Paris

The TAG’s first F2F of its new term was in Paris this week. It’s the long-standing tradition of the TAG that its outgoing participants get invited to the first F2F of the new term, and I needed to be in Geneva this week for an ExeCom meeting anyway, so I figured, porquois pas? I attended the first two days and then caught the TGV Lyria to Geneva.

I was last in Paris in 2018, on Erin’s second birthday. It was so nice to be back.

The view out the window from OCTO Technology’s office in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. A number of typical Parisian buildings are visible. The intersection several floors below has streets converging from several angles, so the buildings are triangular or trapezoidal. — The view from the office

A window sill containing several plants. Stuck into the plants are four pride flags. From left to right: the bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender flags. — Pride flags in the office

Tristan hosted us at the OCTO Technology office near the Place de l'Opéra. He also organized a developer meetup one night which was lots of fun.

I really like the vibe and work ethic of the new TAG. We dug into a bunch of meaty topics each day and the discussion was lively. It was especially nice to be able to overlap with Marcos, whose term began when mine ended at the beginning of February.

Marcos, mt, and I went to Sherry Butt one night. It’s closing at the end of the month, so it was great to get to go one last time. Amaury created something really special there; I’ll miss it.

A somewhat blurry photo of three people sitting next to each other at a bar. The smiling man on the left is clean-shaven. The woman in the middle is the one taking the photo, with the selfie camera on her phone. She has shoulder-length wavy hair, and is also smiling. The man on the right is wearing a baseball cap, and is pointing at the woman in a somewhat strange manner. — This photo is a litle blurry, much like we were at the time.

I also went to La Mutinerie for the first time one night after dinner. It’s always nice to find a way to be in community when traveling, and it’s especially nice to visit queer spaces explicitly centered around people of trans and lesbian experience.

I stayed at The Hoxton, just off of the boulevards, a 10 or 15 minute walk from the meeting. Great location; would happily stay there again.

Canal Saint-Martin on a sunny day. The canal is sparkling with sunlight. A tall pedestrian bridge arches over the canal at the center of the frame. Below and beyond the bridge, some of the canal’s locks are visible. — Canal Saint-Martin