France, again!

Just returned from yet another trip to France. I worked there for 2 weeks including the weekend. So once again, there was no time for anything remotely interesting. No "wow" and not "cool". However, the view from my hotel room, as seen here, is beautiful. After all, it is the Golf National in Saint Quentin which hosts the French Open.

Despite the unexciting trip, the good news is the client went live on the system we implemented. I also did get to decide when to have dinner compared with my first time in France. But finding a restaurant to have dinner is a challenge every evening. The first thing is to check if the menu has English translation. If not, look for some French words that I recognize. ... It's a damn handicap when you don't speak the language. Driving in France is no fun either. Without the GPS, I'd have been totally lost. I still can't get over the French rationale for not having stop signs at a 4 way intersection. Also, it takes some practice to get used to the roundabouts. And I swear motorcylists on the highway going between vehicles at more than 100 km per hour could've given me a heart attack! On the bright side it was fun to drive a car with manual transmission again. I haven't done that since I traded in my Honda Accord 5 years ago. It's good to know I still haven't lost my touch of the manual shift and the clutch.

On the trip home at the airport in Paris I met a friendly, good looking, blond Canadian woman who's in the fragrance business (where else but France!). Nine out of ten times I don't strike a conversation (other than "elevator chat") with a stanger, whether it's a man or a woman. It takes two to have a good conversation and we seemed to have a good rapport. We spent some time chatting at the Air Canada lounge while waiting for our flight home. Before I knew it, I was telling her about my family. It was nice to meet someone whom you can talk to. I hope the feeling was mutual.

Now it's back to EST time zone, cold Canadian weather, and to Boston next week. Next European trip is to Switzerland!