Sorry...this is turning out to be a boring set of posts. Nothing too eventful, at least nothing that makes for a good story. Just your standard conference day, filled with presentations and conversations.
The one somewhat amusing part is that there was a poster session in the evening, during which they provided some beer. The beer was in a number of kegs, 2 of which were tapped at a time. However, the rate at which the beer poured out was incredibly slow. So the line for the beer got so long that I think more than half the people in the conference were in it...just waiting for beer. Here we were, supposed to be looking at people's posters, and instead everyone was waiting like they were at a baseball game...
More of the same today...
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Bastille Day
Do I know how to party or what? Bastille Day, independence day for France, was a bit of a bust. It rained all day. Not just rain, torrential downpours and big lightning bolts and loud thunder. So I spent all day in my room writing a paper. In a way, it’s good—it’s less I’ll have to do when I get back home. And actually, the writing went really well…to the point that it may have been my most productive day in terms of work in months…maybe I should come to France more often. The isolation and lack of internet likely helped significantly.
The work was interrupted periodically by getting together with Gareth who was doing the same thing as me. We went and got breakfast and lunch, then at 6:30 PM, when we had enough, took his PhD student and got some beers and dinner. Sitting and drinking beer under an umbrella in a thunderstorm…that’s the way to spend the evening.
Fortunately the rain let up and we made our way east for the Bastille Day fireworks show. Here it was, French Independence, a day of pride and celebration of all things French. The countdown begins, they launch the fireworks and start blaring music to celebrate. The first song? Desire by U2…also on the play list, Oasis, The Bangles, Amy Winehouse, and some other non-French artists. Not bad, though.
It was an impressive fireworks display though. In the US, it’s usually one firework that goes up, goes off, then fades. Then another does the same. Here, it was 30 minutes of continuous launching, with the grand finale being a bit sensory overload. It was very nice.
Now off to bed (as I write this…I’ll post tomorrow morning from the conference). Adieu.
The work was interrupted periodically by getting together with Gareth who was doing the same thing as me. We went and got breakfast and lunch, then at 6:30 PM, when we had enough, took his PhD student and got some beers and dinner. Sitting and drinking beer under an umbrella in a thunderstorm…that’s the way to spend the evening.
Fortunately the rain let up and we made our way east for the Bastille Day fireworks show. Here it was, French Independence, a day of pride and celebration of all things French. The countdown begins, they launch the fireworks and start blaring music to celebrate. The first song? Desire by U2…also on the play list, Oasis, The Bangles, Amy Winehouse, and some other non-French artists. Not bad, though.
It was an impressive fireworks display though. In the US, it’s usually one firework that goes up, goes off, then fades. Then another does the same. Here, it was 30 minutes of continuous launching, with the grand finale being a bit sensory overload. It was very nice.
Now off to bed (as I write this…I’ll post tomorrow morning from the conference). Adieu.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Day 4
End of the workshop and then registration for the conference in the evening. Registration is always good—drinks and food and getting to catch up with lots of people. Found Gareth and Tom, my collaborators for the project that I am presenting this week and headed down to the town hall where the reception was held…An absolutely stunning building. As Gareth, a Londoner said, buildings like this only survive when you give in during the war….Saw lots of people, chatted a lot, and then went to dinner with Gareth, Tom, Jay Melosh, and his wife. Had a very nice prisciutto salad and realized other than the 2 croissants I had grabbed at the bakery on the first morning I was here, it was really the first time food wasn’t provided for me this week, or bought from a store.
Tomorrow (or today as I write this) is Bastille day in France—the equivalent of their independence day. My plan is to work—yee haw! Well, for the morning anyway. Gareth and I will then walk a bit, if weather permits, and then sit and have some drinks and catch up for a bit. There’s supposed to be all sorts of celebrations this evening with fireworks and the such, which would be quite nice to see.
Tomorrow (or today as I write this) is Bastille day in France—the equivalent of their independence day. My plan is to work—yee haw! Well, for the morning anyway. Gareth and I will then walk a bit, if weather permits, and then sit and have some drinks and catch up for a bit. There’s supposed to be all sorts of celebrations this evening with fireworks and the such, which would be quite nice to see.
Day 3
More workshop, this time I was merely a spectator—again lots of interesting stuff.
That evening, we had a party as part of the workshop, with dinner, drinks and music. Again, it was a lot of fun and very good food. Again, not much to tell in the way of stories.
That evening, we had a party as part of the workshop, with dinner, drinks and music. Again, it was a lot of fun and very good food. Again, not much to tell in the way of stories.
Day 2
Day 2 was the first day of the workshop. I gave my talk to open up the conference and chaired the session that morning. Overall it was a very interesting set of talks and discussion. I’ll spare you the details….
That evening I was invited to dinner and drinks at the house of one of the faculty members of the Nancy University. Again, a very pleasant time, but not one that makes for very good stories on the blog…sorry!
