chicks dig unix

As previously indicated, I’m in France this week for training. The first 4 days of Voice XML, which is quite an interesting technology, training are complete. Today we had some Call Server training and now I’m done. Getting an evening flight home so I’ll be back in Dublin around midnight.
Paris isn’t quite so stupid now, it’s not amazing either. The areas I’m staying and working in seem to be devoid of things to do and decent places to eat. Luckily there is a metro station right beside the Hotel and the urban transport system here is very efficient.
I popped into the city centre to see the Eiffel tower which is quite impressive. I took lots of pictures. The surrounding area is also very nice, well planned. That is except for the “Mountparnasse Tower” which is a monstrosity and a major planning disaster that obstructs what is otherwise a magnificently planned vista.
Wednesday night I took to wandering aimlessly on the north bank. It rained heavily and I got quite wet. I found some nice places to walk but wasn’t really overly impressed by anything, not even the Centre Pompidou. Perhaps it was the rain.
I’ve found that eating in foreign countries, when on business trips, difficult and save for the occasional meal of pizza, or some other familiar dish, I go hungry. Meat-centric menus, lack of confidence with the language and general shyness make attempts to eat a real chore. I’m sure it would be different if I had the confidence bolstering company of another.

Some observations:

• Quite a large number of people smoke and they smoke everywhere, especially in restaurants.
• People drive quite fast, even in residential areas and pedestrian crossings don’t work the same way. I’ve found that a different technique for crossing the road must be learned in each country I visit.
• Apartment dwelling, as I’ve seen of the rest of Europe, is the norm, unfortunately lots of the apartment blocks seem to be built far from amenities which is why the great transport system is so important.
• There’s dog shit everywhere. All over every pavement and in every patch of grass. It’s disgusting. There are even designated “doggy toilets” but most owners seem to let their pooches poop where ever they stand.
• Paris is a very popular tourist destination, the area around the Eiffel Tower was thronged with Americans and peoples from all over.
• It looks like no one has spent any money on bars, restaurants, metro/train stations etc. here since the 1970’s. Orange, formica and combinations thereof feature heavily.
• There’s a kind of cage under the seats on trains that appears to be designed to prevent people from secreting packages and bags under them, which I suppose is a good idea.

For my last night here, on the suggestion of my boss and coercion from elsewhere, I went to Musée d’Orsay and took in the impressionists. The building is as spectacular as some of the works on display. I was particularly taken by the magnificent collection of Art Nouveau furniture.

I took a few pictures, though none in the Museum. You can view them here. Somewhat unusually, I feature in several of them.