“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.

A view from our hotel window

More to come!

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.

Chocolate-coffee-buckwheat dessert
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