Paris !!! I am back

Who would have thought !! It was Paris all over again (Nov 3-10, 2014). It is not many times that someone gets to visit Paris twice in one year. God’s grace, I was lucky enough to get the privilege to visit the beautiful city again. Who would have thought !! I would be travelling all by myself in beautiful land of Europe. I have longed for long to go on a trip all alone. And who would have thought that there would be random strangers in a room discussing the most intense topic of Openstack testing !! Yes it was indeed the Openstack summit in Paris from Nov 3-5 that I visited and had an amazing time learning new things. It was unbelievable to see how people from different companies, different country, different cultures collaborate on an industry wide opensource initiative called Openstack which is the framework for Cloud Orchestration. There are thousands of developers and yet the effort is opensource.

The trip started fairly well with an immediate upgrade to economy plus. Thanks to United Silver membership. I landed in Paris and almost felt like a local as I knew how things work. I intentionally opted to travel by the metro train instead of the taxi. I was reliving Paris all over again. I quickly bought my week long pass and hurried onto the metro towards the city. A quick transfer in between at the famous Saint Michel station to hop onto the other train and in no time I was at my Hotel D’Orsay. I checked in and immediately left for the Openstack event as it had already started and I arrived a couple hours late. I sat through the sessions of my choice. There were several insightful sessions and it was hard to keep up with all the tracks. Soon it was evening and I had a quick dinner with colleagues and retired the day as I was jet lagged. My biggest issue in Paris is lack of vegetarian food. I could not eat much last night hence I woke up hungry! With not much time in hand I left the hotel without coffee or breakfast. Again a quick exciting ride of the metro. People hustling all around you. Transfers and connections had become a part of life for the duration of the trip. I got the venue and grabbed my “Pain au Chocolat” – Chocolate Croissant and coffee. A full day worth of great information and sessions but no vegetarian food. It was time for the headache to kick in and was time to get another coffee for the evening. During the day I realized that a company participating in the summit had sponsored a party at the night and they were offering a Short bus tour of Paris. I was tired and irritated due to lack of food so I was not keen on going. However as soon as I step out of the convention center (Palais De Congres) I see a person with the board for the short tour “Paris by the Night”. It was tempting and I could not resist. I step into the bus alone toured Paris by the night in the bus. It took us through the Arc De Triumph , Champs Elysees and many more streets before it ended up on the Eiffel Tower. Nice and bright, fully lit up, standing tall and beautiful. It’s hard to not stare at it for a while. Post Eiffel Tower the bus went on its ride through the beautifully lit streets of Paris. The pretty looking building lit in yellow lights were a scene to remember.

 All along river Seine we reached our last destination, which I was not aware that it was the last destination, called "Pavillons de Bercy". It is one of the most unique places. It has left a very distinct memory. Unfortunately I could not take good pictures of the place as it was a little dark. But here are a few from google images. 

There was music, there were performers, there were games and food. The environment was just so lively that for a moment I forgot that I was here in Paris to attend a conference. Very lively, refreshing and relaxing. Love it. The party was still on but it was time for me to go. Me being me did not opt for the return bus, I instead opted for the metro train. Just love the metro commute. Back to the hotel and off to bed.

Next morning ! Same routine. Café au lait and Pain au Chocolat. Openstack sessions and lots of learning. But more than the day I was looking forward to the night as I was going to PARC DE PRINCES ! For the Paris St. Germain CHAMPIONS LEAGUE game. This was my first soccer game ever and the excitement was high. I met my colleague near the metro station. He bought me this souvenir, which I thought was very kind of him and I am thankful to him to give me this memory of watching a Champions League game in Paris ! Who would have thought ! The music of Champions league is something I have been hearing since my childhood and it was a sheer bliss to hear it live with the kids flapping the logo in the middle of the field. A moment to remember. 

The ride back home after the game in the metro reminded me of Mumbai local train. Too many people, too little space. Reached back to the hotel, pretty late and retired the day.

It was the Customer meeting day and a little relaxed day as well. My colleague picked me up from my hotel and we drove around Paris for about half an hour to reach the customer site. It was beautiful to see the roads and for a change Paris by the DAY ! We pass through Champs Elysees and it did not look the same that it looks in the night but still beautiful. It was my first time presenting to a customer in France and I was not wearing a coat. It was a little awkward moment when my colleague wore the coat and I did not. I guess I was still operating on Silicon Valley standards. But in the end it worked out great as I could convey the point to the customer even without the coat :). But will take care next time as every culture is different and there is respect for all. After a good discussion my colleague dropped me at the metro and I took an evening break at the Champs Elysees. I spent sometime walking around, window shopping and enjoyed the most famous street in Paris. Reitred the day a little early that day because of the heavy schedule on the next day.

