Monday is all about Time...

You give up 8 hours in time difference, a loss they guarantee I will regain when returning to New York; you give up two hours of delay since the flight from Moscow to New York arrived late, these two hours you never make up; and another 9 hours of flying from New York's JFK Airport to Moscow, a long flight but consoled by the fact that I had longer ones coming up later in the week.

We arrived in the late afternoon, a couple of hours later than scheduled, but I for once actually managed to sleep about 6 of the 9 hours of travel time. Flights go much faster that way, but rarely do I get to enjoy that type of repose, I am normally awake portal to portal. A staff member of Team, UEFA's partner on their Championships, met us at the gate and escorted us to the VIP lounge where they took our luggage claim checks and had us wait a remarkably short time to collect them and take us through a nearby exit where our car met us and took us into downtown Moscow. This familiar trip went quicker than most since we were running against the rush hour traffic. Street banners and advertisements indicated that the city was ready for the big event only two days away.

Moscow has four Marriott Hotels. During our visits in 2006, we were at the Aurora, a very comfortable smaller hotel. This time, we were at the Marriott Grand Hotel. A really good choice and upon arrival were met by the UEFA staff who presented us with our information package and let us know that as of the morning we would have a dedicated driver and car to help us get around the city. We checked in and were led up to a very comfortable suite. We then settled in and began finding our way into this new time zone, 8 hours ahead. It is all about time and the best way to deal with jet lag is to go to bed at bedtime in the local zone. So, some Russian Borscht and a light dinner and it was off to bed and getting ready for the exciting days ahead.