“How did you find Paris?..”

That was a line from the “Titanic” musical: How did you find Paris, Mrs. Astor? – Oh, thank God I didn’t have to find it – John knew exactly where to go! That is to say, I was not well prepared for one free day in Paris. And Paris was not kind to us. Both times I was here before, it was the same time of the year, but the weather was much warmer, and I could not imagine Paris not being welcoming enough for us to wander the streets aimlessly. And also, with so many things going on in my life, I didn’t spend time on the VisitACity app and didn’t book any tickets in advance, except for the Louvre a night before. It was still not bad; we got “almost” as much as we could out of the day.

We bought a Botobus day ticked, and it was fun – I didn’t take a boat on the Sienna before. Because of the boat, we checked at least some touristy points.

Pg Day Paris

Today, I presented a talk in Paris for the first time! Once again, I saw many people I didn’t see since October and had great conversations! And – I am in Paris again!

We arrived yesterday, and guess what – there is another transportation strike going on! Fortunately, it was not as bad as in London last week! We walked around a little bit; saw the reconstruction of the Notre-Dame, and returned back to the hotel.

More to come!

A Picture From Paris

People reminded me that I didn’t show this picture on WP:

To Paris And Back

My colleague K.took the train to the airport (and she said that Helsinki has the best public transportation (which I agree!). While walking to the train, we met two other conference participants who opted for the train, too, so my word was spread ! When we arrived in Paris, she said we would take public transport as well, and that was a slightly more dramatic experience 🙂

Also, it turned out that we were in different hotels, and my other co-worker came to rescue me ;). This co-worker previously invited me to share a suite in the hotel with me, and her boss approved, so I had free lodging. We also had a terrific conversation while walking there and later at dinner.