Paris: Day #1

By Jeff - 9/8/2011

Hello from Paris (that would be Pair-ee, to you)!  Things seem to have gone well so far.  The plane ride was uneventful.  Thanks to a 100 mph tailwind, we actually arrived an hour early – still 7 ½ hours in an airplane is a long time.

We left Rochester at 12:50 p.m. on Tuesday, and our plane landed at 6:15 a.m. Wednesday (Paris time – or 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, Rochester time).  After clearing customs, getting our luggage, filling out a lost luggage claim (my colleague, Scott, lost one of his bags), and then a taxi ride, we finally arrived in our hotel about 9:30 a.m.  Then we checked in, “sorry, but your room isn’t ready yet, Mr. Duncan” – and finally got into my hotel room at about 1:00 p.m.

After meeting with the hotel staff, finding all of our equipment (by the way, I am here for the International Vascular Symposium.  If you remember, this is the same program that took me to Budapest, Hungary in 2009) and a short nap, it was out to see the town.

First thing to know about Paris – don’t rent a car.  Leave the driving to the locals and just hire a cab or take the subway.  They are CRAZY here.

We walked to the Arc de Triomphe, and went to the top of that.  The Arch is amazing, and the view from the top was outstanding (see the pictures at the link on the left side of this page).  It really gave you an idea of how large the city of Paris is (about 3 million in “Paris” and a total of 12 million when you add the surrounding area).  After that, we continued walking down the avenue Champs Elysees which is a street full of shops and stores that seems to go on forever.  If I get a chance, I will get there during the daylight and get some descent pictures.

Anyway – I am going to cut off here.  We have to get out and take care of some business before setting up at 3:00 today.

So – bye for now.  Will write more later.  So far, so good.  Oh yeah – the food is good, but expensive.

Be well, be safe.

JBD