That evening I was invited to dinner and drinks at the house of one of the faculty members of the Nancy University. Again, a very pleasant time, but not one that makes for very good stories on the blog…sorry!
Bon Jour Mes Amis
Ok, I apologize for not updating the blog here…things have been hectic. Not in a bad way, just overall, busy.
I left Chicago on Thursday to arrive in France Friday morning. It was an uneventful flight, to be honest. I slept for about 4 hours and was feeling pretty rested when I arrived.
The plan was to then take the train down to Gare du Nord, walk to Gare del Est, and take the train to Nancy, where my workshop and conference are. Figuring out how to get the train down to Paris was a bit of a challenge, and I was not alone in that regard. Everything I had read said that you could get a ticket at a machine in the airport and then head into the city. Many others apparently read the same thing. And in theory, it’s probably true. However, most American credit cards do not have the little chip in them that is needed here, so everyone’s credit card kept getting rejected. Eventually we figured it out, found a line to wait in and were able to buy tickets at a stand.
I made it down to Gare du Nord without issue and then made the 10 minute walk down to Gare del Est. I checked my bag as I had 4 hours before my train and walked due south to the Louvre. It was a very nice walk and the end was fantastic, as from my vantage point I was overlooking the Louvre and Notre Dame, with the Eiffel Tower in the background. I’m very much looking forward to spending next week there with Nina.
I walked back to Gare del Est to get my train ticket—well my boarding pass as I had bought my ticket online. I went to the electronic kiosk and entered my reservation number to claim my pass…”Invalid code.” Tried it again. “Invalid.” Ok, I had an hour, so I needed to find someone to figure out what was going on.
I found the ticket office and the woman who greeted me there told me to stand in a line with 25 people in front of me. At that point I had 55 minutes until my train arrived. I got to the front of the line in 45 minutes…My train left in 10. I explained that for some reason my pass wasn’t printing and that I had bought my ticket, here’s my receipt, here’s my code, I don’t understand what’s going on. The woman looked at me, looked at my receipt, spent 5 minutes just looking at her computer, and then printed my passes. I was grateful, but would have thought at some point she would had said something to me…hell, all the ticket people were chatting with the customers, whether it was in French, English, German, or what have you.
Anyway, I had my ticket and 5 minutes before my train left. I ran, got my suitcase, and then booked it to my train, getting on just a minute before it departed.
The train ride to Nancy was uneventful…I fell in and out of sleep for a while. I arrived, got to my hotel, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and worked on the talk I had to give the next day. Then I passed out.
I left Chicago on Thursday to arrive in France Friday morning. It was an uneventful flight, to be honest. I slept for about 4 hours and was feeling pretty rested when I arrived.
The plan was to then take the train down to Gare du Nord, walk to Gare del Est, and take the train to Nancy, where my workshop and conference are. Figuring out how to get the train down to Paris was a bit of a challenge, and I was not alone in that regard. Everything I had read said that you could get a ticket at a machine in the airport and then head into the city. Many others apparently read the same thing. And in theory, it’s probably true. However, most American credit cards do not have the little chip in them that is needed here, so everyone’s credit card kept getting rejected. Eventually we figured it out, found a line to wait in and were able to buy tickets at a stand.
I made it down to Gare du Nord without issue and then made the 10 minute walk down to Gare del Est. I checked my bag as I had 4 hours before my train and walked due south to the Louvre. It was a very nice walk and the end was fantastic, as from my vantage point I was overlooking the Louvre and Notre Dame, with the Eiffel Tower in the background. I’m very much looking forward to spending next week there with Nina.
I walked back to Gare del Est to get my train ticket—well my boarding pass as I had bought my ticket online. I went to the electronic kiosk and entered my reservation number to claim my pass…”Invalid code.” Tried it again. “Invalid.” Ok, I had an hour, so I needed to find someone to figure out what was going on.
I found the ticket office and the woman who greeted me there told me to stand in a line with 25 people in front of me. At that point I had 55 minutes until my train arrived. I got to the front of the line in 45 minutes…My train left in 10. I explained that for some reason my pass wasn’t printing and that I had bought my ticket, here’s my receipt, here’s my code, I don’t understand what’s going on. The woman looked at me, looked at my receipt, spent 5 minutes just looking at her computer, and then printed my passes. I was grateful, but would have thought at some point she would had said something to me…hell, all the ticket people were chatting with the customers, whether it was in French, English, German, or what have you.
Anyway, I had my ticket and 5 minutes before my train left. I ran, got my suitcase, and then booked it to my train, getting on just a minute before it departed.
The train ride to Nancy was uneventful…I fell in and out of sleep for a while. I arrived, got to my hotel, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and worked on the talk I had to give the next day. Then I passed out.
Monday, June 22, 2009
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