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rich_jackoI was away at a conference in Geneva last week. I flew out on Wednesday morning (thankfully from Manchester, not sodding Gatwick like last time!), landed at lunchtime and had the rest of the day to sightsee :o)
I did the standard get-a-bit-lost-looking-for-my-hotel and wandered around three sides of a square looking for it (Unfortunately the two unnecessary sides were both hills...). The hotel was basic and my room was tiny (That's austerity measures for you!), but it was on the seventh floor and had a balcony, so the view more than made up for it.
Having checked in, I decided to make the most of a lovely day and took a boat trip around Lake Geneva. I got to see the Jet d'Eau up close, which I failed to do when I was last there since it wasn't running a lot of the time. I also explored a bit and found several museums that I didn't have time to go in. Maybe next time.
The conference was two full days, Thursday and Friday. It was a 45-minute walk from my hotel, but worth walking rather than bussing, since the route was around the lake and up through two parks.
I'd been to two conferences with this group before. Essentially it was an ideas-sharing event where - to quote the Canadian chairman - "We all nick each other's best ideas and try to implement them before you do." It's all fairly relaxed, although you do get to feel really important since everyone is sat behind a plate with the name of your country (complete with a little flag!). The representatives from the other countries are a great bunch of people, although I drew the line at the Aussie guy deriding English beer. (Cricket - fair enough). Turns out he'd never had any real ale.
One of my colleagues was meant to be giving a presentation on the Thursday. His flight was cancelled, but we managed through a combination of him dialling in and me filling in.
The organisers hosted a meal out on Thursday evening, with good food and free-flowing wine. By pure coincidence, the restaurant they had chosen was just one road over from my hotel, which was convenient for staggering back at the end of the evening.
Friday was a long day. Second full day at the conference, which went quickly enough (although we all rather ran out of steam after lunch). My flight then wasn't until 9:30pm, I caught the very last (and slow) train back from Manchester and didn't get home until around 2am.
Then on Saturday I had two parties to go to. So if my appearances at Toby's birthday party and the Flat of Geek farewell party were somewhat brief, you know why!
Photos here
I did the standard get-a-bit-lost-looking-for-my-hotel and wandered around three sides of a square looking for it (Unfortunately the two unnecessary sides were both hills...). The hotel was basic and my room was tiny (That's austerity measures for you!), but it was on the seventh floor and had a balcony, so the view more than made up for it.
Having checked in, I decided to make the most of a lovely day and took a boat trip around Lake Geneva. I got to see the Jet d'Eau up close, which I failed to do when I was last there since it wasn't running a lot of the time. I also explored a bit and found several museums that I didn't have time to go in. Maybe next time.
The conference was two full days, Thursday and Friday. It was a 45-minute walk from my hotel, but worth walking rather than bussing, since the route was around the lake and up through two parks.
I'd been to two conferences with this group before. Essentially it was an ideas-sharing event where - to quote the Canadian chairman - "We all nick each other's best ideas and try to implement them before you do." It's all fairly relaxed, although you do get to feel really important since everyone is sat behind a plate with the name of your country (complete with a little flag!). The representatives from the other countries are a great bunch of people, although I drew the line at the Aussie guy deriding English beer. (Cricket - fair enough). Turns out he'd never had any real ale.
One of my colleagues was meant to be giving a presentation on the Thursday. His flight was cancelled, but we managed through a combination of him dialling in and me filling in.
The organisers hosted a meal out on Thursday evening, with good food and free-flowing wine. By pure coincidence, the restaurant they had chosen was just one road over from my hotel, which was convenient for staggering back at the end of the evening.
Friday was a long day. Second full day at the conference, which went quickly enough (although we all rather ran out of steam after lunch). My flight then wasn't until 9:30pm, I caught the very last (and slow) train back from Manchester and didn't get home until around 2am.
Then on Saturday I had two parties to go to. So if my appearances at Toby's birthday party and the Flat of Geek farewell party were somewhat brief, you know why!
Photos here
