Lyon: Day Three

Well today is the day of my talk so I woke up bright and early, 6:00 am to be exact. My talk is at 10:00 am but I needed to be in the room by 8:00 am when my session starts so I can meet the session chair and upload my presentation on the conference computer. After having a nice breakfast at my hotel I was off to the conference center, 2.5 miles away! I reached the room where I was giving a talk 15 minutes early which was great. I met the chairwoman, who was a tall Aussie, I happen to have listened to her talk the day before. She had a very strong Australian accent but gave a brilliant talk! I was fifth to talk in my session so smack in the middle! By 10:30 am, I was done and my talk was well received with two very simple questions from the audience.. I stayed put for the other talks as well and by noon we were off to lunch provided by the conference organizers. What a lunch it was again, just awesome... They served even wine for lunch... Only in France I said!!!

In the afternoon, I met a former graduate student from UAH who is a postdoc in Toulouse and we had a nice talk mainly about his life in France and his research work !!! Very proud of him, he is doing great!! I met other people after that and by 7:00 pm we were bussed to a very fancy restaurant along the banks of the Rhone river! What a place.. The dinner was a SEVEN course meal, only in France again! I got back to my hotel room at 1:00 am after walking through Some dark streets of Lyon for 3 long miles alone... I felt very safe, unlike when I was in Rio, Lima or Quito !!!

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A couple of statues at the banquet restaurant

Musical band ?? and stage is the restaurant

Overall view of the restaurant, really nice!

A shelf full of French baguettes

More of the stage and band!!

Lyon: Day Two

The serious business began today so we are on for the next three days! I woke up late given the time I went to bed 4:00 am!!!! I made it to the last talks of the morning which was a miracle in itself... My talk is tomorrow so I better be rested today... I met my Langley friends and former colleagues, it was nice to see all of them and yes we are all getting old!!! Today, for dinner, the mayor of Lyon invited us to a cocktail ceremony at city hall, it was nice! Not much food but it is not dinner, it is a cocktail reception.. Tomorrow will be the banquet, I bet the food will be exquisite so I will save my appetite for that... I left the cocktail reception early as I needed to rest and also review my presentation... I took few pictures on my way back so here is a sampling...

Building in downtown Lyon

Beautiful artistic fountain in a downtown square

An old building with a fountain at the center of the courtyard

A nice statue not far from the conference center

More downtown buildings

City hall where we had a reception

Down building again

Nice wide plaza in downtown 

Inside the courtyard of the city hall building 

A very impressive gate leading the international city and garden 

A plaza near city hall 

Hello from Lyon France

I woke up in Cergy around 10 am, had coffee and left for La Gare de Lyon train station to take the TGV to Lyon. My train was to leave Paris at 12:59 pm.. My newphew insisted on driving me to the station which was 30 minutes from where he lives so I took his offer... There was traffic on the highway so leaving a little early was prudent. Once at the station, we bought coffee and then waited until they announced the platform for my train, then I said "au revoir"  and  got on the train ....

Paris gare de Lyon station

Countryside view from the TGV

Small French town on the way to Lyon

View of the Rhone river from my hotel room in Lyon

View of my unique room in hotel OKKO

After my first long walk in Lyon, I find it to be a beautiful city! I walked nearly 6 miles this afternoon  in a steady light drizzle, which did not bother me at all... I walked along the Rhône river all the way to the Lyon convention center then came back and then ventured into downtown. Today being Sunday, not many places are open but few are so I managed to find a place to eat and then walked more after dinner... There are some very beautiful buildings everywhere dating back to the Roman times I was told and then there are these beautiful bridges crossing the Rhone river.... Here are more pictures ....

Nice bridge across the Rhone river

Old church one of many 

Interesting alley in downtown at night 

More old buildings with interesting shapes 

View across the Rhone at night 

The boulevard along the Rhone where my hotel was..

Rainy Day in Cergy (Paris)

My second day in Paris is a rainy one but we went out none the less. I took my nephew's young family to a nice lunch along a river front, La Loise. The food was awesome, but a thunderstorm surprised us and we had to move inside the restaurant from the terrace. It rained for a while so we stayed put until it stopped. Cergy is a suburb of Paris where my nephew lives, it a very nice town full of students but really quiet. After the rain, we went food shopping in the weekly market. Just like everywhere I have been around the world, they sell everything in theses markets; fresh food, clothes and yes junk.... We bought fresh Mediterranean sardines and other veggies and fruits... Here are few pictures from my day today...

Fresh veggies and fruits

Fresh fish from the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. 

More fresh veggies

General view of the market

View from the restaurant of a small marina

The day ended with a great sardine and couscous dinner made by Katia, my nephew's wife... What treat I thought.. She really spoiled me these last two days... She is a great cook and wanted to make me every dish I have not had for a while so she has a list... The day was a build up for a very important game of soccer that was to start at 8:30 pm: Real Madrid -Atletico Madrid for a final of the European cup....

The winner was Real Madrid 

End game celebration....

Salut de Paris: Hello from Paris

After a long transatlantic flight, I arrived in Paris bright and early this morning and my nephew was there waiting for me so I was delighted to see him. Since I don't check any bags, my airport exit is usually very quick and today was the same. One thing I noticed is that the customs and border controls was very fluid which was a surprise since the last time I was in France it took much longer... All was smooth... When I arrived at my nephew's home, his wife greeted me. She was bathing her newborn son who was soo cute. I was a zombie from not sleeping at all last night so I asked for a coffee which I had with my favorite Berber pastries, to die for!!!!  My nephew wanted to work on his porch in the backyard so I volunteered to help In order to stay awake instead of falling asleep... When lunch time came, I was surprised with a nice couscous with beef and a salad :) what a treat it was!!!

Big bowl of couscous with an amazing beef stew!

Mediterranean salad.

 

Afternoon tea with awesome Berber treats! All my favorites!  

Very narrow street in Cergy

No sidewalks so just walk down the middle and hope for the best ..

On the Road Again....

It is nearly Memorial Day and summer break has started long ago, May 1st to be exact, so it is time for some summer travel.... Though this one is different because it is a mix of business, family and friends and some sightseeing so it should be exciting.... My first stop is Cleveland Ohio, where I am right now! This is a business stop so no plans to do any sight seeing, I will wait for my next few stops for that...

I love taking pictures from planes do here are few between Cleveland and Newark on my way to Paris...

Flying under the wing!

Philadelphia seen from a prop plane

Landing gear through my window. One of the biggest noise makers...