Paul's Epic Six Week Round the World Tour
My trip started off with the annual Museums and Web conference, which this year was in San Francisco. Vernon Systems have a stand in the Exhibitor hall every year and it is a great chance to meet new prospects in person and catch up with existing clients. The conference also provides an opportunity for us to hear a range of speakers on how museums are using the Internet. This is vital for us to hear about new developments and trends in this area.
I then traveled with my family to visit relatives in Poland. The three week visit was well spent sightseeing and relaxing, with several vodka tasting sessions along the way.
Next up was the UK, visiting Vernon clients South Bank Centre and Edinburgh University. The University manages several museums, including a musical instrument collection where I able to go to the evening opening of a new exhibit on a reconstructed medieval stringed instrument, the gigue. I spent three days training staff before they embark on a major cataloguing project.
Last on the trip was South Africa to work with our agent there, René van Son. We met many prospects and had an excellent visit training staff at East London Museum who have recently acquired Vernon CMS. On the Saturday René drove me out to Pilanesberg Game Reserve where I was fortunate enough to see plenty of zebra, giraffes, antelopes, wilderbeast, warthogs and hippos. We were even lucky enough to spot a lion and a rhino. The highlight of the day was a herd of 40 elephants crossing the road. We ended up having to reverse the car away when the encounter starting getting a little too close for comfort!