The cafeteria at IBM Tour Descartes doesn’t handle money. Visitors have to buy a bunch of lunch tickets before getting in the line, and that’s a slow procedure. So the organizers of this conference arranged a shortcut — for 32 Euros, we could buy a whole week’s worth of lunches in advance. It seemed like a good idea to me, and I bought in.
Yesterday, I had lunch in the cafeteria. Even though the lines in the servery were crazy, the food was pretty good for cafeteria food — but awfully filling (and I didn’t even have a dessert or wine). I was all set to go to the cafeteria again today, when one of my colleagues said that there was a small group who were going to go out and get something to eat elsewhere (they hadn’t had a chance to buy the all-week card yesterday). I hesitated (after all, I’d already paid my eight Euros), but eventually chose to go along for the walk.
That was one of the better decisions I’ve made so far today. We ended up at Pomme de Pain in Les Quatre Temps, where I had a curry chicken sandwich. And then we went out to the plaza for dessert and I had an apricot crepe from a semi-permanent cart. The crepe was better than the sandwich (messier, too), and it was very nice to get out of the overheated building for a walk in the bright sunshine and 45-degree air.
I may not get to see the sun again today, though; the meeting I’m in is expected to go till 6pm, and that’s when the sun will set. Maybe there’ll be a break….