednesday night we went to Michela for dinner. A small, highly rated place that was just fabulous. Michela is highly recommended. In Spain, few restaurants open for dinner before 8:30. Some not until 9 or 9:30. We did not have a reservation at Michela's and it is a small place. But we snagged two seats at the counter. Our favorite. Of course there were tapas tours, etc. with the I-COM folks and those were all great. Followed each night by Flamenco.
On Friday, some of us who stayed over took a walking tour arranged by Andreas and Shokat. It started with the tobacco factory. This is the place where the Opera Carmen is written about. It takes up a huge block and is surrounded by a moat so that the women who were working there could not escape!
We saw many great sites on the tour, including many of the pavilions for the 1929 World's Fair in Seville. The Spanish Pavilion is classic.
Also used in Lawrence and many other movies. It's more than a pavilion. It is one of the most impressive "squares" in the world. Around the square are niches for each Spanish province (state) with history, a wonderful mural and more.
Other highlights of the walk were the Archives of The Indies which is 2nd only to the Vatican in historical documents. We actually saw the document from the pope and co-signed by the Spanish and Portuguese kings in 1493 which divided the world in half for the two countries. (commonly known as the line of demarcation).
Last on the tour was the Cathedral of Seville, 2nd largest in the world only to the Vatican.
Lunch that day at another tapas place Bodega Morales. Dinner was at a more modern tapas restaurant, Ovejas Negras, which along with Mechela, rank as the best two meals in Seville.
Early Saturday morning, I got our rental from Hertz and we proceeded south to Cadiz, on the Strait of Gibraltar. We passed by Jerez where Sherry comes from but decided not to stop. Glad we did not as it was still after six when we got to our hotel.
Cadiz is classic. Old Moorish architecture on the seacoast. Old harbor with wonderful buildings around it. An area almost like Miami Beach too but a little older. We took a long walk down Sacramento street (starting to discover where some place names in CA came from) and had a delightful lunch at Cafe Royalty. If this is not the best restaurant in Cadiz, I can't imagine what is. Karen had a steak and me another wonderful duck dish. The decor in this restaurant is historic, being hundreds of years old.
On the drive to our hotel, which is on the Mediterranean Sea, we passed by Gibraltar. Hold on. We could check off another country! This is one huge rock!
From there, we proceeded to Hotel Bahia Kempinski on the Mediterranean where we are now ensconced for three nights.
More pictures to come, probably on Karen and my Facebook pages, but some on here too.
