I'm sitting on the train ready to return to England, my Wi-Fi detector says there is a wireless network but alas my computer can't find it. The meeting itself was a success but hard work when English is the second language of everyone else at the table. You have to be careful that you really understand what is being said. Plenty of white board pictures help. The funny thing is acronyms - it was a technical meeting so they were abundant but again the language differences play a part. For example, IVR (Interactive Voice Response) is SVI (Server Voice Interactive) in French.
The rest of the trip has had some ups and downs. Eurostar is excellent, almost a hop-on hop off service which beats waiting in an airport for a couple of hours. There is still immigration and customs. In fact I almost missed the out-bound journey because I didn't take passport checking into account.
I don't know Paris at all well so on arrival I tried to get a cab to take me to the hotel. The cab driver wouldn't take me though - too close. So he gave me directions: "turn right at the second set of lights, walk until you get to a bridge, turn left and its down that road". I set off in the direction he pointed and tried to follow his instructions. Well it turns out you need a bit of confidence to walk for a mile or so in a strange city without even knowing if you are going in the right direction. I made it to the bridge and checked the street sign - it wasn't the same street as the hotel address. At this point I bottled and hailed a cab, gave the driver the address and he said "ah, its just on this street" whilst giving me a strange look. He took me and I'm glad he did because it was about a mile "just down the street".
The hotel was a typical Paris affair - a converted building with creaky lifts and tiny rooms. Only just enough room for the bed in fact. Cosy I think they call it. The major problem was the lift shaft was right next door. See how much sleep you get with one of those going all night. The following morning I did actually walk all the way back to the station. I was planning the hail a cab but I couldn't find one until I reached the station.
With the meeting over, the train left the station half an hour ago; I'm now watching the French countryside hurtle past at 160 miles/hour wondering how long the battery life in my tablet is going to last. I just wish I had some network connectivity because it's been two days and I'm getting withdrawal symptoms. I just need to check my mail, read some blogs and see if I've had any referrals, then I'll be happy again.
As a separate note, I have a Tablet PC (bought mainly because of Robert Scoble's evangelism) and I find it funny that wherever I go I have to give a demonstration (closely followed by "Ooh, I love it. How much?". This trip was no different and I'm pleased to say that the handwriting recognition works even when I write in French. Also, One-Note is rapidly turning into a killer app for me - you can doodle in meetings using all the colours and pens provided to create some really great art.