In no time it was the 5th day of the trip and it was time to head to Antwerp, Belgium for another customer meeting. I started really early in the morning as I had to take the train from Paris to Antwerp at 8:25AM. In order to reach the station Gare Du Nord the start point of the train I had to change two metro's and hence the early start. I was travelling by Thalys, the high speed train. I was excited because this was my first time in Thalys.

I reached the station a little early. It was very fascinating to see the age old train indicator board that flipped every time there was an update. It is hard to explain in words. May be you have seen that in movies. I am glad they have preserved it and not made it into a fancy LED board. I met a stranger from Korea admiring the same board that I was and we had a quick stranger chat. A quick intro and we were talking. He was a student in Korea on a visit to Europe. A quick onboarding to Thalys and off I was, soon in the middle of Europe amongst the green pastures beautiful country side, pretty houses and windmills. The geek in me was reading a fat book called Systems Performance ! The book went well with the occasion but not the kind of book I was reading.

I reach Antwerp in 2 hrs. The centraal station was really beautiful. Much superior in terms of architecture than Gare du Nord in Paris. Infact it is the best station I have seen when I compare it to even Amsterdam Central.

 I met another colleague and we walked our way to the customer site. Very convenient. Had a great discussion. Post meeting we had lunch and I was on my own for a few hours enjoying Antwerp. Walking on random streets enjoying the moment and the feel to be in Belgium, alone, walking on a street that I don’t know and most importantly heading no where. It was a classic piece of aimless wandering. And I enjoyed it. I walked a lot. Antwerp is beautiful. Soon it was time for me to head back to Antwerp Centraal for my return train to Paris. The train arrives on time and I am back to Paris. The train travels really fast so it made me feel very sleepy. Don’t know if I was just tired or it was the motion of the train. Irrespective I slept a lot. I reached Gare du Nord. I was hungry and deprived of good vegetarian food, so I decided to goto Saravana Bhavan near Gare du Nord. It was amazing that I had to wait in line and the restaurant was native French resident and it was amazing to see them love the food. I saw the lady on the next table got so excited looking at Dosa that she started clapping. Good memory. Retired the day post dinner.

Again an early morning time to leave Paris for the last time this trip. It was destination Amsterdam!. Same routine. Two trains changed. Reached Gare du Nord. Checked the train and the platform details on that pretty indicator board. Found some time for the coffee and chocolate bread. Time to leave and the train departs. This time the scene is same but with a twist. It was raining. Beautiful !

 In 3+ hours I reached Amsterdam. I had booked a convenient hotel right next to Amsterdam central. The first thing I notice in the short distance to the hotel was the bike stand ! Very fascinating. I check in to the hotel and I immediately leave. I had researched where they would show the game Liverpool vs Chelsea live in Amsterdam. I found myself at O-Rielly's, an Irish restaurant, watching Liverpool- Chelsea with a bunch of Liverpool fans in Amsterdam. Who would have thought ! That is indeed a fond memory that I will have. Spent the rest of the day walking around Dam Square. 

The following day was nice and bright. I had planned a lot of activities. Firstly I bought the day pass for the tram. I wanted to bike around the city but it was too cold for me to bike. Tram worked out just fine. I went on to the tram and the first stop was the Rijksmuseum. Beautiful museum. Loved it. Worth a watch. Just do the 90 min quick tour and you can cover the museum. I took the classic picture in front of the "I AMSTERDAM" sign. More of a check box item.

Returned back after a few hours to Dam square. Had lunch and then went on to the canal cruise. It was a good one. I liked it more than the Seine cruise because it is a small setup. The buildings and architecture is much more close to you. The 3rd stop was Anne Frank House. Had to wait in line but it was a good spot. My last stop was a stroll in the red light district. I was skeptical but I was also told that it was a tourist spot ! And It indeed was. I was comfortable walking around as I saw a lot of tourist walking on that street and also there were families. It was very safe. I retired the same with some good veggie meal in an Indian restaurant. On a tiring day and being a vegetarian you don’t want to mess with your last mean. Just go for what you know that will fill your stomach. Back to hotel and that was the end of the day's play and end of the trip as well. Following morning took the train to the airport and back to San Francisco.

Who would have thought I would goto Paris for the second time this year, travel alone in Europe, watch a football game in Paris, goto a party in Paris, train travel in Thalys, live life of a local travelling in metro, aimless wandering in Antwerp and explore the beautiful land of Amsterdam. God's grace. Please keep me blessed and give me opportunity for many more trips like this one.