I “survived” Paris. Just…. Saturday and Sunday saw a plunge in temperature and a dump of snow, so the place was just about recovering by Tuesday evening when I arrived.
I went there to work with students on a sustainability case study at 'L'Ecole Centrale de Paris' . "Centrale" = 1 hour by taxi from Gare de l'Est and where the buggers who run the place thought it was ok NOT to turn the heating on at the weekend (when it was minus 9 outside) and when the my students arrived to start work - and it only crept up to 15 degrees by the Tuesday when I arrived.
My hotel (where the University apparently sends their VIPs) was odd...
Actually, no... The hotel was criminal.
It offered guests an array of beautifully-appointed grime in every corner of the bathroom, hair (head and other) in the bath, sink and lavatory; bodily fluid on the reeking extra blanket, rips in the chair. The carpet had the extra interest of “ingrained something” - which could have been chewing gum, the business-end of a chocci croissant or something else resembling chocolate, but which is not edible. There was ice on the inside of the window (good for keeping the wine cool) and everyone was wearing coats in the restaurant for breakfast. The temperature in the breakfast room kept the cheese hard and the milk fresh, at least, but you had to drink the c
afe au lait FAST, otherwise it would turn into a coffee ice cream, but without the stick, unless you had the foresight to put your spoon in it 28 seconds before it froze :-)...
I booked out and moved closer to Paris and things settled down. These are the views from hotel #2. Great food there and a lovely boulanger round the corner so I could take my lunch to L'Ecole (non) Centrale de Paris'.
I went there to work with students on a sustainability case study at 'L'Ecole Centrale de Paris' . "Centrale" = 1 hour by taxi from Gare de l'Est and where the buggers who run the place thought it was ok NOT to turn the heating on at the weekend (when it was minus 9 outside) and when the my students arrived to start work - and it only crept up to 15 degrees by the Tuesday when I arrived.
My hotel (where the University apparently sends their VIPs) was odd...
Actually, no... The hotel was criminal.
It offered guests an array of beautifully-appointed grime in every corner of the bathroom, hair (head and other) in the bath, sink and lavatory; bodily fluid on the reeking extra blanket, rips in the chair. The carpet had the extra interest of “ingrained something” - which could have been chewing gum, the business-end of a chocci croissant or something else resembling chocolate, but which is not edible. There was ice on the inside of the window (good for keeping the wine cool) and everyone was wearing coats in the restaurant for breakfast. The temperature in the breakfast room kept the cheese hard and the milk fresh, at least, but you had to drink the c
afe au lait FAST, otherwise it would turn into a coffee ice cream, but without the stick, unless you had the foresight to put your spoon in it 28 seconds before it froze :-)...
I booked out and moved closer to Paris and things settled down. These are the views from hotel #2. Great food there and a lovely boulanger round the corner so I could take my lunch to L'Ecole (non) Centrale de Paris'.
